what are the possible Bowl Game sites this year?

[JoeB]

Jim, five of those teams are teams that ND beat last year.  I know, I know, no Brady Quinn, Samardzija, McKnight, Darius Walker, etc. , but the truth of the matter is ND has more talent than all of those teams with the exception of USC and Michigan.  Weis has been stockpiling talent since he arrived, and will be better than most prognosticators are saying.  Remeber two years ago, they had a brutal schedule, Mark May predicted 1-7 to start the year, they ended up going 9-3 and played in the Fiesta Bowl.  

The other thing is Weis doesn't lose games he's not supposed to.  Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingaham struggled against the Purdues, Michigan States, and Boston College, and so far Weis hasn't.  The one exception was MSU two years ago, and that went to OT.  Other than that loss, they've lost to USC, Ohio State (Fiesta), Michigan, USC, and LSU (Sugar).  I think they'll be better than most people think.

I'll bet you a beer though, payable at the Bowl Game!!

     

[bull2saintleo]

what bowl game does the BE Champ go to

Traditionallly, I think it is the Orange Bowl, but it all depends on where the BCS committee wants to place them.  Going back since the dawn of the BCS:

- 2006: Louisville goes to Orange

- 2005: West Virginia goes to Sugar

- 2004: Pitt goes to Fiesta

- 2003: Miami goes to Orange, West Virginia does not go to BCS

- 2002: Miami goes to Fiesta (Nat'l Championship game)

- 2001: Miami goes to Rose (Nat'l Championship game)

- 2000: Miami goes to Sugar

- 1999: Virginia Tech goes to Sugar (Nat'l Championship game)

- 1998: Syracuse goes to Orange

[Matt]

we have a long ways to go as a fanbase before we can start to talk about getting the big east's 2nd bowl selection.  i know its not the people who post on this board that are the problem, but its the other 115,000? alumni in the tampa bay area that need to wake up and get their families involved too.

[Guest]

what bowl game does the BE Champ go to

Traditionallly, I think it is the Orange Bowl, but it all depends on where the BCS committee wants to place them.  Going back since the dawn of the BCS:

- 2006: Louisville goes to Orange

- 2005: West Virginia goes to Sugar

- 2004: Pitt goes to Fiesta

- 2003: Miami goes to Orange, West Virginia does not go to BCS

- 2002: Miami goes to Fiesta (Nat'l Championship game)

- 2001: Miami goes to Rose (Nat'l Championship game)

- 2000: Miami goes to Sugar

- 1999: Virginia Tech goes to Sugar (Nat'l Championship game)

- 1998: Syracuse goes to Orange

The Big East had an official tie-in with the Orange Bowl until 2005.  After the 2004 season (the 2005 OB), Pitt went to the Fiesta only because the Orange Bowl hosted the national championship that year.

In the new BCS contract, signed before the start of the 2005 season, the Big East lost its official tie-in and is the only conference without one.

[Guest]

Jim, five of those teams are teams that ND beat last year.  I know, I know, no Brady Quinn, Samardzija, McKnight, Darius Walker, etc. , but the truth of the matter is ND has more talent than all of those teams with the exception of USC and Michigan.  Weis has been stockpiling talent since he arrived, and will be better than most prognosticators are saying.  Remeber two years ago, they had a brutal schedule, Mark May predicted 1-7 to start the year, they ended up going 9-3 and played in the Fiesta Bowl. 

The other thing is Weis doesn't lose games he's not supposed to.  Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingaham struggled against the Purdues, Michigan States, and Boston College, and so far Weis hasn't.  The one exception was MSU two years ago, and that went to OT.  Other than that loss, they've lost to USC, Ohio State (Fiesta), Michigan, USC, and LSU (Sugar).  I think they'll be better than most people think.

I'll bet you a beer though, payable at the Bowl Game!!

[BDYZR]

I'm not going to predict which bowl game we may get into, but, may I suggest you get your passport up to date now. November will be to late!

GO BULLS!

