Bowl Prospects

Army isn't the only team clamoring for the EagleBank Bowl. Marshall hopes to have their dreams realized by winning out and earning a bid.

Everything I've seen has the C-USA as a lock for one Eaglebank Bowl bid.
Whoever this guy is, calls Notre Dame a possibility for the bowl, but I don't know anything about that since he also thinks that Notre Dame is still eligible for Big East bowls and hilariously thinks ND might turn down a lesser bowl.

-- Notre Dame can take a Big East Bowl spot with just six wins thanks to a provisional agreement it has with the conference. However, I would be surprised if the Irish accept a postseason invitation. Notre Dame has a long history of turning down what it perceives to be lesser bowl bids. For example, during Lou Holtz’s tenure the Irish turned down a Sun Bowl bid. If Notre Dame beats Stanford (unlikely), the Irish may accept a bid. I think the lowest Notre Dame would be willing to go would be the Gator Bowl. Right now the Gator Bowl seems unlikely, so I think the program will decline a bowl invitation that would irritate its fan base and focus on hiring a new coach. This means it's unlikely Notre Dame will end up in the EagleBank Bowl or make a seven-win Big East team available for an at-large invitation to the EagleBank Bowl.

(emphasis added)


So?.. Notre Dame used to refuse bowl bids... this is 2009. For as many stories that there have been about college football being "all about the money", this guy somehow thinks a team's traditions and tendencies will override the dollar factor? No Chance. That is without even mentioning that the golden domers went to the Hawaii bowl last year. Hawaii is a great postseason venue but it has below average prestige compared to the bowls that Notre Dame is accustomed to. Wherever they are invited, Notre Dame will pocket the money, they will take the extra practice and they'll probably try to work in a new coach. I'm not saying Notre Dame will fall behind if they miss out on just one bowl game, but those days of spurning bowl bids have passed.

Going into the final game and bound for the Texas Bowl, Navy has an eye on their Bowl matchup. First thing's first for the seamen though as they face their own trip to Hawaii.

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, a native of Laie', Hawaii and a graduate from UH in 1989, was a player for the Warriors for a number of years so he is more than familiar with what to expect when he brings his Midshipmen to the shore.

Navy's in the Texas, Notre Dame will be invited somewhere to be determined and Army's deal is simple: win and you're in.

Three weeks' prep for Navy and all the motivation a team will ever need to pull together...it goes without saying- we want this one.