How a Week 12 ACC upset and Notre Dame win over Boston College made Irish’s bowl picture clearer
Another Notre Dame win and an ACC upset increased the already high likelihood Notre Dame’s bowl outlook won’t change with the result of the regular season finale at USC Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Never rule out mass chaos, especially on Thanksgiving weekend, but the 8-3 Irish will be in position to land a spot in one of the three top ACC non-New Year’s Six bowls no matter if they win or lose in Los Angeles.
Those bowls are the Gator (Dec. 30, Jacksonville), Cheez-It (Dec. 29, Orlando) and Holiday (Dec. 28, San Diego). The Irish are eligible for any of them as long as they’re within one game of the team that would otherwise be picked in that game. For example, Notre Dame could go to the Cheez-It Bowl at 8-4 if the best available ACC team when the Cheez-It Bowl picks is 9-3.
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Unless two-loss North Carolina topples one-loss Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, all ACC teams other than the Tigers will have at least three losses when the bowl selection process begins -thanks to Georgia Tech beating the Tar Heels Nov. 19 and dealing them a second defeat. And Notre Dame will be 8-4 at worst. The Irish will be available to go to any ACC non-New Year’s Six bowl. The latest bowl projections see them landing in one of those top three.
• The Athletic: Gator vs. Florida (Last week: Holiday vs. UCLA)
• ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Gator vs. South Carolina (Last week: Gator vs. Florida)
• ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Holiday vs. Utah (Last week: Holiday vs. Washington)
• CBS Sports: Gator vs. Arkansas (Last week: Gator vs. Mississippi State)
• Action Network: Gator vs. South Carolina (Last week: Cheez-It vs. Texas)
• USA Today: Holiday vs. UCLA (Last week: Holiday vs. Utah)
• Athlon Sports: Gator vs. Kentucky (Last week: same)
• Sporting News: Gator vs. Kentucky (Last week: Duke’s Mayo vs. Minnesota)
BlueandGold.com says
• The ACC also gets a spot in the ReliaQuest Bowl (Jan. 2, Tampa) if a Big Ten team is selected to play in the Orange Bowl. Right now, that appears unlikely.
• Notre Dame has played in the Gator Bowl three times (most recently in 2003) and the Cheez-It Bowl twice when it was under previous name (most recently in 2019). It has never been selected to the Holiday Bowl.
• The Irish have never played Kentucky or Arkansas. They have a home-and-home scheduled with the Razorbacks for 2025 and 2028. It was originally scheduled to begin in 2020, but that game was canceled due to COVID-19 scheduling changes.
• Notre Dame is 3-1 against South Carolina, with its most recent meeting a 36-32 loss in 1984. The Irish are 1-0 against Florida – a 39-28 win in the 1992 Sugar Bowl. They have a home-and-home series with the Gators set for 2031 and 2032.
• Notre Dame has played Utah once, a 28-3 home win in 2010. It is 4-0 all-time against UCLA and most recently played the Bruins in 2007 (a 20-6 road win).
