Irish remain on track for BCS berth
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
After Notre Dame picked up its second loss of the season at Michigan State, it looked like a Bowl Champion Series berth was all but out of the question.
But by racking up four straight victories, the Irish have slowly worked their way back onto the BCS radar.
Teams that finish with at least nine victories and in the top 12 of the rankings are eligible to be selected for a BCS berth.
Don't look now, but this week, the Irish are 6-2 and stand 12th in the BCS rankings. That, combined with Notre Dame's national fan base, makes Notre Dame an attractive option for a BCS bowl should the Irish win out in their final three games.
An official with the Notre Dame athletic department confirmed that representatives from both the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Nokia Sugar Bowl attended the Notre Dame-Air Force game. Representatives from both bowls have expressed an interest in snagging a 9-2 Notre Dame team.
"It's a team that's definitely on our list," Fiesta Bowl media relations director Shawn Schoeffler said. "There's a lot of football left, but Notre Dame is one of about eight or nine teams that we're looking at. It's been awhile since they've been in our bowl."
That's an understatement.
The Irish haven't played in the Fiesta Bowl since after the 1994 season, and the last major bowl the Irish took part in was just one year later, a 31-26 Orange Bowl loss to Florida State.
Since then, the once-proud Irish have been seen in the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl and the Toyota Gator Bowl. They've also been found at home for the holidays two of the past four years.
But if the current trend continues of too-close-for-comfort wins, Notre Dame might just make it into one of the four big bowls.
Champions from the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC qualify for a BCS game, along with two at-large teams.
The granddaddy of the BCS is the Orange Bowl, played for the national championship, which for Notre Dame this year is an overtime loss to Nebraska out of reach. Big 12 team Oklahoma, ACC leader Florida State, Big East school Miami and SEC-based Florida, ranked first through fourth in the BCS, respectively, seem the best bets for the Orange Bowl.
The Rose Bowl pits the Big 10 champion versus the Pac-10 champion, barring the possibility that a team from either conference is in the title picture. With Washington, the top-ranked Pac-10 school, at No. 6 in the BCS rankings, and Purdue, the highest Big 10 team, at No. 10, neither conference seems likely to put a school in the Orange Bowl.
There may be a spot free for Notre Dame in either the Fiesta Bowl or the Sugar Bowl, however. The Fiesta takes the Big 12 champion and one at-large school, while the Sugar picks the SEC winner and an at-large team.
"I'm sure the Sugar Bowl would have an interest in Notre Dame [if Notre Dame goes 9-2]," Sugar Bowl executive director Paul Houlihan said.
As would the Fiesta, which could make an interesting fight for the Irish.
"To be BCS-eligible, a team needs to have nine wins," Schoeffler said. "When all's said and done, that might be a small list of teams that are eligible. Our first tie-in is with the Big 12 conference, but after that, we have to look at what's going to make the most intriguing matchup.
"Notre Dame's definitely a team that we'd be excited to have."
Irish hopes for a BCS berth are not set in stone, but three more Notre Dame victories and a couple key losses by higher-ranked schools could send the Irish on their way.
No. 11 Kansas State faces No. 4 Nebraska this weekend, and should the `Huskers win as expected, Kansas State will become a blip on the BCS screen.
And there's no way that three Pac-10 schools —Washington, Oregon and Oregon State are all higher than Notre Dame in current BCS rankings — will make it into a BCS game. Oregon and Oregon State face one another Nov. 18, and the loser will drop from BCS contention.
Conference championships in the Big 12 could also prove lethal to Nebraska should it lose, or to Oklahoma, if it loses another game.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame faces Boston College at home, a brutal Rutgers team on the road and closes out against a mediocre USC team in Southern California. The late-season Irish schedule hascbssporstline.com pegging Notre Dame as an at-large pick for the Fiesta Bowl
It's all up to the Irish to win out.
While the Irish suffered through a dry spell in the late 1990s, that's only left blue and gold fans hungrier for a big bowl. Notre Dame still sells out every game, still commands a huge NBC contract and would still draw a sellout crowd at any of the four BCS games.
"That always makes Notre Dame an attractive option," Houlihan said.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, November 9, 2000
