Should they? Of course not. Will they? Quite possibly, writes Stewart Mandel:
Is the loser of the Pitt-Cincy game really going to end up in the Meineke Car Care Bowl? Really??
— John, ChicagoIf Notre Dame finishes 7-5 [or 8-4], most likely.
The Gator Bowl has first choice of Big East teams after the BCS, but it’s also allowed to select Notre Dame once over a four-year period that ends this season. This is the bowl’s last chance to get the Irish for the foreseeable future since the Gator is switching to an SEC-Big Ten matchup next year, and it’s long been assumed the bowl will take advantage of it. The next Big East bowl after that is Meineke.
That said, the Gator knows how it will look publicly if it bypasses an 11-1 Cincinnati or 10-2 Pittsburgh team in favor of a 7-5 Notre Dame team (contrary to what’s been published some places, there is no formal rule preventing this), and the bowl’s president, Rick Catlett, has expressed concern recently over the fact the Irish would be coming into the game on a backslide and possibly without their coach. So the Irish are no longer a given. But I think come Selection Sunday, the Gator will realize that even a downtrodden Notre Dame is going to bring a lot more fans and a lot more TV cachet (especially for a ND-Miami or ND-Virginia Tech matchup) than Cincinnati or Pittsburgh.
And hey, Brian Kelly may wind up coaching in the game either way.
With regard to that last point: Heh.
Mandel seems to be assuming that Notre Dame will lose at Stanford, and thus that 7-5 (with a win over UConn on Saturday) is the best possible outcome for the Irish. That seems a reasonable assumption, but hey, you never know. I think the above scenario would still hold if ND actually sweeps its last two games, which is why I added the bracketed “or 8-4” to Mandel’s initial “7-5” reference. (If the Irish finish 6-6, the bowl selection rules change, and God knows where they’ll end up.)
Of course, the possibility of the Cincy-Pitt loser going to the Meineke Car Care Bowl, bumped there by the hapless, rudderless, and possibly coach-less Irish, also depends on the Cincy-Pitt loser not getting into the BCS. Which seems like a pretty good bet right now… but if Oklahoma State loses to Colorado tomorrow or Oklahoma next weekend, and either TCU or Boise State loses another game (or Iowa and Penn State both flop in their season finales, and Wisconsin also loses another game), and USC doesn’t win out and crawl back into the Top 14, and assuming Texas wins the Big 12, it’s possible 11-1 Cincy or 10-2 Pitt might wind up in the Fiesta Bowl or the Sugar Bowl, giving the Big East a stunning BCS two-fer. But that’s a lot of “ifs,” some of them pretty unlikely. Barring a lot of dominoes falling, the best bet for Cincy or Pitt to avoid Meineke Car Care Bowl hell is a UConn win over Notre Dame on Saturday.
Notre Dame should be happy to have the opportunity to repeat as Hawaii Bowl champs this year. At least they will finally have a winning streak at something.
I can see the T-shirt’s already, “Back-2-Back Hawaii Bowl champs” with the little ND and flowers and bloated Charlie Weis sipping a pineapple and coconut drink.
LOL!! I’d buy that t-shirt.
Jacksonville media had reported last week that Notre Dame was a lock at 8-4. Seem to be doubtful about a 7-5 team making it.
Because of their good past I actually see West Virginia to be more likely to be a “jumper” of Pitt and Cincinnatti, Especially in the unlikely scenario that Virginia Tech (rather than Clemson) is the preferred ACC team.
Weird BCS related note: I just realized that Penn State’s best win is Temple. I mean, they recieved votes!!!
On the one hand, this would meant in past years that Penn State’s ONLY win was Temple. This is not the case now, however – Temple is actually good. But it is still an odd feeling.
On the other hand, it also means that Temple now has a better record then Penn State. (Look it up!) Sure, its in the MAC . . . but still. That’s weird.
Or not . . . Temple has the SAME record as Penn State, not a better one.
TEMPLE TO THE BCS!!!!! 🙂
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