Notre Dame ended up in the Sun Bowl thanks to a random drawing
The Sun Bowl, Duke's Mayo Bowl and Pinstripe Bowl all wanted the Irish to play in their games
The science of the bowl selection process was on full display Sunday when it came to Notre Dame’s bowl destination.
By virtue of its affiliation with the ACC, the Irish are heading to the Sun Bowl to play Oregon State. But the Sun Bowl didn’t exactly get to choose Notre Dame. It won a random draw.
Let’s explain. The ACC’s bowl selections were thrown in flux early Sunday afternoon when 13-0 Florida State failed to make the College Football Playoff. The undefeated Seminoles became the first Power Five team to ever miss the playoff after going undefeated.
After FSU beat Louisville in the ACC title game on Saturday night, the likely scenario for the ACC was FSU in a playoff game and Louisville in the Orange Bowl as the conference’s representative. Instead, FSU ended up in the Orange Bowl since it didn’t make the playoff and that made Louisville available for the other bowl games.
The Gator Bowl, Holiday Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl have the first pick among the rest of the ACC’s bowl games but, according to a report from the Action Network, couldn’t select Notre Dame. That left Clemson to go to the Gator, Louisville to go to the Holiday and NC State to go to the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Notre Dame lost to both Clemson and Louisville and finished with the same record (9-3) as NC State.
With Notre Dame still on the board, the next three bowls in the ACC’s pecking order — the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the Pinstripe Bowl and the Sun Bowl — all wanted the Irish to play in their game. And according to Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas, the ACC has a provision in its bowl contract with Notre Dame for a random draw among bowls if Notre Dame falls to that tier.
“I don’t know how it happened, how they got to our pool, but yes, it was kind of a shocker when we finally got the call,” Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas told El Paso TV station KTSM. “We sat there waiting for almost two hours for the phone call. It was supposed to happen at 1:15 and it never happened and I just got a text saying, ‘We’re being delayed, we’re being delayed.’ So we just sat there and waited for almost two hours until [the ACC] finally said, ‘We’re ready.’
“And then when they said OK, so-and-so is gone, these are the teams available from your pool and when they said Notre Dame, I know I gasped, I think our football committee gasped and I’m sure the other two bowls gasped as well not knowing how they got into the pool. And then after a lot of discussion, not only about how we were going to select Notre Dame, but what’s going to happen if the [bowls] that did not get Notre Dame, how were they going to get their selection.
“And according to the contract, if Notre Dame is part of the pool and, only for them, there will be a draw. So after a lot of discussions, all three bowls wanted to have a shot at Notre Dame … and then like I said, there was a drawing, they put our names in a hat, and their attorney drew the Sun Bowl.”
This season’s game will be the second time Notre Dame has appeared in the Sun Bowl. The first came in 2010 when the school did not have its bowl agreement with the ACC. Notre Dame beat ACC member Miami 33-17 in that game. Over 54,000 people attended the game 13 years ago as it’s the most recent Sun Bowl to have an announced attendance of over 50,000.
