Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Belk Bowl By Andrew Owens Notre Dame's November dive has dropped the Irish into territory that is all too familiar the past two decades: dumpster diving for bowl bids. From playoff contender to major bowl hopeful to settling for a minor bowl in a matter of weeks, the Irish will now qualify for a postseason game as part of the ACC's bowl tie-ins. There are no great options for head coach Brian Kelly's squad or any that will appease the fan base in his fifth season, but the Belk Bowl repre- sents the best of a bunch of bad options. What makes the Belk Bowl the most desirable option at this point is the potential opponent. The game (formerly known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl) pits the No. 2 ACC team against the No. 2 SEC squad among squads that did not make the "New Year's Six" group of bowls. Playing an SEC team such as Auburn or LSU would make a minor bowl more intriguing for the program heading into the offseason. Since Notre Dame won both games in a home-and- home against Tennessee in 2004-05, it has played SEC schools only twice. Both resulted in blowout bowl losses: 41-14 to LSU in the 2007 Sugar Bowl and 42-14 to Alabama in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game. While the Irish can do little to help their reputa- tion at this point, beating an SEC school — and a good one at that — would be a sweet way to end a sour season. Sun Bowl By Douglas Farmer Notre Dame may have more bowl options this season than in years past, but its options still re- main limited. Losing to Arizona State removed any chances at a playoff bowl. Falling to Northwestern dashed any hopes of a playoff-access bowl. Drop- ping to Louisville put the kibosh on the rest of the top tier of ACC bowl tie-ins. The Belk Bowl may be the remaining bowl option with the most, if any, prestige, and using an SEC op- ponent as a measur- ing stick would certainly provide the most accurate gauge of the program. Considering the Irish per- formance in November, it is not a leap to expect that gauge to come back negatively. Another step backward would set up an off- season of doubt, discontent and disorder. Notre Dame's priority this bowl season needs to focus on earning a win. Put simply, that is more likely to occur against any conference's middle-of-the-pack options than it is against the SEC's. The most likely options of such are facing the Pac-12's fifth-choice bowl team in the Sun Bowl or the Big Ten's fifth- choice bowl team in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Irish have been to both of those in the last five years, but only one current player made it to the 2010 victory over Miami in El Paso, Texas: fifth- year senior safety Austin Collinsworth. Though Collinsworth may not jump at the chance, topping Utah or Washington on the Mexi- can border is Notre Dame's best option to end this disappointing season. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH BOWL GAME WOULD BE NOTRE DAME'S BEST CASE SCENARIO? Listen to the discussion in this digital exclusive