Assessing Notre Dame football's bowl options

SOUTH BEND – All Notre Dame had to do to make its second major bowl game in three years was beat Stanford.

But with a 38-20 loss to the Cardinal on Saturday, the Fighting Irish (9-3) will almost certainly drop out of contention for a New Year’s Six bowl game (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Peach or Cotton).

What does this mean for Notre Dame on Selection Sunday? There are a few things in play, most of which include a trip to Orlando, Fla.

The popular scenario right now among national analysts has the Irish heading to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 28 (formerly the Russell Athletic Bowl). Because of their ACC relationship, the Irish get to participate in bowls with those conference tie-ins.

The last three years of the playoff, the ACC champion has made it in. Assuming the same will be true this season, the winner of Miami-Clemson on Saturday will go to the playoff. The loser will head to the Orange Bowl because the ACC has a contracted spot when it’s not used as a playoff site.

The third-best team in the league would go to the next highest tiered bowl with an ACC tie. This year that would be Virginia Tech or North Carolina State to the Camping World Bowl. Except Notre Dame would likely hop them both based on its position in the rankings.

Assuming that’s where the Irish go, they’d play a Big 12 team. Projected opponents right now are Iowa State (wins over Oklahoma and TCU) and West Virginia (top 15 offense averaging 485 yards per game).

The other Orlando option is the Citrus Bowl. The top ACC team not in the playoff will go to the Orange Bowl and play the highest-ranked non-champion team among the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame. The only time the ACC will have teams in the Citrus and Camping World bowl games is if the Big Ten sends a team to the Orange Bowl.

Last year, Michigan finished No. 6 in the playoff rankings and faced Florida State in the Orange Bowl. That put Louisville in the Citrus Bowl and Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

If an SEC team is the opponent in the Orange Bowl, the ACC will not have a team in the Citrus Bowl.

For example: If Alabama does not make the playoff and goes to the Orange Bowl instead, the Big Ten would play in the Citrus Bowl instead of the ACC.

If the Irish play in the Citrus Bowl, they could face an SEC team like Mississippi State, LSU or South Carolina.

The ideal situation for Notre Dame is still New Year’s Six bowl consideration. Some analysts believe the Cotton Bowl is an option despite the Stanford loss. Barring Oklahoma beating TCU in the Big 12 championship by a very wide margin, a trip to Dallas doesn’t seem realistic.

Unless Notre Dame joins a conference, it will continue to find itself in a similar predicament if it doesn’t win enough regular-season games. Without a league title to play for, there’s no chance at last-minute redemption. Stanford is a perfect example of this. The Cardinal are also 9-3 and have a chance to make a New Year’s Six bowl with a win over USC in the Pac 12 championship game.

Notre Dame prides itself on its independence and athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said several times there are no plans for football to join the ACC full time. Notre Dame relishes the challenge of trying to make the playoff a different way.

Follow IndyStar Notre Dame Insider Laken Litman on Twitter and Instagram: @lakenlitman.

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