Notre Dame Fans, Rethink The Bowl Game
What lies ahead for Notre Dame as they head into the bowl season?
Notre Dame didn’t have this kind of fun last year. After a season plagued with injuries in 2014, the Irish dropped 5 out of its last 6 games that included a 4 game skid at the end of the season. The last game… The USC butt whooping that embarrassed the program.
Being 7-5, the Irish were still able to go to a bowl, but because they were in the second year of an odd bowl arrangement, Notre Dame was forced to go to a “mid-level” bowl yet AGAIN, in the Brian Kelly era. Notre Dame fans were eager- yet worried to find out who the opponent would be for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame fans didn’t want the team to be from a mid-major or a team from a power five that had no “swag” to them (in this case it involved a combo of record and history). Once it was announced that Notre Dame was to play LSU in the Music City Bowl, most Irish fans had some doubts as to whether or not this was “a good bowl” meaning, was LSU the right opponent?
Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish receiver Will Fuller (7) celebrates after a touchdown during the first half against the LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
I can remember a decent majority of fans wishing it would be someone else. After all, LSU is a traditional power in the SEC West- THE SEC WEST MAN! Even yours truly had doubts as to Notre Dame’s ability to compete against LSU with all of the turmoil surrounding the Notre Dame program and that horrible last half of the season.
Fast forward a bit, and Notre Dame performed extraordinarily well. The Irish beat LSU (that big bad SEC West team) and in the process, the Irish set themselves up to be a top 10ish preseason team, and a team that could make a push for the playoffs.
It’s interesting to think if things would have been different had Notre Dame played a beat a team like Colorado State, or Western Michigan- or whatever. Would the solid hype the team had going into the 2015 season been so, well… solid?
Fast forward to December of 2015. Notre Dame awaits another bowl game against another opponent. With a weekend still left, Notre Dame is looking at either the Peach Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl as possible destinations. The team they may get matched up with most likely comes from a pool of Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Houston, and Florida State.
While playing Florida State seems like the choice of choices by most of the Notre Dame fanbase, there are two teams that Irish fans (via my unofficial count) don’t want anything to do with; Houston and Ohio State.
With Houston, it’s a no win situation. If you win, it’s just another win over a AAC team. One that was better than Navy and Temple. There is no real reverence moving forward. If you lose to Houston, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE A NATIONAL TITLE CONTENDER in 2016?
The other team, Ohio State, gets the opposite treatment. Irish fans are afraid of losing and nightmarishly, losing badly. It would be a body blow to a season that as of right now can honestly be considered a really good season. A loss would nullify all of that.
Oct 18, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver William Fuller (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter agains the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
However. However… A win against a team like Ohio State and a coach like Urban Meyer, puts the program in that “elite” territory moving forward, and puts serious juice in a possible playoff run in 2016.
OH THE CHOICES WE WILL CHOICE!
All of this is probably a moot point. Ohio State will likely end up in the Rose Bowl, and Notre Dame will likely face FSU in the Peach (although I wouldn’t bet much on it). And all of that is fine- it’s absolutely fine. I’m just here to remind some of you to suck it up and at least act like this team was 2 plays away from being the #1 team in the country. We shouldn’t be afraid of anyone. Brian Kelly isn’t, and neither is this team.
Rethink what you want Irish fans, because the days of the past are the days of the past. Reach for something better, and you might be surprised when you actually get it- and it is even better. The Irish are 10-2 and looking to be 11-2 with a major bowl win over a major opponent. I’d like that opponent to be the best available. The best available is Ohio State. Don’t you want that? Doesn’t that make the 2015 season a success on most levels? I think so- and so should you.