Why would we want to be either?

Why are any of you bringing up thes other schools as relevant to the conversation?

Who said we should join the ACC?

But I don't find casting our lot with the B1G versus the ACC as ideal, because we don't fit into either very well.

In the B1G, geographically it makes sense, but academically we'd stick out like a sore thumb as a private Catholic University. In the ACC, there are more private schools (Duke, Wake, Miami, BC, but they are in the minority to the larger state schools, and we're still 300 miles from Louisville and 400 miles from Pitt, the two closest schools).

That is geographically distant and separate from and culturally anathema to the south.

On who the game is against.

Games against Duke and Wake Forest are in the sun belt, and I don't find them all that interesting/entertaining or all that much better than a trip to West Lafayette.

Games in Syracuse and Chestnut Hill may be worse than anything in the rust belt.

Pitt isn't even on campus.

discernible difference in competition between being in the ACC or Big 10.

Since the ACC agreement, averaging Sagarin's conference rankings for each division as well as his central mean stat (Gives most weight to middle teams in the group and less weight to teams as you go away from the middle in either direction), results are from 2014 to current:

Big10 East: Conf Rank (4.00), Central Mean (77.71)
Big10 West: Conf Rank (7.33), Central Mean (74.91)
ACC Coastal: Conf Rank (6.83), Central Mean (75.08)
ACC Atlantic: Conf Rank (5.17), Central Mean (76.81)

But then you could put them on a trend line, which captures how shitty FSU, Miami and others have become since we signed the deal in 2012 and started playing games in 2014.

2016
ACC Atlantic (2) - 80.4
ACC Coastal (3) - 77.8
B1G W (7) 74.2
B1G E (6) 74.6


2017
ACC Atlantic (2) - 80.6
ACC Coastal (7) - 75.9
B1G W (7) 74.2
B1G E (6) 76.6


2018
ACC Atlantic (6) - 76.3
ACC Coastal (8) - 74.0
B1G W (7) 76.2
B1G E (3) 78.5



2019 (to date)
ACC Atlantic (8) - 73.8
ACC Coastal (9) - 73.3
B1G W (7) 74.6
B1G E (2) 80.8


Just as an example, FSU and Jimbo won the national title in 2013 and made the playoff in 2014, they suck now and are led by Willie Taggart.


This year, both B1G divisions are better than either of the ACC and that trend isn't going to change any time soon.

We cast our lot with a bunch of chumps. The tide switched after the 2016 season. Jimbo left, Lamar Jackson graduated, sending Louisville into a tailspin. Richt left Miami in shambles shortly after.

The ACC was good in the early part of our deal, but they have gone to shit since. I don't see them in a positive trend line at all.

ND is one of the biggest examples of that. We’re only three years removed from being at rock bottom. FSU for all we know is one great coaching hire away from returning to the top; they draw from so much talent and still recruit so well that it’s not inconceivable they’ll bounce back soon. Ditto Miami.

We’ll see how Day does the longer Urban is gone. PJ Fleck will be gone as soon as he gets offered a better job which may be USC at the end of the year.. Dantonio and MSU appear to be back to their usual selves. Check back in two weeks on Harbaugh and Michigan.

... and joining the Pac-12?

Think of the football tradition mixed in with the weather related recruiting advantages. We’d be unstoppable!

It’s time to think outside the box. Father Sorin should have never stopped in South Bend anyway.