Sobering Post New Years Bowl Report

[phork]

We defintely don't get the easy draws. If you'll remember in 2012 we had a date with Kansas St in the BCS championship game. Until they shit the bed and ND ended up with Alabama, ya'll know the rest. Those are the breaks ND gets.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I suppose it doesn't matter to anyone to remember how those bowl opponents are picked. The Big Dog bowls get their pick of who they want to play after their conference obligation is met. Even when Notre Dame is not the best on-paper opponent for their own big dog, we still get picked because OUR NAME matters to TV viewership. THAT is why we have been consistently matched against more powerful teams. The Bowl Sponsors Want The Viewers.

The only way to break that problem is to be the "next best" team genuinely and not just viewably. ... or the best team period, but I suppose that we are not looking backwards with that level of fantasy proneness.

 

[Rudy89]

I said I wouldn’t even claim that Kelly was the savior until he won a title or an ny6 game and I take that same philosophy with Freeman. The year was good not great. We had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Glad we won. Gives us a good feeling for the off-season but until we get the ny6/playoff win monkey off our back I’m still seeing whatever coach we have as a good coach that helped us not be a joke but not the savior or anything of that nature.

 

[ACamp1900]

Not that this doesn't have credence, but I keep being blown away by how often ND is pitted against a playoff caliber team in their BCS/NY6 bowl game. The Fiesta Bowl last year was the only time I recall them playing a remotely beatable opponent in one of those bowl matchups.

2000 Fiesta Bowl: Oregon State led by Ochocinco and the Hoosh.
2005 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State led by Heisman Winner Troy Smith, Ted Ginn and Santonio Holmes.
2006 Sugar Bowl: LSU with pre-drank Russell.
2012 NCG: Probably the 2nd best Alabama team under Saban.
2015 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State team that had 8 starters go in the first round of the '16 and '17 NFL drafts.
2018 Cotton Bowl: Half of Clemson's defense went in the first round the following 2 drafts.
2020 Rose Bowl: The best Alabama team under Saban.

Then I look at some of these teams' bowl wins:

Wisconsin (beat 8-4 Stanford in the '99 Rose Bowl)
Iowa (beat 10-3 Georgia Tech in the '09 Orange Bowl)
Michigan (beat a mediocre VT squad in the '11 Sugar Bowl who got obliterated by Clemson in the ACC CG)
Nebraska (beat 9-3 Tennessee in the '99 Fiesta Bowl)
Penn State (beat 8-5 Florida State in the '05 Orange Bowl / beat Memphis in the '19 Cotton Bowl)
Ole Miss (beat 10-3 Oklahoma State in the '15 Sugar Bowl)
Texas A&M (beat 8-4 North Carolina in '20 Orange Bowl, while UNC was missing practically their entire offense)
Georgia Tech (beat 10-3 Mississippi State in the '14 Orange Bowl)
Virginia Tech (beat 11-3 Cincinnati in the '08 Orange Bowl)
Iowa State (beat 4-3 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl...really? 4-3?)
Baylor (beat 10-3 and Corral-less Ole Miss in the '21 Sugar Bowl)
Kansas (beat 11-3 Virginia Tech in the '07 Orange Bowl)
Washington (beat 8-4 Purdue in the '00 Rose Bowl)
Oregon State (beat 9-3 Notre Dame in the '00 Fiesta Bowl)
Houston (beat 10-3 Florida State led by Everett Golson in the '15 Peach Bowl)

Those are some pretty forgiving draws that ND simply hasn't gotten. I don't think a single one of those teams is as good as '21 Oklahoma State.

I’ve been saying for years,… the ‘I don’t want an easy boring bowl game’ or ‘let’s play prime time games constantly crowd’ is the problem,… you want 2/3 of the schedule to be snoozers, you want most bowl matchups to be slam dunks. That’s how most everyone else gets their trophies and why ND largely doesn’t anymore.

 

[Rudy89]

I’d like one just one easy ny6 game. Just for my own happiness in seeing my team win one. Only “major” bowl I’ve seen us win in my lifetime was the 94 cotton bowl and I was 4. I’d love an easy team in one of those games just to be able to be on the other side of things for once. But I hear what you’re saying.

I’ve been saying for years,… the ‘I don’t want an easy boring bowl game’ or ‘let’s play prime time games constantly crowd’ is the problem,… you want 2/3 of the schedule to be snoozers, you want most bowl matchups to be slam dunks. That’s how most everyone else gets their trophies and why ND largely doesn’t anymore.

 

[ACamp1900]

I’d like one just one easy ny6 game. Just for my own happiness in seeing my team win one. Only “major” bowl I’ve seen us win in my lifetime was the 94 cotton bowl and I was 4. I’d love an easy team in one of those games just to be able to be on the other side of things for once. But I hear what you’re saying.

Do you?? Because I’m saying what you’re saying