Notre Dame announced its second major scheduling addition in
the past month, as the Irish have inked a 4 game home and home series with
Compared to the Irish 2010 slate of home games versus
Western Michigan, Tulsa, and Utah, new Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick is
clearly reverting back to the old ND “play anyone anywhere” scheduling
philosophy. Traditionally, ND always played a schedule that was above reproach,
giving the Irish a baseline of respect with college football fans and
conferences. Lately, weakened traditional opponents and a watered down
scheduling philosophy by the former athletics director Kevin White have helped
put Notre Dame in a weaker position at the BCS / conference realignment
discussion table. Certainly losing has hurt our position the most, but the
knocks on our schedule have personally been almost as difficult to handle for
many Irish fans.
Lets assume the Irish will always be relevant, with a large,
national following. In order to remain independent and in a position of
strength with conference realignment and the BCS, the Irish first and foremost
need to win more. A close second is that we schedule a competitive slate of
opponents. Opponents of Irish independence have long thought that the exception
made for Notre Dame was unfair. Weak scheduling will only give them more
leverage, pointing to the Irish having an even easier path to the BCS.
Scheduling powers like Texas and Miami
With a tough slate of games giving the Irish some
respectibility, the Irish will have one less thing to worry about when it comes
to the future of the BCS and conferences. Whether we will be independent in 10
years, I don’t know. But when we remain included in the next BCS, or we join a
conference, a strong schedule can only validate what we do on the field.
Speaking of that, with the upcoming schedules for the Irish, now we just have
to win football games. We all know how difficult that’s been the last few
years.
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