Irish Get the Gator Bowl Bid

Notre Dame got the date it wanted when the Irish (9-2) accepted a bid Monday to play Georgia Tech (9-2) in the Gator Bowl Jan. 1.

But they didn’t get the bowl championship series appearance--and the corresponding $11-million to $13-million payoff--they were hoping for. Instead, the No. 16 Irish will settle for the No. 12 Yellow Jackets and $1.4 million from the Gator Bowl after BCS officials told Athletic Director Mike Wadsworth that the Irish had been eliminated from the pool of eight teams after Saturday’s loss to USC.

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West Virginia (8-3) accepted an at-large bid to the Insight.com Bowl Dec. 26 in Tucson.

Bowl officials said West Virginia will play a team from the Big 12 Conference, either Missouri, Nebraska, Texas Tech or Colorado.

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Virginia Tech (8-3) accepted an invitation to play a Southeastern Conference team in the inaugural Music City Bowl Dec. 29 in Nashville. The opponent will most likely be Alabama, Kentucky or Georgia.

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North Carolina (6-5), after an 0-3 start, secured its school-record seventh consecutive bowl berth by accepting a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 19 against San Diego State (7-4).

* Bowl Schedule: Page 9