Only 1 major school in realignment talk makes all frosh take&pass calculus, no frats

[Maroon Baboon]

Here is what the ACC and ND need to fight for in order to get ND in the ACC: they need to insist that the new system rewards OOC strength much more that it does now. So if a team has, say, 3 losses, but has played a murderous schedule, they should get in over a 1- or 2-loss team that has played crap in the OOC.

If that could be done, I would offer ND to the ACC by telling them they only have to play 7 division games (there would be rotating pods each year so everyone would get to play ND every third year). The 7-game rule would apply to everyone in the ACC so ND wouldn't be getting a deal that anyone else wasn't getting.

And if that isn't enough conference games for some teams, they are free to play teams in the other division in de-facto OOC games. For example, if Wake and Maryland weren't in the same division in one year, they can play one their own in, say, an opener.

But--ND has Big, *Major* scheduling problems to work out in joining any conference. Others say they'll be like anyone else and do anything for money and wins, but that's not true for ND. If it were, they wouldn't have the academic and living requirements they have which are a burden on recruiting. Football is a huge part of ND tradition, but they are not an SEC-type football factory. Further, they're making money now.

ND will--*shall*--play USC, Michigan State, Purdue (the old in-state game), and Navy (yes, Navy, a promise between them going back to WWII). They've recently extended their games with Michigan through 2031, which shows what that rivalry means to them. That's 5 games that are important to the school, their old hands, their tradition (and never mind saying that's not important to them).

They will play those games, so where are those easy OOC wins to schedule if they join a conference? Join the ACC and the nearest they'll have to Austin Peay, Marshall or Appy State will be conference games with Duke, WF and MD (for the time being). Their OOC games will be the brutal part of their schedule.

Join a conference to get in the championship playoffs, but have a schedule that almost guarantees at least 2 or 3 losses a year, so forget the championship game anyhow. They do have a scheduling dilemma. Right now they can schedule the likes of WF this year or Temple/Akron off in the future, and have breathers in there along their big 5 plus Stanford, and soon Texas. Join a conference and breathers will have to be in conference games, because they'll fight to keep their old rivalries and bleed blue and gold if they lose even one of them.

They make money now. They undoubtedly will fight to keep on doing that because as a private church school, they have no choice. So sweeten their existing pot and let them keep that special deal on TV, but there also might have to be patience and special allowance for their old rivalries. Can they get permission for a special 13th game to cover the Navy game?

None of this conference stuff will come easy for ND, and doing it could jeopardize their shot at a championship game instead of enhancing it, because of their OOC schedules. They could win a conference championship, but do it with a couple of losses anyhow. If the highest ranking confence champs get in the playoff, then ND would be left out anyhow.

So, along with everyone else, they'll be sitting there watching decisions on the playoffs. They're making decent money from sports now. No matter how 'the playoff decision' goes, they'll have some tough decisions of their own on their hands. I sure wouldn't want to be the one making them.