Could USC Sanctions Impact Notre Dame?

I’m not as worried about the Trojans as you. ND has certainly played mediocre football this past decade and it hasn’t hurt Troy’s stature at all. Heck, even LSU clobbering us back in the ’05 season bowl game got Jamarcus Russell first pick status, and our D was terrible statistically. To your point, Palmer won the Heisman against a back-peddling Irish squad and the voters didn’t care. To sum: if everyone thinks your good, they’ll think you’re good regardless of the schedule.

Conference realignment does worry me, however. Teams tying up future schedules years in advance with extra conference games because, well, there are more teams in their respective conferences to schedule could make things really complicated. However, there’s a simple fix for that: drop the stupid 7-4-1 plan, and publicly announce the teams we want to schedule a level playing field "home-and-away" series against: traditional powers. Let everyone know we want a piece of Texas, Miami, Nebraska, FSU, Alabama, Florida and Ohio State. Some of these teams are great right now. Some are struggling. That could change in 5 years. So sign ‘em up. Keep USC and Michigan. If we find ourselves a year when those two schools and, say, Miami, are all on our schedule and are all top 10, then… kick a$$ and win the title game. No championship taint there. How many top 5 teams did ND defeat in ’88? Three! Michigan was top 10 that season, as well. That’s four huge games.

Publically call them out, and sign ‘em up I say. Schools’ appetite for money and ego will force them to put pen to paper, and with every signoff our independence is strengthened.

What good for football is good for ND. USC must be punished in proportion to the violation or the entirety of college football becomes degraded by double standards, cheats and general loss of confidence. This effects ND much more than “strength of schedule.” Shame on all those willing to look the other way for there own personal gains!

Baity great comment. I agree that the real issue this highlights is 7-4-1. With another 1-2 top tier programs on the sked it matters much less if USC goes into the tank. Valpo I’m with you on th integrity of the game perspective as well. They should get hammered. I just don’t think they will. The next year is going to be very interesting for all ND supporters.

I truly believe that all of the hype about the development of three or four super conferences, and tied to that the likelihood of ND joining the Big Ten, is just that. Hype.

If the circumstances dictate that is the best move for Notre Dame, it will happen. What ND supporters think most likely will not matter. Most of us want ND to retain its independent status, but it may not.

Some have said that it isn’t about money. That is absurd. It is about money, and in the final analysis that may well drive the decision.

All of us need for football to begin. It is indeed a long summer until September 4.

GO IRISH!

ND is the only team in the country that, regardless of strength of schedule, gets a BCS bowl game with 3 losses or less, and gets a serious look at the national title game with two. Reference the last year with Brady Quinn.

Ted September 4th is entirely too far away. Dimes Notre Dame has always gone to the best bowl they are eligible for. Bottom line they sell tickets and turn on TV sets. But it isn’t written anywhere that it will always be that way. They still need to be smart and fix the scheduling to cover their six. It can be a blessing and a curse by the way. Going to the BCS in 2006 was great. Getting smacked by LSU not so great. At least Jamarcus Russel got a big payday out of it.

I was at the 2002 game also with my family and a friend who is a priest, who was wearing his collar. We took him as a thank you for a recommendation he had written for my application to Notre Dame. The USC fans were out of control. It was actually a scary experience. One SC fan behind us kept screaming that anyone who liked notre dame was a f@ggt. Another, who clearly didnt go to USC, tried to pick a fight with me in the bathroom (He was in his 30s, I was 17). To top it all off, on our way back to the seats at the half one fan threw a beer at the priest and yelled that he should start praying for Rudy to come save us. We ended up leaving in the third quarter and have never been back to the Colliseum, despite the fact that we live in LA.

Henry it sounds like you were sitting in the same section that I was! They really are the worst fans I have ever seen. That was the one thing they left out of the 30 for 30 documentary on the Raiders. When they went back to Oakland their fans just started going to the USC games. Rough crowd to put it mildly.

Can someone please explain 7-4-1? I assume it has to do with quality of opponent in some way.

7-4-1 is the current scheduling model that Notre Dame is using. 7 home games, 4 true road games, and 1 “barnstorming/ off site” game that is also considered a home game as far as broadcast rights are concernced. As a result that off site game is also televised by NBC.

Relax about the 7-4-1. If there is major conference realignment, things will change. If not, the 7-4-1 gives more ND fans a chance to see the team. The schedule isn’t perfect, but winning games is way more important. Ohio St, Mich St, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Kansas are all playing 8 home games this year. Texas, Va Tech and Florida are utilizing 7-4-1. Florida does this every year, and won’t play a home-and-home against any non conference foe except Fla St. If any of these teams is one of two undefeateds at the end of the year, they will be in the BCS championship game. As will an undefeated ND team.

Uncle Beer I used to agree with you 100%. I just think ND needs to have 3-4 big name matchups on the schedule for additional security, and that is tough to do under 7-4-1. While an undefeated 2010 season could theoretically put the Irish in the title game I would be concerned that it might not based on the combination of their schedule and expected preseason ranking. That preseason ranking bit is a whole other discussion but it is what it is.

The 1 loss SEC champs are almost a lock at this point. The Big 12 and Big 10 champs will duke it out to face them and teams like Boise area wildcard. If there were 1-2 more upper crust teams on the sked I would like ND’s chances of getting a title shot. Without those big wins to hang your hat on though, more is left up to the pollsters.

So if you can maintain 7-4-1 and get another 1-2 big name teams on board no problem. But when teams like Western Michigan and Tulsa pop up on the sked it makes me think getting another 1-2 big name programs on board isn’t easy at the moment. If you can go to say 6-5-1 and offer two additional home and home deals it could make that a lot easier. I will be very interested tos see if the Miami series actually comes to fruition and whether or not ND can pull that off in the construct of 7-4-1. 2012 is sounding like it might be 6-5-1. We’ll see.

I guess what we are really talking about is risk vs. reward. Which scenario is more dangerous? Playing another 1-2 top tier opponents or leaving your fate to the pollsters after playing a blah schedule? It is a fun subject to discuss. Thanks for stopping by.

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Couldn’t agree more Sethvu. Truly insightful. Aw, what am I saying—it’s all Greek to me.