The 1991 team was 9-3 entering the Sugar Bowl

The 1991 team was 9-3 entering the Sugar Bowl
by ShermanOaksND (2019-12-03 22:44:13)
Edited on 2019-12-03 22:45:51

In reply to: Our last 10-2 '15 Fiesta before that '06 Sugar... posted by cj

The only 2-loss ND teams that got shut out of the top bowls were 1998 (9-2) and 2002 (10-2). Both lost in the Gator Bowl.

The 1971 team, which went 8-2, preemptively declined a Gator Bowl bid that was unofficially conveyed before the season-ending loss at LSU. Back then, the Gator was probably the 5th highest-rated bowl, but still not enticing enough for ND, which had only accepted bowl bids for the previous 2 years (both Cotton). There was no mutual interest for a 3rd straight Cotton match vs. Texas (which was also 8-2 in 1971, down markedly from the #1 teams of 1969 and 1970), and the Orange and Sugar were flush with then-undefeated teams from the Big 8 and SEC (the Orange got #1 Nebraska vs. #2 Alabama, while the Sugar had rivalry-game losers Oklahoma and Auburn). So the 1971 situation was not nearly as sorry as 1998, 2002, or 2019.

Replies:

I was a freshman in 1971 and my vague (and uninformed) - Rosecrea 2019-12-04 13:11:38
- It was a team vote, as my post stated - ShermanOaksND 2019-12-04 13:40:32
There were also only four “major” bowls back then... - revressbo 2019-12-03 23:33:48
- Also the big bowls fought over independents back then - TWO 2019-12-04 10:08:12
- Yep, the Fiesta and Peach were new bowls - ShermanOaksND 2019-12-03 23:59:58
  - If you play in a muddy, chilly Fulton County Stadium - domer4 2019-12-04 10:21:41
Thanks for the heads up and other info. - cj 2019-12-03 22:58:26