(10-1) would have played No. 3 Michi-
gan (10-1).
The Irish defeated Colorado in the
Orange Bowl anyway, 21-6, but fin-
ished behind Miami in the final poll
because the Hurricanes won the head-
to-head showdown in the regular sea-
son.
• In 1993, the matchups based on
the final regular season AP poll would
have been No. 1 Florida State (11-1)
trying to avenge its lone loss against
No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1) and No. 2
Nebraska (11-0) against No. 3 West
Virginia (11-0). That would have left
a powerful 10-1 Florida team from the
SEC on the outside looking in, though.
• Finally in 2012, No. 1 Notre Dame
(12-0) might have first faced No. 4 Ore-
gon (10-1), while No. 2 Alabama (12-1)
probably would have confronted fel-
low SEC member and No. 3 Florida
(11-1).
Either with the old system or the
new, the Irish were not going to get
through Alabama.
A greater sample size will be needed
to determine whether the current sys-
tem benefits Notre Dame better. It
seems to have this year, but the format
from the 1970s and 1980s will be dif-
ficult to top. ✦
Joe Theismann and the 1970 Irish nearly won the national title despite entering the Cotton Bowl ranked
only No. 6 in the Associated Press poll and losing their last regular-season game.
PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS
