Notre Dame is most likely going to a bowl game.
At 6-5, the Irish are bowl eligible and an attractive choice for numerous bowls that will be looking to fill open slots.
A win over USC (7-4) on Saturday would likely land Notre Dame in the Champ Sports Bowl on Dec. 28 in Orlando because a seven-win Irish team can take the Big East's slot in that bowl.
At six wins, things get muddled. (See today's story in The Journal Gazette.)
What isn't muddled is the importance of getting invited to a bowl that will allow coach Brian Kelly to hold as many as 15 more practices.
The preparation for a bowl important will be a mix of getting ready for a game and the future, Kelly said.
“Generally they're not all 15 for the opponent,” Kelly said. “I don't like to put our seniors through 15 more practices. They want to play in the Bowl game. Generally what I'll do is have the younger guys practice, say, for a week and really work on player development, those young guys getting a chance to be the starters, if you will, on our offense and defense. And then we will integrate our seniors into our practice as we get into specific Bowl preparation.”
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