In a twisted twist of fate, Tommy Rees helped prevent a possible Jan. 1 reunion for the LSU coach Brian Kelly and the team he led for twelve seasons, Notre Dame.
Not that the potential ReliaQuest Bowl duel is between Kelly’s Tigers and the second version of the coach Marcus Freemans Irish has always been a done deal.
But when former Irish offensive coordinator Rees and Alabama defeated No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game on Saturday, the domino that prevented Notre Dame or any ACC team from landing in the ReliaQuest Bowl against an SEC opponent tumbled and collapsed Big Ten team substitution instead is an alternative.
And then the bowl road got even more winding for the 16th-ranked Irish (9-3), eschewing an expected fallback bid for the Pop-Tarts Bowl and ending up in Tony the Tiger on Dec. 29 Sun Bowl vs. No. 19 Oregon State (8-4).
This will be the third football meeting ever between Notre Dame and the Beavers, and none of them take place during the regular season. Kickoff is at 2:00 p.m. EST on CBS.
Oregon State defeated Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 2000 season under Coach Bob Davies. Four years later, the Beavers defeated the Irish 38-21 in the Insight Bowl as head coach Tyrone Willinghams Dismissed at the end of the regular season. Interim coach Kent BaerND’s defensive coordinator under Willingham, led the Irish during the bowl season.
Oregon State will have an interim coach in this matchup Jonathan Smith after accepting the head coaching job at Michigan State. Wide receiver coach Kefense Hynson was appointed to the interim role.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl was reportedly slated to receive the first pick from the ACC/ND pool outside of the New Year’s Six to compete with the second pick among Big 12 teams not involved in the New Year’s Six. If that were the case, they would have overtaken both No. 15 Louisville (10-3) and the Irish and secured No. 18 NC State (9-3), which lost to both, to take on No. 25 Kansas State to pair (8-4).
According to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, the ACC held a multi-bowl conference call late in the afternoon to place most of its teams above No. 5 Orange Bowl champion Florida State (13-0). “The ACC’s top 3 — Pop-Tarts, Gator and Holiday — failed to select the Irish, sources said,” McMurphy tweeted.
It is Notre Dame’s second trip to the Sun Bowl and Oregon State’s third. At the end of the 2010 season, the Irish defeated Miami 33-17 in wintry conditions, Kelly’s first season as Irish head coach.
Oregon State starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, a transfer from Clemson who played against the Irish twice, has re-entered the transfer portal and will not play against ND a third time. Oregon State’s top backup is a freshman Aidan Chiles.
The Downey, Calif. product has completed 24 of 35 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. The 6-3, 200-pounder rushed for 78 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.
The Beavers lost games against Washington State, Arizona and conference champion Washington by a combined eight points before Oregon defeated them 31-7 on the road in the regular season finale at OSU on Nov. 24.
Oregon State enters bowl season with a strong showing on both ends, 32nd in total offense and 35th in total defense. The Irish are ranked 29th and eighth respectively.