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- Thread starter NOTREDAMECHIEF
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ORD_Buckeye
Wrong glass, Sir.
Because I know when I hear the words "student safety," the first person that I think of is Jack Swarbric.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Notre Dame's Conference Independence Debate Could Flare Up in Pandemic-Shortened Season
Should Notre Dame join a conference? No matter how the 2020 schedule is reconstructed for an abbreviated season, this enduring debate could be a point of contention.
In terms of ceaseless debate, the second-most enduring argument in college football is whether Notre Dame should join a conference.
(The most enduring argument is the postseason, no matter what variation is in vogue at the time. We’re not going there today.)
The Notre Dame debate could be fed fresh oxygen in the coming weeks. Because one of the potential models for a pandemic-abbreviated 2020 football season involves teams playing a conference-only schedule. “I think it’s a very real possibility,” Fighting Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick told Sports Illustrated this week.
Where would such a scheduling crunch leave the small Catholic college in northwest Indiana, which has been proudly (some might say arrogantly) conference-free in football for the entirety of its 131 seasons playing the sport?
Probably OK. But potentially in trouble. Those are the two most likely answers at this still-early, still-uncertain date.
Either way, the old reliable Notre Dame debate is well-positioned to flare up with renewed fervor if non-conference games disappear for everyone except the non-conference flagship program.
Swarbrick acknowledged that the situation is “nerve wracking,” but also sounded confident. The school’s ties with the Atlantic Coast Conference and overall allure as a marquee game on every opponent’s schedule could allow the Irish to play as many games as everyone else—maybe even more—with just a little wiggle room.
“There is support for a conference-only, plus-one [non-conference game] schedule,” Swarbrick said. “If that's the model, we'd be fine, because we would be most people's plus-one. The ACC has been a great partner for us, and we've got six ACC games scheduled this year instead of the usual five. That's a pretty good building block.”
That’s not only a good building block, but one solidified a bit by ACC commissioner John Swofford on a Zoom call Thursday. Notre Dame’s ACC membership in every sport but football and men's hockey (Big Ten) has its gridiron privileges, and they are reciprocal to the schools who get to play the Irish every year. In 2020, those programs are Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Louisville.
“The fact that they’re already playing six games against our teams is important,” Swofford said. “If that’s something that’s best for the ACC and Notre Dame, we would certainly have that conversation. It is part of our discussions, but that’s only one of multiple paths this could take.”
In 2020, those Notre Dame ACC opponents are Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech on the road; Duke, Clemson and Louisville at home. If those games are played, that gets the Irish half a schedule.
It’s the kind of arrangement that is win-win for both the ACC and Notre Dame. Those are prized schedule dates that for decades went to the likes of Big Ten programs Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Northwestern, but now help a conference that needs the boost in football. For the Irish, it provides Power-5 opponents that are mostly beatable while retaining the freedom to schedule the other half the season as it sees fit. They can date around without getting married, while still enjoying something of a committed relationship.
Entire article: https://www.si.com/college/2020/05/14/notre-dame-conference-independence-debate-coronavirus
Should Notre Dame join a conference? No matter how the 2020 schedule is reconstructed for an abbreviated season, this enduring debate could be a point of contention.
In terms of ceaseless debate, the second-most enduring argument in college football is whether Notre Dame should join a conference.
(The most enduring argument is the postseason, no matter what variation is in vogue at the time. We’re not going there today.)
The Notre Dame debate could be fed fresh oxygen in the coming weeks. Because one of the potential models for a pandemic-abbreviated 2020 football season involves teams playing a conference-only schedule. “I think it’s a very real possibility,” Fighting Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick told Sports Illustrated this week.
Where would such a scheduling crunch leave the small Catholic college in northwest Indiana, which has been proudly (some might say arrogantly) conference-free in football for the entirety of its 131 seasons playing the sport?
Probably OK. But potentially in trouble. Those are the two most likely answers at this still-early, still-uncertain date.
Either way, the old reliable Notre Dame debate is well-positioned to flare up with renewed fervor if non-conference games disappear for everyone except the non-conference flagship program.
Swarbrick acknowledged that the situation is “nerve wracking,” but also sounded confident. The school’s ties with the Atlantic Coast Conference and overall allure as a marquee game on every opponent’s schedule could allow the Irish to play as many games as everyone else—maybe even more—with just a little wiggle room.
“There is support for a conference-only, plus-one [non-conference game] schedule,” Swarbrick said. “If that's the model, we'd be fine, because we would be most people's plus-one. The ACC has been a great partner for us, and we've got six ACC games scheduled this year instead of the usual five. That's a pretty good building block.”
That’s not only a good building block, but one solidified a bit by ACC commissioner John Swofford on a Zoom call Thursday. Notre Dame’s ACC membership in every sport but football and men's hockey (Big Ten) has its gridiron privileges, and they are reciprocal to the schools who get to play the Irish every year. In 2020, those programs are Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Louisville.
“The fact that they’re already playing six games against our teams is important,” Swofford said. “If that’s something that’s best for the ACC and Notre Dame, we would certainly have that conversation. It is part of our discussions, but that’s only one of multiple paths this could take.”
In 2020, those Notre Dame ACC opponents are Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech on the road; Duke, Clemson and Louisville at home. If those games are played, that gets the Irish half a schedule.
It’s the kind of arrangement that is win-win for both the ACC and Notre Dame. Those are prized schedule dates that for decades went to the likes of Big Ten programs Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Northwestern, but now help a conference that needs the boost in football. For the Irish, it provides Power-5 opponents that are mostly beatable while retaining the freedom to schedule the other half the season as it sees fit. They can date around without getting married, while still enjoying something of a committed relationship.
Entire article: https://www.si.com/college/2020/05/14/notre-dame-conference-independence-debate-coronavirus
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Week 10 — Nov. 7 vs. Clemson (Notre Dame, Ind.)
In what could be a matchup of top-10 teams, Clemson makes its first trip to Notre Dame since 1979. This will probably be Trevor Lawrence's last season with the Tigers before entering the NFL Draft and he has some serious weapons in Travis Etienne and Justyn Ross.
Just sayin': We all will probably be a Notre Dame fan for that one day in November this Fall.....
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Week 10 — Nov. 7 vs. Clemson (Notre Dame, Ind.)
In what could be a matchup of top-10 teams, Clemson makes its first trip to Notre Dame since 1979. This will probably be Trevor Lawrence's last season with the Tigers before entering the NFL Draft and he has some serious weapons in Travis Etienne and Justyn Ross.
Just sayin': We all will probably be a Notre Dame fan for that one day in November this Fall.....
Wait...
It’s LEGAL for teams from south of the Mason-Dixon Line to play in northern states in November?
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