It seemed like a nice little consolation prize, albeit unwanted, for No. 12 BYU and No. 11 Notre Dame after both were snubbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee when the final 12-team bracket for the CFP was announced Sunday morning.

The 10-2 Irish against the 11-2 Cougars in warm and sunny Orlando, Florida, two days after Christmas, in one of the better bowls outside the CFP, the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

For BYU, still stinging from Saturday’s 34-7 loss to No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game, it was probably the matchup it would have most wanted outside a CFP berth, and maybe even inside a CFP berth.

BYU fans still feel like Notre Dame owes the Cougars a game after BYU went to South Bend in 2012 and 2013 and never got the contracted return game, instead settling fo

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