Notre Dame Bowl Options Change In Latest ESPN Projections
Notre Dame has been off the last two weekends, but after getting through a recent COVID-19 issue, the Fighting Irish are back in game week mode. The Irish take on Florida State this weekend as they look to go 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play.
This comes after a wild weekend of college football that saw the Oklahoma Sooners, a playoff team in four of the last five seasons, fall to 1-2 after a road loss at Iowa State. It was Oklahoma’s second straight loss, something we haven’t seen since 2014.
We also saw Mississippi State, who knocked off the defending champion LSU Tigers in week four, fall to Arkansas, a team that hasn’t won a league game since 2017.
All of the shakeups have altered the latest bowl projections from ESPN.
Notre Dame is still slated to play in a major bowl, but college football writers Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura don’t have the Irish in the same bowl game anymore.
Bonagura still has Notre Dame playing in the Orange Bowl, where they are slated to face the #4 Florida Gators. It would mark the first time the two teams played since the Irish beat the Gators (39-28) in the 1992 Sugar Bowl.
Notre Dame has played in the Orange Bowl five times, and they are 2-3 in those contests.
Schlabach has Miami now slated for the Orange Bowl, which means he sees the Hurricanes surpassing Notre Dame for the No. 2 spot in the ACC. Schlabach has Notre Dame now headed to the Fiesta Bowl, where they will be matched up against the Oregon Ducks.
Notre Dame has played in the Fiesta Bowl five times, but they’ve lost their last four, including following the 2015 season. The last time Notre Dame won the Fiesta Bowl was Jan. 2, 1989 when they beat West Virginia to clinch their last national championship.
Notre Dame is still ranked fifth in the ESPN Football Power Index. There are three future Irish opponents ranked in the Top 25 of the FPI. Clemson dropped to No. 3, North Carolina moves up to No. 11 and Pittsburgh is at No. 25 despite losing to NC State this weekend.
Here are the updated ACC standings (ACC record / overall record):
1. Clemson - 2-0 / 3-0
2. Miami - 2-0 / 3-0
3. North Carolina - 2-0 / 2-0
4. Virginia Tech - 2-0 / 2-0
5. Notre Dame - 1-0 / 2-0
6. NC State - 2-1 / 2-1
7. Pittsburgh - 2-1 / 2-1
8. Boston College - 1-1 / 2-1
9. Virginia - 1-1 / 1-1
10. Georgia Tech - 1-1 / 1-2
11. Syracuse - 1-2 / 1-2
12. Florida State - 0-2 / 1-2
13. Louisville - 0-2 / 1-2
14. Wake Forest - 0-2 / 1-2
15. Duke - 0-4 / 0-4
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