The announcement of Notre Dame’s move to the Atlantic Coach Conference is probably most viewed as prudent and, in a way, inevitable. In the ever-changing landscape of college sports, and football in particular, it makes sense to find a compromise between full-out football independence and conference affiliation. This appears to be it.
With the uncertainty surrounding the Big East (losing Pitt and Syracuse and expansion to include those eastern powers San Diego State and Boise State), it was logical for ND to find a sounder home for its sports other than football and hockey.
What ND had to trade for access to the ACC’s 8-bowl affiliation setup was some measure of its scheduling freedom. By committing to five games yearly vs. ACC opponents, ND will have less opportunity to play the completely national, independent schedule it has become known for, and relished, since the days of Harper and Rockne.
Notre Dame vs. ACC foe Maryland in 2011
How to schedule moving forward, with five games against the ACC? That leaves seven, and ND says USC, Navy and Stanford will remain yearly opponents. Might it be time to schedule, let’s say, games against only two Big Ten schools each year? That would leave two games that are truly “at-large” – to either pick up the rare opportunity to meet, for instance, Oklahoma or Texas, or perhaps one game against a somewhat lesser-weight (like Temple and Rice, currently slated on future schedules).
At least the ACC slate includes many schools who already show up – regularly or occasionally – on the Irish schedule. In recent years (or this season), ND has met current ACC members Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina and Wake Forest, plus Big East transfers Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
The “new” opponents will be four schools which ND has faced only a total of four times: Clemson (2), North Carolina State (1), Virginia (1) and Virginia Tech (0). Count the fans in places like Raleigh and Blacksburg among the beneficiaries of the Irish move. Once every six years, they’ll host a game against college football’s greatest brand.
