ND vs Utah deal close

[SoCalDomer]

Playing the Irish not only would give Utah a game against one of the most prestigious football programs in the country, but would also assure the Utes of national exposure since the Irish have a contract through 2010 with NBC to televise every Irish home game.
"That's a very appealing proposition for recruiting," Whittingham said.

Utes Close to deal with ND

 

[Master Guns]

Does nothing for the Irish playing these type of teams!!!!

 

[SoCalDomer]

Utah is a good team, even though they are not in a BCS conf. They are better than some of the bottom feeders who play in the BCS confs.

It also provides an opportunity for Utah kids, who may never venture to South Bend, to see ND play; it's a recruiting tool.

 

[Clausen2Kamara]

Utah is a good team, even though they are not in a BCS conf. They are better than some of the bottom feeders who play in the BCS confs.

It also provides an opportunity for Utah kids, who may never venture to South Bend, to see ND play; it's a recruiting tool.

I agree, its also nice to play somebody other than the usual teams.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

No Way! It's nice to play some teams other than the usuals, but why Utah? Why not some good teams that do something for Notre Dame? Tennesee, Auburn, Georgia, Cal, Oregon, Texas, FSU. Those are teams that make ND look good! Play those teams and we don't have to hear anymore BS about our schedule. We're the best team in the nation, lets play the best teams in the nation! Not Utah...

 

[SoCalDomer]

well, unless ND were to schedule the top 3 teams in the Pac-10, SEC, Big-10, and Big-12 every year, they will always get grief over their schedule.

Most sportscasters have a double standard when it comes to ND versus everyone else. Then they set their do-no-wrong golden boy teams (SEC and USC) on an entirely different shelf and actually cant' criticize them since their lips are firmly planted on those teams' backsides.

so, not scheduling Utah won't change how the rest of college football fandom views ND.

 

[NDFan78]

Utah's playing Michigan this year, why not Notre Dame. It would also give me a good reason to go back to south bend.
(last time was BYU vs ND) I hope maybe then Notre Dame would come here to Utah to play.

 

[coachjohnson]

This is true, but I would rather them play Utah than Duke.

 

[coachjohnson]

Very well put, the one thing that many don't realize is the large fan base Notre Dame has. There are many people that really have to travel a long way to see their beloved Irish, me being one of them. I like to see the Irish play in places so more fans can actually see them play. Watching them in person is one of the greatest things to do. Whatever they may say about the Irish, who cares?

 

[Clausen2Kamara]

I agree that ND has a lot of cupcakes but so do a lot of top teams. We play storied programs likepowerhouses Michigan, Penn St. and USC. To go along with solid programs like MSU, and Purdue among others. If you haven't noticed, Navy is not 2 easy to beat anymore. I would like for us to play Florida or Florida St. though because it would definetly give us more respect and a better chance at Florida recruits.

 

[Bubba]

I agree that ND has a lot of cupcakes but so do a lot of top teams. We play storied programs likepowerhouses Michigan, Penn St. and USC. To go along with solid programs like MSU, and Purdue among others. If you haven't noticed, Navy is not 2 easy to beat anymore. I would like for us to play Florida or Florida St. though because it would definetly give us more respect and a better chance at Florida recruits.

I don't think FSU carries that much weight anymore. They used to, but they've gone down hill as far as I'm concerned. Florida would help because no one in the media would be willing to challenge their status right now. To do so would be discrediting the SEC and we know that's not going to happen.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Does nothing for the Irish playing these type of teams!!!!

Everyone needs to schedule them. Mid-tiers get you around the country and allow you to win a Title.

Our schedule is plenty strong adding teams around the country buys us some travel. That's good for recruiting.

 

[OCIrish]

No, we don't need to schedule them. We have enough of them coming from the bottom feeding conferance known as the Big East. Continuing to dumb down the schedule and using " it's a recruiting tool" as an excuse, or better yet, when people say "everyone else does it". I don't see USC doing it, do you. When Southern Cal has done it, they tried like hell to get out of it. Look at tOSU, they've scheduled themselves BCS national title games the last few years and promptly had their asses handed to them in each game. They've got Southern Cal on their schedule the next few years, then they play Miami. I don't see them recovering from those losses to play for a NC in those years. We're not like everybody else.