[I Bleed Awesomeness]

i have an idea:  if most people think the gator bowl wont take us, we should just WIN the big east, that way we have no other choice than going to a bcs game.  we should just do that...there, problem solved. 

[bsrn12]

ND will win more than 6 games this year, mark it down.  Might not win 9, but it will be more than 6.  

I'm thinking they could steal the Big East #2 spot from the Gator.  I don't think that would be USF, more like Louisville perhaps, but at 9-3 for example they'd also have to be rated in the Top 12 to be BCS eligible.   ND will have a hard time gaining any ground in the polls in the last month of the season due to only playing Army, Navy, JoeBulls Force, and Stanford.  This won't happen (finishing in Top 12), so the next best thing for them is either Jacksonville or Dallas.  They haven't played in Dallas since '93 so the Cotton Bowl might be the best option for them.  Last time they played in Jax was '99 (lost to GT- I was there).

While I agree, the ND schedule is tough for the first 8 weeks of the season, the back of it is a breeze.  If they can survive the first 6 weeks, they are going to be looking at the Gato or Cotton.  It all starts with Georgia Tech this weekend.  If they win that game, they could finish in the 8-4, 9-3 range.    

You're kidding yourself. Notre Dame lost EVERY SINGLE PLAYMAKER they had on offense, which was the only way they were capable of winning games the past 2 years. Their defense is awful..they have virtually no athletes. They will be outclassed and overwhelmed by Michigan, Penn St, Ga Tech, USC, UCLA, Boston College (Bo Ryan may be the best Qb in the nation that absolutely no one has heard of), Purdue (they return 20 starters and have solid QB play). That is 7 losses right there..not to mention ND routinely, in recent years, has struggled with Michigan St, particularly at home. Uhmm, that could easily be 8. Oh, and they better not show up uninspired against Navy (which happens to follow the home drubbing they will get from USC) or they are losing that one as well. ND could be looking at 3-9, but for arguments sake I'll give them 5-7. Thats it. They will be a NON-FACTOR in all bowl scenarios.

Jim, five of those teams are teams that ND beat last year.  I know, I know, no Brady Quinn, Samardzija, McKnight, Darius Walker, etc. , but the truth of the matter is ND has more talent than all of those teams with the exception of USC and Michigan.  Weis has been stockpiling talent since he arrived, and will be better than most prognosticators are saying.  Remeber two years ago, they had a brutal schedule, Mark May predicted 1-7 to start the year, they ended up going 9-3 and played in the Fiesta Bowl. 

The other thing is Weis doesn't lose games he's not supposed to.  Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingaham struggled against the Purdues, Michigan States, and Boston College, and so far Weis hasn't.  The one exception was MSU two years ago, and that went to OT.  Other than that loss, they've lost to USC, Ohio State (Fiesta), Michigan, USC, and LSU (Sugar).  I think they'll be better than most people think.

     

The thing is, Weis beat the Purdue's and MSU's (they haven't played BC, which is always a ND killer...just ask any Irish fan) with upperclassmen who had some talent. Truth of the matter is, he doesn't have that this year, he may be forced to start a true freshman at Qb and he has a defense that isn't capable of slowing down any offense with skill position athletes. Last year they needed MSU to go in the tank and blow a 20+ pt lead, they needed UCLA to forget to run the clock out in the final 2 mins, and they needed Ga Tech to forget they had Calvin Johnson on their team in the 2nd half to win those 3 ball games. Those games were decided as much by the opposing team's inability to finish a game as they were anything ND did. ND may, may be able to steal the opener at home v. Ga Tech...but then what to they get? @ Penn State, @ Michigan, vs Michigan State, @ Purdue, @ UCLA, vs Boston College, vs USC... the only one of those ball games they may even be FAVORED in is v. MSU. Thats it. They are dogs in all 4 road games (and will get pounded by PSU, Michigan, and UCLA...will lose a closer game to Purdue), they are getting hammered by USC, and lose to a talented, but under the radar BC team. Then they get Navy, whom can run the football with the best of them and will force ND to score pts. Thats their first 9 games...at best they are 3-6, but just as easily be 0-9, yes really 0-9.