Can Notre Dame get to a BCS Bowl?

Can Notre Dame get to BCS Bowl?

If we’re talking about getting to the BCS Championship, the answer is no, although the absolute purist would argue that IF Notre Dame wins ALL the rest of their games, they could in theory, get there.

Uh…yeah. I guess they COULD, but let’s not hold our breaths for that.

With one loss already, the question is no longer about whether the Fighting Irish will get to the BCS Championship, the priorities fall a bit. Now one had to wonder if they can qualify for a BCS Bowl game.

To do that, Notre Dame has to win perhaps all their games, and their margin for error might ONLY be one more game. With them losing to Michigan already, few see them beating USC later on.

So consider the following schedule and see where Notre Dame can finish. They would have needed a perfect season just to make a shot for the National Championship… that is gone. They might be allowed one…maybe two more losses to still get in a BCS Bowl, and they need 6 wins to qualify for any bowl.

With them falling out of BOTH polls, that hurts them a lot, but because they have a soft schedule, they might be able to climb back in. And with butt kissers like Lou Holtz pushing them, and NBC showcasing them, they have a good shot.

They’ll be playing a Michigan State team that was embarrassed by Central Michigan last week…you better believe they are looking for redemption. But this is a home game for the Irish, so I think you have to favor Notre Dame.

Purdue played well against Oregon, but still lost. They take on ND in another away game for the Irish, if Purdue has improved on any level, I think they could possibly steal a game.

Notre Dame’s next three games are home, with Washington, USC and Boston College. If ND had beaten Michigan handily, I might say that ND could be two of those three…now I can only give them Washington. If it goes this way, the Fighting Irish will be fighting with a possible 3-4 record, or as good as maybe a 5-2.

They’ll play away at Washington State, then home vs. Navy, which could be a split. Another away game at Pittsburgh, home vs. UCONN and ending the season at Stanford could give Notre Dame two wins at the end of the season. But overall, we could be looking at 8-4, maybe 9-3 at best.

Let’s add on here that they were beaten by a team that was 3-9 last year… Michigan is NOT a very good team, and Notre Dame lost to them. If this is the case, then I think some of the people gave Notre Dame more credit than they ought to have. With a 8-4 record, I can’t see how they can get a BCS Bowl game, and 9-3 would be highly questionable, but not out of the question.

If this is true, then Notre Dame’s margin for error is 2 games, having already lost one. Almost everybody sees USC beating Notre Dame, but will they lose another game this year? I think an embarrassed Michigan State team can be a problem, and an away game vs. Purdue can be tough. Add on a good Boston College team, and a Navy team that almost beat Ohio State, this will be a serious challenge for Notre Dame.

It’s going to be very tough to get a BCS bowl bid folks, no matter how much Lou Holtz kisses up to them. We’ll see all soon….