Sugar Bowl Surprises

South Carolina v. Notre Dame.

Jan 2, 2001. The Sugar Bowl.

Go ahead and laugh. Act shocked and tell the dyslexic fool that he's reversed the win and loss columns again. Tell him he's a sentimental romantic. It may be true. Just don't act

shocked when you hear those teams announced in December.

A Bowl Championship Series (BCS) showdown between Lou Holtz's new team and his old team is not as impossible as it may have once seemed.

But what do you say? Didn't South Carolina enter the season with a 21-game losing streak?

Didn't the Fighting Irish have the toughest September schedule in college football? Wasn't Bob Davie supposed to be out on his ear after the polls predicted an 0-4 start to the Irish season?

Yeah, you've got your facts right.

Congratulations. Maybe they'd higher you in Vegas. Just take a seat right next to the people who picked Alabama, Michigan, and Wisconsin as number three, four, and five in the preseason

polls.

The lesson is simple.

Start expecting the unexpected.

But wait a second. Shouldn't you be used to that already? Haven't you had your televisions fixed on baseball for the past month?

Let's be honest. Aside from New Yorkers, the chances of a Subway Series a month ago seemed as probable as a BART series. The Yanks had lost eight straight and entered the Division Series with the worst record of any playoff team. The Mets weren't in much better shape as the fourth seed in the NL.

But it happened.

And if you want to keep believing after the No. 7 train leaves the station, college football is where dreams will be made and broken for the next two months.

Holtz's legend for turning losing programs into Bowl teams is safe in South Carolina.

He has taken over losing programs at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and now at South Carolina and turned them into Bowl teams by the end of his second season every time.

No one believed he could do it again after leading the Gamecocks to a 0-11 record in his first season as coach. But he did the impossible.

No. 18 South Carolina (7-1, 5-1 SEC) ended the dreaded "chicken curse" with a 31-0 opening day romp, and upset both No. 13 Georgia, then ranked ninth, and No. 21 Mississippi State on its way to a 4-0 start to the season.

It doesn't get any easier for Holtz and co. down the home stretch, however, because South Carolina has the toughest remaining schedule next to Florida and Nebraska.

The Gamecocks play Tennessee, No. 7 Florida, and No. 4 Clemson before a potential rematch with Mississippi State in the SEC Championship game.

It sounds like a hard gauntlet to run, but the good news is South Carolina doesn't have to go 4-0 to earn a spot in the Sugar Bowl. A 2-2 might be good enough as long as the Gamecocks pick and choose which games to win and lose.

Are you confused yet?

You should be by now.

All the Gamecocks must do to figure in the BCS rankings and reach the Sugar Bowl is win the SEC Championship game, but first they have to get there, which is easier than it may sound.

Winning at Florida is a must, but that's the biggest hurdle. Clemson is a non-conference game that won't figure in the standings and a loss this week at Tennessee won't matter too much as long as Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) loses to either Florida or Auburn and that's a pretty safe bet.

A 2-2 record and a win at Florida and the Gamecocks should be Sugar Bowl bound.

Despite a 2-2 start this season, the Fighting Irish is better than even money to be there as well.

No. 19 Notre Dame (5-2) doesn't even appear among the top-15 in the BCS rankings, but as surprising as it may sound, the Fighting Irish have a better shot than any other team of heading to a BCS Bowl game as it stands now.

The road to the BCS is simple for Notre Dame. Win your remaining games, finish the season 9-2, and you're in. Sound like a challenge? It isn't.

Notre Dame plays Air Force, Boston College, Rutgers, and USC to end the season. The toughest team left on their schedule is USC (3-4, 0-4 Pac-10) and the Trojans are currently on a four game slide. It's hard to get easier than that.

Still can't fathom a South Carolina-Notre Dame Sugar Bowl? Maybe you're right and maybe I'm wrong. After all, what are the odds of South Carolina winning in The Swamp in Florida?

It's a bit of an upset, but it's only one game. And a Gamecock win against Gators wouldn't even be the most surprising thing Holtz has done this year. Miracles are expected in Gamecock country these days.

If South Carolina loses at Florida, maybe I'm a hopeless romantic. If Notre Dame loses at USC, then maybe I'm an idiot. So while I'm making a fool of myself, let me go out on a limb and make my BCS predictions.

Miami v. Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in a matchup of once defeated teams. And yes, Oklahoma loses to Nebraska but still goes on to the National Championship game.

Purdue v. Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Sorry Washington and Purdue.

Nebraska v. Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Cornhuskers are good, but to honest, who's the best team they've beaten so far? Notre Dame. And remember, it took them overtime to do it. So why are they number one again? Default.

South Carolina v. Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Oh yeah, I think we've been over that. The safe bet's on Florida to win the SEC, but I think some of that Mets' fan optimism has infected me, too.

And while I await to be proven wrong, just remember this. I come from a country where you only get three downs to move the chains, the endzone's twenty-yards deep, and are our championship games are played in two-feet of snow.