College football bowl projections: CBS Sports predicts Notre Dame’s bowl destination

Notre Dame is preparing to enter Year 1 of the Marcus Freeman era, and expectations are high.

The Fighting Irish are coming off 5 straight seasons with at least 10 victories. They do have some uncertainty at quarterback, but Notre Dame is still favored to win nearly all of its regular season games.

With that in mind, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm released his preseason bowl projections

this week and he has Notre Dame reaching a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Palm is projecting Notre Dame to face Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 30.

This would be the 5th meeting between Notre Dame and Clemson since 2015. The Tigers have won 3 of those 4 matchups, with the lone exception being Notre Dame’s 47-40 win over the Tigers in South Bend in 2020.

Two of those matchups have been in the postseason. Clemson defeated Notre Dame 30-3 in a College Football Playoff semifinal in 2018. The Tigers won again 34-10 in the 2020 ACC Championship game in Charlotte.

Overall, Notre Dame is 2-4 against Clemson. The Irish picked up a road win over Clemson in 1977.

Per Palm’s CFP projections, Alabama will face Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl while Ohio State and Georgia meet in the Fiesta Bowl. Here’s Palm’s full NY6 projections:

• Peach Bowl: Alabama vs. Oklahoma (CFP semifinal)
• Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Georgia (CFP semifinal)
• Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Utah
• Cotton Bowl: USC vs. Cincinnati
• Sugar Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Baylor
• Orange Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Clemson

Notre Dame has played in the Orange Bowl 5 times previously. Here are the results:

• 1973: Nebraska def. Notre Dame, 40-6
• 1975: Notre Dame def. Alabama, 13-11
• 1990: Notre Dame def. Colorado, 21-6
• 1991: Colorado def. Notre Dame, 10-9
• 1996: Florida State def. Notre Dame, 31-26