Should a potential 6-6 Notre Dame team accept a bowl bid?
Notre Dame sits at 4-3 on the year with five games left to go as they continue to prepare for Syracuse this weekend. Notre Dame will be a slight underdog against the Orange, who were handed their first loss of the year last Saturday after giving up 17 fourth-quarter points at Clemson.
If things play out according to what the oddsmakers say, would Notre Dame accept a bowl invitation?
That would mean Notre Dame falls at Syracuse, at home to Clemson, and at USC while beating Navy (Baltimore) and Boston College.
The last time Notre Dame finished 6-6 they declined a bowl invitation. It should be noted that came at the end of the 2009 season right after Charlie Weis had been fired.
2008 also saw Notre Dame go 6-6 in the regular season as the Irish accepted an invitation to the Hawai’i Bowl where they routed the University of Hawai’i and also took advantage of their proximity to prized recruit [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag].
Part of me gets that with accepting a bowl bid that is more important than the destination or opponent comes extra practices ahead of the off-season. With that said, I’m not against Notre Dame saying something like “we don’t reward 6-6 with a bowl appearance because our standards are higher than that” type of thing.
At the end of the day, however, I think the value of those practices outweighs the sting of potentially going to a postseason game with just a 6-6 record. Here is what the national experts project for Notre Dame’s postseason this week:
The Holiday Bowl is canceled due to COVID-19 issues with UCLA
Close but no Holiday Bowl for UCLA and North Carolina State.
Four hours before kickoff on Tuesday, the Bruins announced they have bowed out of the bowl game in San Diego due to COVID-19 issues.
“We are extremely grateful to the Holiday Bowl, students, fans, sponsors, and the people of San Diego for their support this week,” UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jarmond said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed for our young men in the football program that worked extremely hard for this opportunity. My heart goes out to them. The health and safety of our students will always be our North Star.”
North Carolina State was unhappy to have its bowl game squashed.
Heartbroken to not be able to compete one more time this season. We were informed a short time ago that our opponent would be unable to play this evening.
UCLA vs NC State: San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl prediction, game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might or might not win.
UCLA vs NC State: San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl prediction, game preview, how to watch
UCLA vs NC State: San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl How To Watch
Date: Tuesday, December 28
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Records: NC State (9-3), UCLA (8-4) CFN Predictions | Bowl Schedule
UCLA vs NC State San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl Preview
– UCLA is back in a bowl game. By now, the Chip Kelly era was supposed to be rocking and rolling. Even though this wasn’t a Pac-12 Championship season, it was a great step forward after a few seasons of struggling.
– Now the Bruins are bowling for the first time since 2017 – they haven’t won a bowl since 2013 – and this one game can set the tone for the offseason and going into 2022.
– Yeah, UCLA closed with three straight wins, and yeah, it beat USC in a blowout. But the Trojans upped the game with the hiring of Lincoln Riley. Anything less than a bowl win will make the fan base nervous.
– The Bruins are tough, the downfield passing game was the best in the Pac-12, and the run defense held up well. Now it all has to work against a rock-solid NC State team that lost just two ACC games by a total of four points.
– The Wolfpack have a terrific passing attack, the defense was third in the ACC overall and second in points allowed – giving up fewer than 20 per game – and they have a style that should be able to control the tempo throughout.
Here is the final score of every bowl game played by Penn State in program history.
After opting to stay home from the college football bowl season in an odd 2020 season, Penn State is heading back to a bowl game to wrap up the 2021 season. The Nittany Lions will play in the Outback Bowl, where they will face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first meeting between the two schools on January 1, 2022. Penn State will also be looking to win their second consecutive bowl game and snap a three-game losing streak in bowl games to SEC teams.
The 2022 Outback Bowl will be the 51st bowl game in Penn State program history, and it will be the fifth time the Nittany Lions have appeared in the Outback Bowl. Penn State is 3-1 all-time in the Outback Bowl and is 30-18-2 all-time in postseason bowl games. The highlights of those bowl victories are two national championship victories in the 1983 Sugar Bowl against Georgia and the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against heavily-favored Miami.
Here is a complete list of every Penn State bowl game in program history including the 2022 Outback Bowl against Arkansas.
