Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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No. 3 Alabama's 35-6 victory over 9-2 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl didn't carry as much clout. That sequence of events in one day was tremendously exciting for college football, but it could not occur today. 9-0-1 record and had agreed to play No. 1 Georgia (11-0) in the Sugar Bowl. Similar to 1970, though, the Irish lost at USC (20-3) in the regular-season finale and fell to No. 7. FOUR-TEAM PLAYOFF: No. 1 Georgia (11-0) SITUATION: Notre Dame was No. 2 with a 1980: NO. 1 VS. … NO. 7? No. 1 Notre Dame versus No. 4 Florida State (10-1) and No. 2 Miami (10-1) versus No. 3 West Virginia. THE CAVEAT: It would have been extremely igan (19-17), Pac-10 champ USC (27-10) and former No. 1 Miami (31-30). It would face No. 3 and 11-0 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. FOUR-TEAM PLAYOFF: Today, it would have been the injustice of extending bowl invitations prior to the end of the regular season and 2) how conference tie-ins to bowls some- times prevented the best teams from meet- ing each other. It ultimately resulted in the genesis of the BCS in 1998. SITUATION: Notre Dame was the clear No. 1 at 11-0 after defeating Big Ten champ Mich- 1988: NO REVENGE MATCH with a 17-10 victory over Notre Dame, but Oklahoma and Pitt missed out on their chance after strong bowl victories. A team ranked No. 7 the way Notre Dame was should not be playing in what is billed "a game for the national title." The 1980 outcome was evidence of 1) season already was at Florida State (36-22). The Panthers, despite their No. 3 ranking, were invited only to the second-tier Gator Bowl. RESULT: Georgia won the national title versus No. 4 Oklahoma (10-1) and No. 2 Florida State (10-1) versus No. 3 Pitt (10-1). THE CAVEAT: Pitt's lone loss in the regular over the Mountaineers to clinch the na- tional title. Miami finished No. 2 after de- feating an overmatched, No. 6 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 23-3. difficult for the Irish to defeat Miami twice in one season, similar to how it was for LSU versus Alabama this past year. RESULT: Notre Dame posted a 34-21 win 10-1 — and had defeated Miami (24-10) during the regular season. Would they have been chosen over Michigan? RESULT: Notre Dame defeated Colorado versus No. 4 Notre Dame (11-1) and No. 2 Miami (10-1) versus No. 3 Michigan (10-1) THE CAVEAT: No. 5 Florida State also was face No. 2 Colorado in the Orange Bowl, but a 27-10 loss in the regular-season finale at Miami, dropped the Irish to No. 4. FOUR-TEAM PLAYOFF: No. 1 Colorado (11-0) SITUATION: No. 1 Notre Dame was set to 1989: HEAD TO HEAD MATTERS (21-6) and vanquished seven of the top 18 teams in the final AP poll. But Miami, a 33-25 winner over top-10 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, was awarded the national title based on head-to-head result. We would have liked Notre Dame's chances that year in a playoff for the same reason we would have liked Miami's chances in 1988. AUGUST 2012 66