 

[SoCalDomer]

No, we don't need to schedule them. We have enough of them coming from the bottom feeding conferance known as the Big East. Continuing to dumb down the schedule and using " it's a recruiting tool" as an excuse, or better yet, when people say "everyone else does it". I don't see USC doing it, do you. When Southern Cal has done it, they tried like hell to get out of it. Look at tOSU, they've scheduled themselves BCS national title games the last few years and promptly had their asses handed to them in each game. They've got Southern Cal on their schedule the next few years, then they play Miami. I don't see them recovering from those losses to play for a NC in those years. We're not like everybody else.

You're right, the Pac-10 not as bad about scheduling non-conf patsies than most conferences, because of the round-robin style conf play. That takes care of 9 season games, so they only have 3 non-conf games to sched. For now, USC automatically gives us one, so they only have two more to try and schedule.

Last year they played Idaho and Nebraska for the other two non-conf games. No, I didn't mis-type, they did not play Boise State; it was Idaho who was 1-11 in the Western Athletic Conf. Say what you want about the national recognition of Nebraska, they have been mostly irrelevant for at least 5 years and last years 5-7 finish is evidence of this. Don't forget ND sucked last year. Then you consider they have Washington State, Arizona and Stanford (ya I know) on their schedule, they have just as many easy games as other teams.

In 2006, they played Arkansas (who is and was mostly overrated in the easier SEC west) and Nebraska. Again, teams with national recognition but not exactly top-10 opponents. they could do worse, agreed.

In 2005, they played Hawaii and Arkansas.

In 2004, Virginia Tech and Colorado State.

This year they have OSU, Virgina and ND as their non-conf sched, so this year is prob far tougher than most. But they still have Wash St, Stanford, Arizona and Washington on their conf schedules. Consider that UCLA lost it's two veteran QB's already and they aren't looking so tough. And there's no guarantee ND will be out of the "suck" category by the time they play them. So that's 5 games where they definitely win.

They're not as bad as the SEC or the Big-10(11) when it comes to non-conf games, but they still have about the same # of "easy" opponents.

I don't see Utah being all that weaker than Nebraska, Colorado State, Arkansas or Hawaii. They are definitely better than Idaho, though not as tough as OSU or Virginia.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

well, unless ND were to schedule the top 3 teams in the Pac-10, SEC, Big-10, and Big-12 every year, they will always get grief over their schedule.

Most sportscasters have a double standard when it comes to ND versus everyone else. Then they set their do-no-wrong golden boy teams (SEC and USC) on an entirely different shelf and actually cant' criticize them since their lips are firmly planted on those teams' backsides.

so, not scheduling Utah won't change how the rest of college football fandom views ND.

Notre Dame Should be playing the top teams in these conferences anyway. When ND walks away with a 12-0 record and a BCS championship. It will be the first time nobody can gripe about being left out of the title game. And, finally shut everyone up. To be the best you got to beat the best. I'd rather have a 3-9 season playing top ten teams than a 12-0 season playing the military clubs and Utah.

 

[Shamrock44]

We need to play BCS teams only. Period.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

We need to play BCS teams only. Period.

Plain, Simple, and to the POINT. No more discussion needed from here!

 

[PADOMERNUT]

I cant sit in silence anymore. You guys are out of your mind. Only play BCS teams? That may be the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Look at the current college football landscape. Does anyone only play BCS teams? No!!! I'm not saying that we should play Youngstown State and Akron, but there is nothing wrong with playing Utah. Too many people get caught up in the whole "BCS conference" thing. There are other good teams out there. And lest I forget, Utah was in a BCS game recently, and absolutely blew out a team from a "BCS Conference" Hey guys, why dont we just play USC 12 times. Will that make you happy?

 

[GoldenDomer21]

I cant sit in silence anymore. You guys are out of your mind. Only play BCS teams? That may be the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Look at the current college football landscape. Does anyone only play BCS teams? No!!! I'm not saying that we should play Youngstown State and Akron, but there is nothing wrong with playing Utah. Too many people get caught up in the whole "BCS conference" thing. There are other good teams out there. And lest I forget, Utah was in a BCS game recently, and absolutely blew out a team from a "BCS Conference" Hey guys, why dont we just play USC 12 times. Will that make you happy?

You have a point, but what makes ND so special, and sets them aside from other teams is that we play big games, and we win big games.
That aside, what does Utah give us? We don't recruit heavily there...All the Mormons go to BYU. Its a friggin desert! So who wants to travel there. They aren't a great team. Nobody wants to travel to SB to see them play...So whats the point?
Ok, all BCS teams would be insane, and impractical, but Tenn, FSU, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Cal, Texas, and WVU would be much better choices. ND recruits in these areas, there is a more of a following, and people would be willing to travel to these games.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

You have a point, but what makes ND so special, and sets them aside from other teams is that we play big games, and we win big games.

