Bowl Ties (BCS or bust?)

[irishfan]

Got this from SI. I knew our bowl ties were weak, but this is very troubling.

Thanks for your article on the new bowl arrangements, it was very helpful. However, I noticed that Notre Dame is only listed as a "possible selection by the Champs Sports Bowl once every four years." So what happens if Notre Dame goes 8-4 or even 9-3 for the next four years -- good, but not good enough to land in the BCS -- and every conference manages to have enough eligible teams to fill their spots?
-- Andrew, California

Under your scenario, once the Champs Sports Bowl exercises its Notre Dame pick, the Irish become bowl free agents in subsequent years, much like they were two years ago when they wound up in the Hawaii Bowl, and much like they would have been last year had they chosen to play a bowl. I don't think they'll ever have to worry about every conference filling its allotment. There were 71 eligible teams the past two years and there are now 70 bowl berths (plus USC is ineligible). There's no way the Big Ten is going to qualify nine teams every year, or the Big 12 is going to fill eight once it drops to 10 teams.

However, we're still talking about the bowls at the bottom of the leagues' pecking orders -- the Little Caesars Bowl, not the Gator Bowl. That fate may have been deserved for the past two 6-6 Irish teams, but not a 9-3 team that plays the schedule Notre Dame does. It will be interesting to see how the school reacts if this becomes a regular occurrence. If the Irish go to the BCS twice in the next four years, the topic is moot. But if they don't, you're seeing yet another negative consequence of remaining independent. It's literally BCS or bust for these guys.

Mark Richt could turn Georgia into BCS team in 2010; more Mailbag - Stewart Mandel - SI.com

 

[Big23Head]

I would like this to not even be a conversation because I would like to constantly be in the BCS talk for a while now. But winning seems to fix everything, we are not quite the brand we used to be on the football field so the bowls not taking us makes sense to me. Hopefully Kelly and the team changes that starting this year.

 

[Riddickulous]

We'll go BCS bowling in 2011.

 

[GreatGolson]

im actually very surprised at this, with the amount of $$ ND fans usually bring into bowl games (especially bigger ones) youd think someone would want to give us a slot

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Let's play the games first... We'll worry about this the last week of November/first week of december.

 

[GreatGolson]

IMO bottom line, Brian Kelly doesnt need invitations to Jacksonville, he needs a plane ticket to Glendale for him and 85 of his closest friends

 

[phork]

You can keep saying ND is the big draw all you like, the fact is bowl tie ins with conferences are squeezing us out.

 

[GreatGolson]

lol at least you lived up to your title phork

 

[wakeuptheechoes]

I haven't actually looked it up and done any research. But, I would venture to say that any team that finishes with 3 losses in the regualr season will not be invited to a BCS Bowl, unless they somehow managed to win their conference. the fact that ND is not in a conference should not give them a pass to do go to a BCS Bowl with 3 losses in the regular season. Lately, when ND has gone to a bowl it has been because of their ability to draw a national base of fans more than their record or how good of a team they are. Thus the recent Win/Loss record in bowls, BCS or otherwise. I do believe the bowl invitations will be there if ND has two or less losses. With more losses than two ND will be relegated to the less attractive bowls.

In the four major bowls and the championship game last year, 5 of the teams were undefeated, 1 had one loss, and 4 had two losses at the time they were invited. If a conference winner of the main conferences, IE, SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Pac 10, or Big 12 minus 2, or the Big East, has 2 losses or less, that is five of those slots filled, and if the runner up in those divisions has 2 losses or less that doesn't leave much. Then throw in the smaller conference with an undefeated season or one loss record that leaves even less. I am afraid part the cost of staying independent may be that ND finishes with 1 loss at most to get a BCS bid.