Notre Dame Fighting Irish Bowl Projections: Are they eligible for 2023 Bowl season?
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have not failed to qualify for a bowl game since their 4-8 season in 2016, having earned bowl game eligibility in each of the past six seasons. The Fighting Irish have compiled a 63-14 record over that span. Notre Dame is currently 7-3 in the second year of Marcus Freeman's tenure after finishing last season with a 9-4 record.
While the Fighting Irish were the No. 20 ranked team in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, they will not be among the four teams to reach the postseason. Since the inception of the current format in 2014, there has never been a team with two losses to qualify for the postseason. Notre Dame currently has three losses with two very winnable games remaining on their schedule.
Despite this, the Fighting Irish have already reached the six-win threshold to qualify for a bowl game. Their three losses, however, will likely prevent them from receiving a New Year's Six bowl berth.
The latest projections have Notre Dame slotted for the ReliaQuest Bowl or the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Furthermore, both projections predict the LSU Tigers as their opponent, which would likely create one of the most intriguing matchups of bowl season.
In addition to both being big-time programs, Tigers coach Brian Kelly spent 12 years leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before leaving to take the same position at LSU. Furthermore, he hired Notre Dame's current coach Marcus Freeman to be his defensive coordinator the year before his departure.
What went wrong for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this season?
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been among the best teams on both sides of the football this season. They have averaged 36.8 points per game while allowing just 16.9 points per game, both of which rank No. 15 out of 133 teams this season. Despite being elite on both sides of the ball, Notre Dame is just 7-3 with two games remaining on their regular season schedule.
Their inability to win close games has really hurt them throughout the year. The Fighting Irish have won six of their seven games by at least 21 points. Furthermore, they are just 1-3 in games decided by two touchdowns or less.
While the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have talent on both sides of the ball, they will need to improve in tight games next season. If they are able to do so they could reach the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020 as the bracket expands to 12 teams next year.