Lest this earlier discussion be lost into the nether region of UHND, I thought I'd get my pound of flesh before the toilet bowl sewage is released:
1. It's amusing that the consensus here is that Kelly is mediocre at best, yet many of these same folks want ND to go to one of these mediocre, crappy bowl games.
2. The "extra weeks of practice argument": please cite the evidence that the "extra practice" translates into enhanced performance the following season. Also, if 8 months of practices are good, 9 months must be better!
3. The "recruits won't come here if we don't go to toilet bowls" argument: please cite a single recruit who didn't choose a program because it turned down a toilet bowl bid. There are actually many examples of programs turning down bids. For instance, ND's projected toilet bowl opponent this season, Oklahoma State, turned down a bid last season. Which recruits were turned off by this? How did turning down the toilet bowl bid hurt the program in any way? Pick any of the programs over the past decade that turned down toilet bowl bids and explain how they were hurt in any way by staying home. Evidence. Take your time.
These arguments you make are based upon what you heard or read someone else say, and like most things you believe, you say and write them without giving much or any effort to find evidence that they're actually true.
Until 1968, ND didn't go to bowls. After that and until Faust, they didn't go go toilet bowls. drawing the line at the Gator Bowl. When the awful Faust stunk up the joint, they changed and started to go to toilet bowls under the mistaken impression that this would help save face.
I'm loving the rationalizations for going to crappy bowl games from the same folks who lament that ND isn't great anymore. Yeah boy, the Camping World Bowl is a key building block in getting back to greatness! Gotta go! Potential recruits would say, "Hey, I noticed you turned down an invite to the Camping World Bowl! I'm moving on!"