January 1, 1948, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 13, SMU 13
December 19, 1959, Liberty Bowl: Penn State 7, Alabama 0
December 17, 1960, Liberty Bowl: Penn State 41, Oregon 12
December 30, 1961, Gator Bowl: Penn State 30, Georgia Tech 15
December 29, 1962, Gator Bowl: Florida 17, Penn State 7
December 30, 1967, Gator Bowl: Penn State 17, Florida State 17
January 1, 1969, Orange Bowl: Penn State 15, Kansas 14
January 1, 1970, Orange Bowl: Penn State 10, Missouri 3
January 1, 1972, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 30, Texas 6
December 31, 1972, Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma 14, Penn State 0
January 1, 1974, Orange Bowl: Penn State 16, LSU 0
January 1, 1975, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 41, Baylor 20
December 31, 1975, Sugar Bowl: Alabama 13, Penn State 6
December 27, 1976, Gator Bowl: Notre Dame 20, Penn State 9
December 25, 1977, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 42, Arizona State 30
January 1, 1979, Sugar Bowl: Alabama 14, Penn State 7
December 22, 1979, Liberty Bowl: Penn State 9, Tulane 6
December 26, 1980, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 31, Ohio State 19
January 1, 1982, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 26, USC 10
Jan 1, 1983, New Orleans, LA, USA; FILE PHOTO; The video board at the Superdome after the 1983 Sugar Bowl where the Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Georgia Bulldogs. Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 1983, Sugar Bowl: Penn State 27, Georgia 23
December 26, 1983, Aloha Bowl: Penn State 13, Washignton 10
January 1, 1986, Orange Bowl: Oklahoma 25, Penn State 10
Jan 2, 1987; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback John Shaffer (14) hands the ball off to running back D.J. Dozier (42) during the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes. Photo: USA TODAY Sports
January 2, 1987, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 14, Miami 10
January 1, 1988, Citrus Bowl: Clemson 35, Penn State 10
December 29, 1989, Holiday Bowl: Penn State 50, BYU 39
December 28, 1990, Blockbuster Bowl: Florida State 24, Penn State 17
January 1, 1992, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 42, Tennessee 17
January 1, 1993, Blockbuster Bowl: Stanford 24, Penn State 3
January 1, 1994, Citrus Bowl: Penn State 31, Tennessee 13
Penn State’s Ki-Jana Carter (32) is chased by Oregon’s Alex Molden (1) as he heads for the end zone on the Nittany Lions’ first possession of the 81st Rose Bowl against Oregon. AP Photo/Reed Saxon
January 2, 1995, Rose Bowl: Penn State 38, Oregon 20
January 1, 1996, Outback Bowl: Penn State 43, Auburn 14
January 1, 1997, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 38, Texas 15
January 1, 1998, Citrus Bowl: Florida 21, Penn State 6
January 1, 1999, Outback Bowl: Penn State 26, Kentucky 14
December 28, 1999, Alamo Bowl: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 0
January 1, 2003, Capital One Bowl: Auburn 13, Penn State 9
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – JANUARY 3: Quarterback Michael Robinson #12 hands off the ball to Austin Scott #33 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the FedEx Orange Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles at Dolphins Stadium on January 3, 2005 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images.
January 3, 2006, Orange Bowl: Penn State 26, Florida State 23
January 1, 2007, Outback Bowl: Penn State 20, Tennessee 10
December 29, 2007, Alamo Bowl: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 17
January 1, 2009, Rose Bowl: USC 38, Penn State 24
January 1, 2010, Capital One Bowl: Penn State 19, LSU 17
January 1, 2011, Outback Bowl: Florida 37, Penn State 24
January 2, 2012, Ticket City Bowl: Houston 30, Penn State 14
Dec 27, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (5) makes a catch in front of Boston College Eagles defensive back Ty-Meer Brown (5) for a touchdown during the fourth quarter in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
December 27, 2014, Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 31, Boston College 30
January 2, 2016, TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia 24, Penn State 17
January 2, 2017, Rose Bowl: USC 52, Penn State 49
December 30, 2017, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 35, Washington 28
January 1, 2019, Citrus Bowl: Kentucky 27, Penn State 24
December 28, 2019, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 53, Memphis 39
Dec 28, 2019; Arlington, Texas, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Journey Brown (4) celebrates scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Memphis Tigers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 2022, Outback Bowl: Penn State vs. Arkansas
Over the last week, we’ve seen a couple of bowl games make the announcements that their annual contests won’t be played at the conclusion of the 2020 college football season. The Pinstripe Bowl made their cancelation known over the weekend while the …
Over the last week, we’ve seen a couple of bowl games make the announcements that their annual contests won’t be played at the conclusion of the 2020 college football season.
