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Georgia 2017 as well? by tf86

I thought they were Top 10 at the time, although I could be mistaken.

Edit to add: After researching, Georgia was not a Top 10 team at the time they played ND in 2017. Obviously they were underrated early in the season.

With that said, however, I do note a few points of disagreement with your post after rereading. Primarily, your comment that ND was "unqualified" for a bowl game in the last six seasons. First, we did win some bowl games in that time (2017 Citrus Bowl vs. LSU, 2019 Camping World Bowl vs. Iowa State, albeit against an unranked opponent in the latter game). Second, bowl games have proliferated to the point where there are now 70+ football teams selected for bowl games. Within that context, it is patently untrue to say that ND was "unqualified" for a bowl game in five of the last six seasons (the lone exception being 2016, when ND didn't go to a bowl game.)

Now, if you want to argue that ND is getting better bowl bids than their resume warrants, that's a different (and much sounder) argument. But it's important to note that in the era of the NY6, small changes in rankings can lead to seismic differences in bowl matchups. For example, this season if ND and Texas A&M had swapped positions in the rankings, ND would have played Florida in the Orange Bowl instead of playing Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Take it one step further, and assume that COVID-19 had not been in play this season, and ND had remained independent this year, ND would have played North Carolina in the Orange Bowl. A rather significant difference, no?

Second, as to playing top ten teams, there are only a handful of opponents that give you a good shot at that:

Guarantees (or pretty darn close):

Clemson (although I'm less than 100% certain the ACC would allow ND an annual series vs. Clemson)
Alabama
Ohio State

Likely, but not guaranteed, to be Top 10:

Florida (could change if Mullen goes completely off the rails and gets fired/resigns)
Georgia
Oklahoma

Beyond that, scheduling Top 10 opponents is pretty much a crapshoot.