Notre Dame extends unwanted bowl record with latest loss

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish suffered an incredible second half collapse in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl to extend an incredible and unwanted school record.

The Fighting Irish jumped out to a 28-7 lead late in the first half before allowing 30 unanswered points to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. A late score of their own was not enough for Notre Dame, and they ultimately lost 37-35.

The defeat extended Notre Dame’s incredible run of futility in major bowl games. The Irish have lost eight consecutive New Year’s Six and BCS games.

Notre Dame is 0-8 in NY6/BCS Bowl Games 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lBlwXCqmq0

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) January 1, 2022

The losing streak goes back even further than that. Notre Dame has lost ten straight dating back to the Bowl Coalition era. They haven’t won an equivalent bowl game since Jan. 1, 1994, when the Irish beat Texas A&M under then-coach Lou Holtz.

Notre Dame was rolling in the first half to the point that some were questioning whether the team was better off without Brian Kelly. The second half silenced a lot of that talk, and furthered the narrative that Notre Dame simply struggles too much in big games.

Photo: Oct 2, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman enters Notre Dame Stadium before the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports