They're already locked into a 9-game conference slate as well as an annual game against Georgia Tech which I believe is legislatively mandated. Adding ND to the mix would only leave them one flex game per season. I don't think they want that.
That said, I don't think we need an annual against a specific opponent, just an annual game against an elite opponent. That game can rotate. I would agree about another home-and-home with Georgia.
Also agree on cutting back the ACC slate to 3 games per year, although that may cost us some money. As for the buy games, I think generating revenue has become too important, and NBC will pay more for a 7-game schedule than they will for a 6-game schedule. About the only consolation there is that we're a little less obnoxious about it than most other programs are.
Georgia has an eight game conference schedule. An argument can be made that a conference that has an eight game conference schedule artificially inflates their perceived strength of conference due to the scheduling of body bag types of games. This greatly improves one’s chances of winning and thus improving the conference’s overall winning percentage as opposed to a conference that schedules nine conference games and the result of that extra week of conference games will guarantee a .500 record that week.
finding a southern equivalent of USC to play annually in an intersectional rivalry. Georgia would be tremendous.
Great venue and fan base. Stanford becoming our long term rival is such a hoax.
Great fan base? I challenge you to make that case to any of the ND folks who ventured to Eugene for the game in 1982. It was awful, as bad as any anti-ND hostility I've ever encountered. Worse than Boulder (1983), Seattle (1995), and Birmingham (1980), all of which were pretty awful. A win might have ameliorated the situation, but Faust's team only managed to tie a 2-8-1 Oregon squad.
Of course, Miami in 1989 is the worst of all time. I did not attend games in Baton Rouge (1970?) or Columbus (1995?).
I didn't go to Athens, but Wisconsin, A&M, Auburn, Colorado, Ole Miss, Tennessee and lots of other places would seem to offer interesting road trips.
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"And let the ACC know we are reducing our commitment to 3 games and like it or lump it."
With the idea that ND could safely land somewhere else if necessary? If I were the ACC, I'd definitely look to dump ND if they pulled out of the 5 game commitment. ND might be a nice to have, but the ACC survives fine without ND. The football may not be very good, but neither is the PAC 12.
Would have been easier to get a better deal upfront than to renegotiate it down.
Because F*$& them
Its ok to rotate them in to our schedule, just not every year. We are 0-3 with the Bulldogs, by a total of 14 points. That is three exciting games, AND, they didn't throw fish at us. Go for it.
then let's go with Cal or UCLA or Washington or Oregon. All would still get that west coast trip Thanksgiving weekend. We could still play Stanford more often if the Bay Area is a must, but it could look more like this:
Stanford H&H
CAL H&H
Stanford H&H
UCLA H&H
Stanford H&H
Washington H&H
etc.
We could still hit Palo Alto 2-3 times a decade, just not 5 times.
for their games.
experience so far. (20ish of those being ND games)
Knowledgeable, courteous, and just plain fun fans. I was impressed.
I think we also need to get back to Oxford.
distant past that no current student or recruit would ever recognize. Georgia would be a terrific rivalry game.
Even though our tickets turned out tbe counterfeit, which forced us to walk the concourse above the 100 level to watch the game (the fact that we got in was a small miracle), the atmosphere was still electric. The town was great, and so were the fans. I'd go back in a heartbeat, and hopefully be able to sit down next time!
between now and the end of 2025, including back-to-back games against them both in 2024, as well as Alabama in 2028/2029.
I'd have no objection to putting Georgia back on the schedule but I doubt it will happen anytime soon.
Whether it's liked or not, the ACC commitment isn't changing because that's our meal ticket to the bowl buffet. I'd prefer this setup to joining the Big Ten.
The acc has no standing to block it given how shitty teams 2-14 are.
lopsided: 3-0, Georgia.
That would be a fun trip. Also like to get Washington back with a home and home series, possibly getting rid of Stanford. Lots of cool college stadiums to play at, too numerous to mention.
A die hard OSU friend of mine goes to every game, home and away, except for @ Penn State and @ Wisconsin. Because their fans are assholes. Take that FWIW.
I had student tickets there from 2006-08 while I was in law school. I was prepared for the worst when I came down here, but I never saw anything that lived up to the reputation. This includes the 2006 “Game of the Century” against Michigan. The worst I saw was someone walking up Lane Avenue wearing a giant foam Wolverine helmet while the crowd around him chanted “Asshole, Asshole.” He pretty much asked for it.
This was not our, or their, experience at all. There was common bonding over what shitheads OSU fans can be, but no animus towards the visitors.
Probably because they knew about the depantsing that was set to commence.
In my trips to Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and West Lafayette I’ve been greeted with plenty of “f yous” and all manner of anti-Catholic crap. I’ve heard horror stories from opposing fans who’ve gone to Columbus or Happy Valley as well. By contrast, I’ve heard great stories of trips to SEC venues like Georgia and Tennessee and Big XII schools like Texas and Oklahoma.
My OSU grad buddy quit going to big games at the Shoe because their fanbase are a bunch of collective dirtbags who ruin the experience for others. They are by far the most intolerable bunch of assholes I've ever encountered at a sporting event.
1) @ND
2) @Madison
3) @Lambeau or Soldier Field
4) @ Soldier Field or Lambeau
Would have checked off a lot of boxes- 2 great on campus gameday experiences. 4 iconic venues, with the 2 most iconic NFL stadiums- with huge fan bases nearby for each team. I very much dislike playing at NFL stadiums, but I believe these 2 make the cut as worthy of playing college FB games.
But, on campus should have been games 1 and 2, with the NFL stadiums 3 and 4 if the schools were able to fit that many games in
Signed,
Savvy Jack
I know that there's a huge alumni base in Chicago so Soldier Field is a savvy standby.
Easily the best experience at an opponent. Great fans. Amazing atmosphere.
It's only been, what, 23 years?
Helps keep BK's win % up, and he likes that metric for the brand: ND is still a winning program, and his choice of HC still "measures up" as one of the top 10 active coaches in the game.
So that’s two losses, but we need at least one more marquee opponent.
To be programs in the next 5 years. Michigan is fucked so long as they continue down the idiotic shift to a spread offense with a boob of an OC.
So, our schedules are going to blow goats.
We have no need to play directional schools or dregs in buy games.
the classiest SEC programs. Good fans too. And Athens is probably my favorite college town