The Pinstripe Bowl made their cancelation known over the weekend while the Sun Bowl followed suit a few days later. Now we get word that an annual game out west won’t be played this season as the Las Vegas Bowl has been cancelled for 2020.
The Las Vegas Bowl was set to be played between a Pac-12 team and SEC team this season and was to be played this December. The SEC and Big Ten are set to alternate a tie-in to the game starting in 2020 and going through 2025.
The Las Vegas Bowl becomes the ninth bowl game to be canceled this post-season, joining the: Bahamas Bowl, Fenway Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Motor City Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Red Box Bowl and Sun Bowl.
As of now the plan is for the Las Vegas Bowl to resume in 2021 and be played for the first time in the new Allegiant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch had fun with the media in San Diego at an event for the Holiday Bowl, which he played in back in 2006.
It’s always a story when former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is behind a microphone.
Speaking to the press in San Diego at a Holiday Bowl event, Lynch joked with reporters, including NBC San Diego sports anchor Darnay Tripp, about his “chicken” – a slang term for money that Lynch made famous after Seattle’s loss to the Packers in the NFC divisional round.
Lynch showed reporters his “chicken” all while rocking a “take care of yo chicken” shirt from his clothing line, Beast Mode Apparel.
Lynch trademarked the iconic phrase just after uttering it as a message to young NFL players, urging them to save money so they can enjoy retirement.
Lynch starred in the Holiday Bowl back in 2006, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns in Cal’s dominant 45-10 win over Texas A&M.
He was asked to recall his favorite memory from the contest, and in a rare moment of candidness with the media, Lynch shared how important it was for him to let his backup, former Seahawks running back Justin Forsett, come in and share in the glory alongside him.
The hijinks aside – this was really cool.
Marshawn said his best memory from the Holiday Bowl was giving @JForsett a chance to get on the field and do his thing.
"Being able to allow somebody else to go ahead and be able to enjoy the success along with me." pic.twitter.com/Pv7oKN1YvE
Forsett rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown in the contest.
Lynch played in three games for the Seahawks in 2019, returning around Christmas-time and rushing for four touchdowns, including three in the playoffs.
We look back on the Pinstripe Bowl between Iowa and USC and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
With the 2019 college footballs season complete, we look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.
As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:
1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.
Now that we’ve gone through allfourBig Tenlosses (not including the CFP), let’s move on to the wins.
2019 Holiday Bowl: Iowa vs USC
The matchup
No one quite knew what to expect from this matchup, because no on quite knew what to expect from USC at all this year. Kedon Slovis was a revelation in Pac 12 play, looking like the next in a long line of great USC quarterbacks. USC had a middling season (relatively), but there’s clearly massive potential.
Iowa, meanwhile, can’t ever shake its Ferentz-ball stereotype. The Hawkeyes are viewed as a slow, run-first team that relies on huge linemen to cover for a lack of speed at skill positions. Sure, players like Josey Jewell or or Kevin King come through, but they’re seen as individual anomalies, not fundamental parts of the program. It also doesn’t help that in Iowa’s last real high-profile bowl game, the Hawkeyes were embarrassed by Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The fact that that bowl loss was sandwiched between two other embarrassing bowl losses to SEC schools just exacerbated the issue.
What went right
Well, Iowa shed just about every Iowa stereotype in this game. Not only did the Hawkeyes not get blown out against a fast and athletic team, but they dominated the game entirely. The Iowa offense was unstoppable in the first half, scoring touchdowns on all four drives. The defense was stout, and there’s no shame in giving up some good plays and drives to an offense as talented as USC’s. It’s almost impossible to guard Amon-Ra St. Brown, but Iowa did a pretty solid job of completely shutting down the USC run game. With the Trojan offense entirely one-dimensional, Iowa got plenty of stops–even if the Slovis to St. Brown connection was there all game.
