Notre Dame is guaranteed to have a losing season for the first time since 2007 after the Fighting Irish blew a double-digit lead at home against Virginia Tech.
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Related: Notre Dame loses again, and Brian Kelly now risks tying a Charlie Weis record
The Irish are currently 4-7, and they travel to play USC this Saturday. If Notre Dame upsets USC, they could still possibly reach a bowl game at 5-7 if its Academic Progress Rate is high enough.
If there aren't enough teams with at least six wins, it's possible for five-win teams to reach a bowl game. Notre Dame's APR is 975, but there are a few teams with 4-5 wins who would be ahead of the Irish.
Here are the schools with higher APR's than Notre Dame who could prevent them from reaching a bowl game:
Duke (4-7): 995
Northwestern (5-6): 992
Vanderbilt (5-6): 990
North Texas (5-6): 984
Boston College (5-6): 981
Indiana (5-6): 979
Maryland (5-6): 977
This is Brian Kelly's first losing season since 2004 when he was the head coach at Central Michigan.
Considering Notre Dame was in the top 10 earlier this season, should Kelly be on the hot seat? He received a vote of confidence from Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick in October, but the Irish have been a major disappointment this season.
