Bowl projections

With Rutgers' beatdown of Louisville last night, the Irish have been officially kicked out of the Big East bowl rotation and are left blowing in the wind waiting for an at-large invitation to a bowl game. Notre Dame is still Notre Dame, however, and will get several invitations. Here are the possibilities:


Opponent:
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs (10-2, 7-1 MWC, MWC #2)
Location:
Qualcomm Stadium (71,294 capacity), San Diego, CA
Date:
December 23, 2008 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Payout: $750,000

The second highest profile matchup would probably be here, where TCU was projected as a potential BCS buster all year, but fell just short, losing to an undefeated Utah team and #2 Oklahoma. Would help with recruiting in Southern Cal, but may not be the matchup we're looking for to break our bowl losing streak. And it's very early in the bowl season.



Opponent:
University of Hawai'i Warriors (7-5, 5-3 WAC, WAC #2)
Location:
Aloha Stadium (50,000 capacity), Honolulu, Hawai'i
Date:
December 24, 2008 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Payout: $398,000

A winnable game in beautiful Hawai'i, which happens to be the home state of a certain linebacker the Irish have been courting in this year's recruiting class. A very winnable game and a beautiful venue. If the Irish are looking primarily to end their bowl winning streak, this would be the game I'd choose. A low payout, however, may make this less attractive.



Opponent:
Ball State University Cardinals (12-0, 8-0 MAC, MAC Champions)
Location:
Ford Field (70,000 capacity), Detroit, MI
Date:
December 26, 2008 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Payout: $750,000

The highest profile matchup available, this game usually gives the MAC champion a shot at the #7 Big Ten team. However, with 2 Big Ten teams potentially in the BCS, there won't be enough to fill their bowl affiliations. Assuming a win over Buffalo in the MAC Championship, Ball State will be here. With Ball State shut out of the BCS despite an undefeated season, there will be quite a bit of hype around this game already. When you take Indiana's premier college football team and match it up against the young upstart team that's used to being the state's whipping boy? It's got my vote. I really like this game because I don't know how good Ball State really is - their best wins are over Indiana and Navy.


Opponent:
Good question - both slots will be filled with at-large teams, as the SEC and Big 12 don't have enough bowl teams to fill this game.
Location:
Independence Stadium (53,000 capacity), Shreveport, LA
Date:
December 28, 2008 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Payout: $1.1 million

This game is intriguing, because it has the largest payout, and nobody seems to know exactly who the opponent will be. Also, the Irish have played in the Independence Bowl before (vs. LSU), so there is some history there that they could use for cover in seeking the payday. I think that ultimately, whether the Irish choose this game or not depends on the caliber of opponent they can attract. We're not gonna play Louisiana-Lafayette here. No way, no how.



Opponent:
Big East #4
Location:
Legion Field (71,594 capacity), Birmingham, Alabama
Date:
December 29, 2008 3:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Payout: $300,000

This game would match us with the Big East #4 team, which could be any number of teams, depending upon the outcome of this week's games. I don't think there is much chance of playing in this game, as the payout is too low, the opponent too dull, and the location less than appealing. It's also an afternoon start. A non-starter, but technically on the list. The only redeeming quality is that it would be a game against a BCS opponent from a conference we are closely affiliated with.



Opponent:
Rice University Owls (9-3, 7-1 C-USA, C-USA #3)
Location:
Reliant Stadium (71,500 capacity), Houston, Texas
Date:
December 30, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Payout: $750,000

This is the game most of the prognosticators are predicting us to go to, although I'm not sure why. Rice has already accepted this bid, and I'm not stoked about playing a mediocre team from C-USA. If we do accept, it's only because we think we can win, and Texas is fertile recruiting grounds. And it's the closest to New Year's we can get. Worst thing about it is that the game will be on the NFL Network, which isn't widely available. Yawn.

UPDATE: I didn't see this before, but apparently Louisiana Tech has already accepted a bid in the Independence Bowl. I'm not impressed, and would take that bowl out of consideration for the Irish.

UPDATE: Ball State lost in the MAC Championship, so now Buffalo would be the team in the Motor City bowl. This makes the Hawai'i Bowl and Poinsettia Bowls the best options in my opinion. More as the results roll in.