What went wrong
The Hawkeyes did go three-and-out three times in the second half, but they were clearly controlling the game by then. The worst thing that Iowa did–and this is a huge sin for a Ferentz-coached team–was that the Hawkeyes weren’t prepared for a USC onside kick early in the game. You have to be ready for those, though it didn’t hurt much in this one.
For those keeping score, Fighting Irish foes from this season went 3-5 in their respective bowl games.
The 2019 bowl season has come and gone (for the most part, two games actually still remain) and all of Notre Dame’s opponents from the season that just wrapped up have finished their seasons.
How did all do in the post-season?
Let’s take a look:
Louisville Cardinals:
38-28 win over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl to finish 8-5
Georgia Bulldogs:
26-14 win over Baylor in the Sugar Bowl to wrap-up 12-2
Virginia Cavaliers:
36-28 loss to Florida in the Orange Bowl to finish 9-5
USC Trojans:
49-24 loss to Iowa in the Holiday Bowl to finish 8-5
Michigan Wolverines:
35-16 loss to Alabama in the Citrus Bowl to finish 9-4
Virginia Tech Hokies:
37-30 loss to Kentucky in the Belk Bowl to finish 8-5
Navy Midshipmen:
20-17 win over Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl to finish 11-2
Boston College Eagles:
Blown out 38-6 by Cincinnati in the Birmingham Bowl to finish 6-7
For those keeping score, Fighting Irish foes from this season went 3-5 in their respective bowl games. New Mexico, Bowling Green, Duke and Stanford all failed to qualify for a bowl game.
The part I think is as noteworthy as anything is that over the last two years where USC has especially hit the skids, their conference has for the most part been trash.
You hate to see it and I hate to say I told you so.
Actually, neither of those statements are true.
Watching USC lose in grand fashion on national television will never get old and I’ll never get tired of being right about things, the rare times I actually am.
Earlier this month I told all Notre Dame fans to get excited because Christmas came three weeks early in the form of USC retaining Clay Helton as their head football coach.
Since then they’ve recruited the 83rd ranked 2020 class per Rivals that consists of just one four or five-star player and now you can add getting sent to the moon by Iowa in the Holiday Bowl to that list.
Iowa dashed to a 28-17 halftime lead before the Trojans cut it to just a four point game early in the second half, but then the flood gates opened and Troy was swarmed by Hawkeyes instead of a wooden horse.
Iowa would score the final 21 points of the night, ending with a 49-24 victory over USC as the Trojans wrap up the season 8-5 and Iowa reaches the 10-win mark for the first time in four seasons.
USC will return a bunch of talent next year and because they’re USC, they’ll be in consideration for a top-20 spot in the pre-season rankings in all likelihood but here are some fast stats that should keep you from buying into this USC thing:
Previewing Friday’s Holiday Bowl betting odds between the USC Trojans and the Iowa Hawkeyes, with betting picks, tips and bets.
The USC Trojans (8-4) will battle the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-3) Friday at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego at 8 p.m. (on FS1). We analyze the USC-Iowa odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
USC vs. Iowa: Three things you need to know
1. USC finished the regular season fifth in the nation in passing yards at 335 yards per game.
2. USC has failed to cover in seven straight games against a Big Ten opponent.
3. The point total has gone UNDER in six of the last eight non-home games for USC.
Iowa (-134) is a small moneyline favorite over USC (+110). But considering how low the spread is here, you are better off taking the Hawkeyes at -2.5 while getting better odds. With this in mind, AVOID a moneyline wager.
IOWA (-2.5, -110) is the play, being less than a field-goal favorite. While USC does have one of the better passing attacks in all of college football, Iowa’s veteran defense should have no problem slowing the Trojans down. The Hawkeyes have allowed the fifth-fewest points in the country and excel stopping the pass. Iowa is just a bad matchup for USC.
The O/U is 51.5 (Over -115, Under -106) in part due to Iowa’s outstanding defense. However, that total seems slightly low despite the Under hitting in six of the last eight games involving the Hawkeyes. Look for this to be a fairly low-scoring game, but for the OVER 51.5 (-115) to hit late in the fourth quarter.
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