October 6, 2008

Are the Fighting Irish BCS-bound?

Don't look now, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 4-1 for the 27th time in team history. The biggest difference between this 4-1 and every other 4-1 record the Irish have ever had? This time they're not ranked.

Every other season in which the Fighting Irish were either 4-1 or 3-1-1, they were ranked. The Irish were rated as high as No. 4 in 1942 and 1965, as low as No. 18 in 1998, and had an average ranking of No. 10 during those seasons.

On Sunday, Regis Philbin's alma mater got six votes in The Associated Press poll, 91 votes fewer than No. 25 Ball State, the fellow Indiana school best known for being David Letterman's alma mater.

This season's turnaround - 4-1 in five games versus 0-5 last year - is all part of Coach Weis's master plan, or so it would seem.

"I think this year one of the big things is we want to put Notre Dame back on the map in a positive vein, not in a negative vein," he said. "I think that would be one message that you earned your way back into the picture."

And speaking of earning their way back into the picture, Dennis Dodd sees the Irish as being in the driver's seat for a BCS bowl this year.

Notre Dame? I'm getting this feeling in the pit of my keyboard that it's headed for the Fiesta Bowl. As long as Oklahoma remains No. 1, that's the bowl that would get the first pick after the BCS title game teams are slotted.

Sure, the Irish are unranked but 11 ranked teams ahead of them in the AP poll play at least three currently ranked teams the rest of the way; Notre Dame plays two (North Carolina, USC). Why wouldn't the Fiesta folks pick Notre Dame to match up against a Big 12 rep like Missouri? Actually, scratch that. Notre Dame against anyone would be good for TV and ticket sales.

I'm not saying it's right, it just is. Notre Dame is about as off the radar right now as Vanderbilt is on. It has cobbled together that 4-1 record beating unranked teams. But God's Program has special dispensation every year. Finish in the top eight of the BCS and it goes major bowling; Top 14 and it is eligible for an at-large berth.

Translated, "at-large" means bowl executives would be pulling shivs on each other to get a shot at the Irish. A couple of years ago the rules were changed to make it harder for Notre Dame to get in.

Wow. Notre Dame as an at-large in a BCS bowl. Man.

The Irish (4-1) play at North Carolina (loss?) and at Washington (win?) before returning home to play Pitt (win?). Then it's at Boston College (loss?), at Navy (loss?) and home against Syracuse (win?). Notre Dame wraps the season at USC (loss?).

I can't argue with Dodd's position on the Irish as the single most bankable guarantee a bowl game can put in play, but... do we really want to watch a six or seven win Notre Dame team in a BCS bowl against... anybody?

Posted by Kevin Donahue

Comments:

Are the Fighting Irish BCS-bound?
Don't look now, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 4-1 for the 27th time in team history. The biggest difference between this 4-1 and every other 4-1 record the Irish have ever had? This time they're not ranked.
Every other season in which the Fighting Irish were either 4-1 or 3-1-1, they were ranked. The Irish were rated as high as No. 4 in 1942 and 1965, as low as No. 18 in 1998, and had an average ranking of No. 10 during those seasons. On Sunday, Regis Philbin's alma mater got six votes in The Associated Press poll, 91 votes fewer than No. 25 Ball State, the fellow Indiana school best known for being David Letterman's alma mater.
This season's turnaround - 4-1 in five games versus 0-5 last year - is all part of Coach Weis's master plan, or so it would seem.
"I think this year one of the big things is we want to put Notre Dame back on the map in a positive vein, not in a negative vein," he said. "I think that would be one message that you earned your way back into the picture."
And speaking of earning their way back into the picture, Dennis Dodd sees the Irish as being in the driver's seat for a BCS bowl this year.
Notre Dame? I'm getting this feeling in the pit of my keyboard that it's headed for the Fiesta Bowl. As long as Oklahoma remains No. 1, that's the bowl that would get the first pick after the BCS title game teams are slotted. Sure, the Irish are unranked but 11 ranked teams ahead of them in the AP poll play at least three currently ranked teams the rest of the way; Notre Dame plays two (North Carolina, USC). Why wouldn't the Fiesta folks pick Notre Dame to match up against a Big 12 rep like Missouri? Actually, scratch that. Notre Dame against anyone would be good for TV and ticket sales. I'm not saying it's right, it just is. Notre Dame is about as off the radar right now as Vanderbilt is on. It has cobbled together that 4-1 record beating unranked teams. But God's Program has special dispensation every year. Finish in the top eight of the BCS and it goes major bowling; Top 14 and it is eligible for an at-large berth. Translated, "at-large" means bowl executives would be pulling shivs on each other to get a shot at the Irish. A couple of years ago the rules were changed to make it harder for Notre Dame to get in.
Wow. Notre Dame as an at-large in a BCS bowl. Man. The Irish (4-1) play at North Carolina (loss?) and at Washington (win?) before returning home to play Pitt (win?). Then it's at Boston College (loss?), at Navy (loss?) and home against Syracuse (win?). Notre Dame wraps the season at USC (loss?). I can't argue with Dodd's position on the Irish as the single most bankable guarantee a bowl game can put in play, but... do we really want to watch a six or seven win Notre Dame team in a BCS bowl against... anybody?