Notre Dame post-Week 11 bowl projections: a New Year’s Six consensus
Notre Dame is thinking College Football Playoff.
The No. 8 Irish (9-1) have climbed a spot in the rankings each of the past two weeks. Teams ahead of them have games against each other left. The path to the playoff is becoming easier to see. Even head coach Brian Kelly is willing to make his team’s case.
“We’re better than we were in September and October,” Kelly said after last week’s win over Virginia. “This football team is getting better each and every week. We’re playing players who are much more mature. We’re ascending.
“Anytime you try to put a résumé together, it’s about how you play later in the year. The eye test is this football team is playing better defensively, offensively and we’re sitting here at 9-1. We’ve turned over an entire roster and playing pretty good football.”
As it stands, though, Notre Dame is outside the top four but in strong position to reach a New Year’s Six game. The latest bowl projections churn unanimously agrees on that. Here’s a look at where the Irish appear in the post-Week 11 bowl projections.
ESPN
Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach each have Notre Dame in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.), but against a different opponent. Schlabach forecasts a Notre Dame vs. Michigan game, while Bonagura predicts an Irish vs. Cincinnati rematch. (The latter is highly unlikely to happen, as outlined here).
“The Fighting Irish and Wolverines are two of the true blue bloods in college football, but they’ve never played each other in the postseason,” Schlabach wrote. “They’ve met 44 times during the regular season, with the Wolverines coming out on top 25 times. Michigan has won five of the past eight meetings, including a 45-14 victory in the last one on Oct. 26, 2019.
“The schools played each other in 31 of 37 seasons from 1978 to 2014, but sadly they're not scheduled to play again until 2033 and 2034.”
CBS Sports
CBS’ Jerry Palm has Notre Dame headed to the Dec. 30 Peach Bowl (Atlanta) and playing his predicted ACC champion, Pitt. The Irish and Panthers met last season and have upcoming games scheduled for 2023 and 2025.
The Athletic
Stewart Mandel also put Notre Dame in the Peach Bowl, but has the Irish playing ACC favorite Wake Forest. Notre Dame last played the Demon Deacons in 2018, but had a 2020 matchup erased from the schedule. They’re next slated to play in 2023 at South Bend.
Sporting News
Yet another Notre Dame projected Peach Bowl appearance comes from SN’s Bill Bender, who has the Irish playing Pitt.
Athlon Sports
Athlon’s Steven Lassan slotted Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State, a team the Irish have never played. Like Notre Dame, the No. 10 Cowboys are 9-1 and still have playoff hopes of their own.
On3
On3’s Mike Huguenin put Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl against Michigan. That matchup would happen only if Cincinnati goes to the playoff, because the Fiesta’s turn to take the Group of Five New Year’s Six qualifier is this season. The Bearcats are in Huguenin’s playoff field. If they miss the top four, they’ll head to the Fiesta Bowl.
247Sports
Like many others, 247’s Brad Crawford has Notre Dame in the Peach Bowl against Wake Forest.
“Visions of a dark horse, unbeaten run to the playoff are over for Wake Forest after a shootout loss at North Carolina, but the Demon Deacons remain the favorite to earn the ACC's auto-New Year's Six bid as the league champion following Saturday's win over NC State," Crawford wrote. “Meanwhile, one-loss Notre Dame is blazing hot since its only loss to Cincinnati and could make things tough on the playoff selection committee if the Irish win out and finish 11-1.”
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