Irish-Buckeye Fiesta?

Ohio State and Notre Dame both had good seasons this year, and both ended with 9-2 records. Both are BCS eligible, and could end up facing each other in a bowl game this year -- the Fiesta Bowl. That would be quite the matchup for an "Irish Buckeye."

Should OSU and ND duke it out in the Fiesta Bowl, my loyalties would be divided between my alma mater (OSU) and my current school (ND). I didn't expect such a situation to arise, since the two schools weren't scheduled to play each other (during the regular season, which schools have some control over) for any of the three years I'm here in South Bend. But the general rule is that your alma mater trumps all. [Of course, I feel that there should be some exceptions to this; if OSU and ND were scheduled to play during the regular season, and ND was on a possible national championship run whereas OSU wasn't, I think I'd have to root for ND.] So if Ohio State and Notre Dame are selected to play in the Fiesta Bowl, I'll be sporting scarlet and gray. Although I may wear some Notre Dame apparel as well. Fortunately for my ND friends, I'll be at home during the Fiesta Bowl and not around to harrass them when OSU wins. :) Although I'll have to make a note to avoid wearing my OSU shirts and sweatshirts for a while at the beginning of next semester if the two teams do play over break.

Despite the divided loyalties thing, I'd actually look forward to such a pairing. It's sure to be an interesting and exciting game between two very good teams with different playing styles. But perhaps the biggest benefit of an OSU-ND matchup is not having to switch channels during the game to check up on both teams.

For those interested in sports stat stuff: The Fiesta Bowl has been kind to OSU in recent years; they've been to Tempe twice in the past five years (2003, vs. Miami; 2004, vs. Kansas St.), winning both times. One of those wins was for the 2002 National Championship, where the Buckeyes bested Miami in double overtime. Notre Dame's last two trips to the Fiesta Bowl (1995, vs. Colorado; 2001, vs. Oregon St.) were considerably less successful: both were losses for the Irish.