But ND only plays 2 or 3 big games a year. That's all. So should we cancel the other 9 or 10?

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

We need to play BCS teams only. Period.

Duke is a BCS team.

Utah is a better game than Duke.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

But ND only plays 2 or 3 big games a year. That's all. So should we cancel the other 9 or 10?

Thats the schedule that they have played in recent years. I think if we played 6 or 8 big name teams we'd be better off. People want to come to Notre Dame to watch big games. Players come to play big games. A few more BIG games would do the program some good. Look at the SEC, a strong conference, each team plays 4 to 6 BIG games a year and all of them matter! It's this fact thats driving the SEC craze. ND needs to use its independent status to schedule 6 or 8 BIG games all around the US. It promotes travel, recruiting, and will satisfy a huge fan base that is not only in the Midwest.

 

[SoCalDomer]

Thats the schedule that they have played in recent years. I think if we played 6 or 8 big name teams we'd be better off. People want to come to Notre Dame to watch big games. Players come to play big games. A few more BIG games would do the program some good. Look at the SEC, a strong conference, each team plays 4 to 6 BIG games a year and all of them matter! It's this fact thats driving the SEC craze. ND needs to use its independent status to schedule 6 or 8 BIG games all around the US. It promotes travel, recruiting, and will satisfy a huge fan base that is not only in the Midwest.

Not every team in the SEC plays 4-6 great teams a year. one or two might be unlucky enough to face 4 great teams, but the reast are only good to bad. plus, when you factor in their non-conf sched (which is essentially warm-ups or preseason for the real games) it's not so tough.

The SEC plays 8 conference games a year. There are a few top teams (Florida, LSU, Georgia, Tenn, Auburn) a few teams good-but-not-great (Alabama, SoCarolina, Arkansas) and then a few teams who perenially stink (Vanderbilt, Missisippi, Kentucky, Mississippi State). Now, an SEC team plays the 5 other members in its division, plus 3 teams from the other division. The teams in the east have the tougher sched, as 3 of the top teams are in the east, so a west team like LSU gets 3 pushovers from it's own division and could possibly get two of the three pushovers from the east. Just because some games (like Auburn v Alabama) are big rivalry games doesn't mean they are tough games (Auburn has owned Alabam for the last 5 years).

But then when you look at the SEC's non conf sched, they are almost exclusively from the SunBelt conf (which is the worst in Div-1 and would probably be demolished by the best teams in Div1-AA) and Div-1AA teams. Read this:

SEC benefits from playing patsies :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Colleges

FOX Sports on MSN - BCS - Time for SEC teams to toughen up

No doubt some of the best teams are in the SEC, but thats in part due to the warm-up games they get against terrible non-conf teams, and due to the fact that 40-60% of the players on their rosters are not student-athletes and flunk out after a year or two.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Thats the schedule that they have played in recent years. I think if we played 6 or 8 big name teams we'd be better off. People want to come to Notre Dame to watch big games. Players come to play big games. A few more BIG games would do the program some good. Look at the SEC, a strong conference, each team plays 4 to 6 BIG games a year and all of them matter! It's this fact thats driving the SEC craze. ND needs to use its independent status to schedule 6 or 8 BIG games all around the US. It promotes travel, recruiting, and will satisfy a huge fan base that is not only in the Midwest.

So you don't ever want to win a National Title? Why is that?

I think a National Title is far more important than playing 6-8 big teams.

 

[irishmarine]

every conf has bad teams, if we were in a conf we'd play some bad teams and people wopukld still complain. so just be happy when they blow taint u out of the water.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

So you don't ever want to win a National Title? Why is that?

I think a National Title is far more important than playing 6-8 big teams.

It doesn't take an undefeated season to make it to the title game any more. SEC teams with one or more losses have made it to the BCS championship game 6 out of the last 10 years. And they played HARD schedules, in a STRONG conference! Asking ND to step up the caliber of teams it plays is not asking it to forgo any national titles. Out of 12 games, at least 5 should be ranked top 20, another 1 or 2 should be top 25. That leaves 5 0r 6 mid level teams that they can play to "pad" their stats. Consider playing them the first 2 or 3 games. I don't care. But ND is above any other football program, more storied, more legendary, and I expect to see that reflected in there schedule every year!

