(05-02-2013 01:50 PM)TerryD Wrote: (05-02-2013 01:25 PM)stever20 Wrote: how much access Notre Dame got for the Orange Bowl is totally up for debate. I mean, only 2x in 8 years, and they have to finish ahead of SEC and Big Ten to get that access. Last year, if they had lost 1 game, they aren't in the Orange Bowl. 2 games, and they aren't in the BCS period. Being realistic, they have less access now than they did before to the BCS- because the spots are going to be selected on merit rather than popularity. Really hurts the big name schools who finish 14th but get into the BCS on their name.
Don't sweat it, Steve-O. ND will be just fine. :)
You were all doom and gloom about ND's chances of making it past Oregon and Kansas State last November too.
Merit is the way it should be, for all schools.
Notre Dame, like every other school in the 10 FBS conferences, is on a merit basis regarding the playoffs. But, he has a point about playing in the BCS-Access bowls. My understanding is that if Notre Dame does not make the playoffs, it can only play in the Orange Bowl, and only once every four years. Notre Dame got a lousy deal on Access Bowl access.
Plus, by playing those 5 mostly-lousy ACC games, Notre Dame runs the risk that it will get passed over by the Orange Bowl because the ACC rep could be a team it played during the season. In such situations, the OB deal has a re-match clause that allows the OB to pass over ND in favor of an SEC or B1G team, even if ND is highest-ranked.
Imagine a 12-year stretch in which ND is consistently ranked between #5 and #10, but never in the top 4. Any other school in FBS with those same rankings,
including those from the "group of 5" minor conferences, would never make the playoffs but would surely play in a high-prestige Access Bowl at least 8-9 times during that stretch. In contrast, these highly-ranked Notre Dame teams would play in such games only twice. The other 10 years they would find itself in the Peach Bowl, the Belk Bowl, the Music City Bowl, or whatever other low-rent bowls the ACC finds for it.
Bad news .... Bottom line is that the Access Bowl situation is "merit" based, but only for Notre Dame. While Notre Dame must meet stringent merit requirements to get into the Orange Bowl, members of other P5 conferences, and even the outside Group of 5, can get into them with far less meritorious performance.