With the initial BCS rankings having been released on Sunday night, the bowl scenario for Notre Dame gained a bit of clarity.
At 4-2, an invitation to a BCS bowl game is still a possibility, but the Irish would have to win out in order to make that a reality.
A 10-2 Notre Dame squad would certainly be playing in a BCS game, as the BCS executives won't turn down the potential revenue earnings that the Irish would help produce.
However, if the Irish fail to win out, there are a number of different bowl games in which Notre Dame could potentially participate.
Follow along for a few different bowl scenarios forBrian Kellyand Co.
The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is the absolute worst-case scenario for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame would find itself in New York City for this game if it loses three or more of its final six games.
That's a highly unlikely scenario, but it must be taken into consideration.
No offense to the Pinstripe Bowl, but an invitation from its executives would be somewhat of a letdown for Notre Dame.
The game typically pits the fourth place team from the Big East against the seventh place team from the Big 12.
Because Notre Dame would be filling the Big East slot, the Irish would be likely to face Texas Tech, Missouri or Texas in this bowl game.
The most likely destination for the Fighting Irish, the Champs Sports Bowl has an automatic tie-in with Notre Dame.
The game takes place at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando during the last week of December.
A 9-3 Notre Dame squad is likely to find itself spending Christmas in the Sunshine State, somewhat of a consolation for failing to qualify for a BCS game.
The Irish would likely face one of the better teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, such as Georgia Tech or Florida State.
Notre Dame must win every game remaining on its schedule to receive an invitation from Fiesta Bowl executives.
If the Irish do receive that invitation, it would be the third time the team has played in the Fiesta Bowl since the inception of the BCS in 1998.
Bob Davie's 2001 squad was humiliated by Oregon State by a score of 41-9 at Sun Devil Stadium in the program's first ever BCS game.
Then, in the 2006 edition of the game, the Irish lost to Troy Smith and Ohio State inCharlie Weis' first season as head coach.
It's likely that Notre Dame would face the likes of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State or Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, all of which would likely have their way with the Irish.
The last time Notre Dame played in the Sugar Bowl it got hammered by JaMarcus Russell and LSU by a score of 41-14.
While another invitation to the Sugar Bowl would be nice, it would likely be a replay of the 2007 game.
Notre Dame would likely face the loser of the LSU-Alabama game, which takes place in three weeks.
At this point, it's fair to say that each of those teams would embarrass the Irish.
It's going to be a few years until Notre Dame will be able to compete with the elite teams from the Southeastern Conference.
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