For the first time in history, Notre Dame is headed to the Sun Bowl. ND (7-5) meets Atlantic Coast Conference representative Miami (7-5) in the 77th annual Hyundai Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, 2010. The second bowl appearance for the Fighting Irish in the last three seasons (following their Sheraton Hawaii Bowl victory two years ago) and
their fifth in the last seven years.
The site of the game is 50,426-seat Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, on the UTEP campus.
By Paul M. Banks
The Irish and Hurricanes face off for the 24th time, meeting for the first time since 1990. Notre Dame holds a 15-7-1 series lead with the Irish winning two of the last three meetings (both at Notre Dame Stadium in 1988 and 1990) and the two teams splitting 13 contests (6-6-1) in Miami.
Notre Dame will be making its 30th bowl appearance overall its first in the Sun Bowl and its eighth in the state of Texas (seven previous Cotton Bowl appearances and a 5-2 mark in those Dallas contests). The Irish stand 14-15 in postseason play and had lost nine straight bowl games until defeating Hawaii in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl
in Honolulu.
This marks Notre Dame’s fifth bowl game against a current member of the ACC after a 19-18 win over Boston College in the 1983 Liberty Bowl, followed by losses to Florida State in the 1996 Orange Bowl (31-26) and losses to Georgia Tech (35-28) and North Carolina State (28-6) in the 1999 and 2003 Gator Bowls. Miami will be making its 34th postseason appearance (18-15 record) its third in the state of Texas after previously playing in the Bluebonnet Bowl
in Houston in 1967 (losing 31-21 to Colorado) and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas following the 1990 season (defeated Texas 46-3). Notre Dame will be the designated visiting team in the game.
Notre Dame in 2010 enjoyed one of its strongest regular-season finishes in years under first-year head coach Brian Kelly. The Irish were a perfect 3-0 in November (defeating an 8-1 and #15-ranked Utah team, a 6-4 Army squad and
a 7-4 USC team). That late-season success marks the first time the Irish have gone undefeated in November since a 4-0 mark in 2005.
Notre Dame in 2010 played more bowl-eligible football teams (.500 record or better) at 11 than anyone else in the country (only Purdue among the dozen Irish opponents finished below the .500 mark at 4-8). Notre Dame’s #1 ranking in the NCAA strength-of-schedule standings is its highest since a #1 ranking in 1995.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net , a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to the Tribune’s Chicago Now network, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
You can follow him on Twitter @thesportsbank
He also does a regular guest spot each week for Chicagoland Sports Radio.com