Notre Dame football: Bowl projections feature mega-desired matchup
We’re just over halfway through college football’s 2023 regular season and plenty remains to be seen in terms of the College Football Playoff race as well as the race for conference championships and plenty more.
That doesn’t stop many in the national media from putting together their bowl projections on a weekly basis, however. And if you’re a Notre Dame fan, a few of this week’s projections are especially interesting.
No Notre Dame fan will forget where they were when they heard the news that Brian Kelly was ditching South Bend for LSU. Could his replacement Marcus Freeman and the Irish be headed for a bowl game date with Kelly and the Tigers?
Here are a few projections following Week 8 of the college football season.
ESPN (Bonagura):
Notre Dame bowl projection: Gator Bowl vs. Florida
Notre Dame and Florida have met just one time, an Irish win in the Sugar Bowl to close the 1991 season.
ESPN (Schlabach):
Notre Dame bowl projection: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. LSU
The game that was formerly known as the Outback Bowl has now turned into the ReliaQuest Bowl and is played annually at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. It could be played in Billings, Montana on a -23 degree day and still have the interest of an entire nation if it were to feature this matchup.
The Sporting News:
Notre Dame bowl projection: Holiday Bowl vs. Utah
USC’s last two opponents, both of which beat the Trojans, are slated to meet in San Diego according to Bill Bender of The Sporting News. No truth to the rumor that the two would battle for the Andy Ludwig Trophy.
CBS:
Notre Dame bowl projection: Pop Tarts Bowl vs. Kansas
For years this game was known as the Champs Sports Bowl, then the Camping World Bowl, and most recently the Cheez-It Bowl. Now it’s the Pop-Tarts Bowl and as great as Pop-Tarts are, would feel lilke a bit of a disappointment compared to some of the other potential games mentioned this week.
Athlon Sports
Notre Dame bowl projection: Pop Tarts Bowl vs. Kansas State
Notre Dame has never played Kansas State in football so this game would be rather intriguing on that front. The Wildcats feel much like Utah of the Great Plains to me. They never get preseason love, have a coach that is always considered one of the better ones, and regularly hammer out 8 or 9 regular season wins.
College Football News:
Notre Dame bowl projection: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. LSU
Whether its the Reliaquest Bowl or Gator Bowl, I can’t imagine any bowl game’s excitment of potentially getting this matchup. It doesn’t matter which players wouldn’t dress because of the pending NFL draft, it’d be absolute must-watch theatre for even the most casual of college football fans.