I'm as die hard as anyone here. I'm a huge optimist! Every game we play no matter how much of an underdog we are I think we can win. So I bring this to my posts thinking we can beat any team, no matter how good.

 

[SoCalDomer]

It doesn't take an undefeated season to make it to the title game any more. SEC teams with one or more losses have made it to the BCS championship game 6 out of the last 10 years. And they played HARD schedules, in a STRONG conference! Asking ND to step up the caliber of teams it plays is not asking it to forgo any national titles. Out of 12 games, at least 5 should be ranked top 20, another 1 or 2 should be top 25. That leaves 5 0r 6 mid level teams that they can play to "pad" their stats. Consider playing them the first 2 or 3 games. I don't care. But ND is above any other football program, more storied, more legendary, and I expect to see that reflected in there schedule every year!

I understand what you're asking for, but the criteria you're using is nearly impossible to accomplish.

One thing to remember is that shcedules are set many years in advance. Even if we scheduled Georgia or Tennessee or Ohio State to start 4 years from now, there's no guarantee they will be a top 20 team every year they play.

Also, for those 5 top-20 opponents, when do they have to be ranked? at the start of the season, when ND plays them or at the end of the season?

What happens if ND plays a team early in the season, they are ranked #20 at the time they play, ND beats them bad, they lose confidence and finish no better than #40. Did ND play a top 20 team? Did ND play a tough team (ranked 20 when they played) or a weak team (they didn't finish the season ranked).

Consider Virginia, Connecticut, Cincinatti, Rutgers or North Carolina or some other teams who seem to be on the cusp of getting better but aren't quite there. All of those schools are up and coming but weren't ranked by the end of the season last year. But they could be as tough of an opponent as some ranked team.

Or take Texas A&M, Nebraska, UCLA, Alabama, Florida State, Miami or other teams like those that have done very well in years past but for some reason stink right now. How does playing a team like that count? They are nationally known, but a win over any one of them doesn't say a whole lot (at least as of last year).

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

It doesn't take an undefeated season to make it to the title game any more. SEC teams with one or more losses have made it to the BCS championship game 6 out of the last 10 years. And they played HARD schedules, in a STRONG conference! Asking ND to step up the caliber of teams it plays is not asking it to forgo any national titles. Out of 12 games, at least 5 should be ranked top 20, another 1 or 2 should be top 25. That leaves 5 0r 6 mid level teams that they can play to "pad" their stats. Consider playing them the first 2 or 3 games. I don't care. But ND is above any other football program, more storied, more legendary, and I expect to see that reflected in there schedule every year!

I'm as die hard as anyone here. I'm a huge optimist! Every game we play no matter how much of an underdog we are I think we can win. So I bring this to my posts thinking we can beat any team, no matter how good.

I am not talking about an undefeated season. You would doom ND to 2 loss seasons most GOOD years.

Now, if you are saying we should play 5 ranked teams most years...well, we generally do.

 

[GoldenDomer21]

I am not talking about an undefeated season. You would doom ND to 2 loss seasons most GOOD years.

Now, if you are saying we should play 5 ranked teams most years...well, we generally do.

Teams with 2 losses play in the NC game these days. And if you look, the teams that play in those NC games lost to other great teams. See, the problem with the BCS system is you never really know who the BEST is. Because the NC's rarely play all of the good teams that year. You have a bunch of coaches, and a bunch of "football experts" sit in a room and decide, over numbers, not games, who the good teams are. Then a BCS formula, which changes almost yearly takes it form there and decides who the best teams are, and then they play for the NC. Thats BS, it's not ND's fault, but imagine a year where ND wins the NC, but they played 6 or 7 top 15 schools. Say they even lost one. You think anyone is going to say there was a better team in the nation? Even bring up the notion that even though ND played and beat the best, that there is another team out there that was better? Doubt it. But what about the team that beat them? By the BCS formula, its probably going to be a rematch for the NC.
I like the idea of shutting peoples mouths on the field. Don't leave any room for speculation. Expect a win every game, but if they lose, at least I know they lost to a hell of a team. Not just some mid tier wanna be team tryin to play big teams so they look good. Call me an elitist, but ND is not a spring board for other teams. We play the best, because we are the best. Thats how it should be.

 

[irishmarine]

yes but there has to be a team in there such as navy, boston college and mid tier teams just for a break in the season and they are still quilty schools. this is football every game is a challenge.