Notre Dame to play UMass in 2015

[gkIrish]

The team that plays in the SEC.

You are simply avoiding an argument that you have no answer to.

 

[stlnd01]

I don't necessarily mind that they're playing a weak opponent, but I'd prefer the weak opponent to offer up a bit more exposure, help more with recruiting, or be a bit more of a name. Duke, Minnesota, Nevada, UNLV, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rice, SMU, UTEP, one of the lesser Florida teams, etc. seem like they would be a better benefit to ND and the ND football program than UMass.

It's not about exposure to recruits. It's about exposure to fans. And ND has more fans - current and potential - in heavily Catholic and under-college-footballed New England than they do in most any of those other places.

 

[Zbi]

All of you guys make valid points by the way. I just see it a little different than you guys do.

 

[Zbi]

You are simply avoiding an argument that you have no answer to.

I am not avoiding the argument. How many championship games have Boise State played in? If the undefeated team is Boise State and the other is Alabama, Bama goes 99% of the time.

 

[gkIrish]

All of you guys make valid points by the way. I just see it a little different than you guys do.

I'm personally not trying to pick on you but softening up our schedule is a topic I feel really strongly about. Going 12-0 is a significantly better recruiting tool than playing say, Ohio State, and going 11-1. I'm not saying we should schedule all cupcakes. But 1 or 2 is fine and is a proven winning strategy. Winning leads to more winning. It's that simple.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

All of you guys make valid points by the way. I just see it a little different than you guys do.

What you're saying makes sense, and 20 years ago I'd agree with you on this, but with the current state of the program, I'm all for a few soft patches early in the season. I'm tired of being out of the BCS picture by the end of September.

 

[gkIrish]

I am not avoiding the argument. How many championship games have Boise State played in? If the undefeated team is Boise State and the other is Alabama, Bama goes 99% of the time.

I believe this is our 2015 schedule. Does this look like a Boise St. type schedule to you?

9-5 Texas
9-12 @ Michigan
9-19 @ Purdue
9-26 Temple
TBA Akron
10-17 Southern California
11-7 Wake Forest
11-14 @ Pittsburgh
11-21 Syracuse
11-28 @ Stanford
TBA @ Boston College
TBA UMass


This is a "well-balanced" schedule

 

[greyhammer90]

I am not avoiding the argument. How many championship games have Boise State played in? If the undefeated team is Boise State and the other is Alabama, Bama goes 99% of the time.

If ND is tied with another team to get into a BCS or NC game, ND is going. This is a fact. ND is a cash cow. ND fans alone would make it worth it, add in your average CFB fan plus the haters that tune in for a possible ND loss and you have a license to print money.

 

[stlnd01]

We open against Texas and then Michigan in 2015? Jesus.
Also, Michigan State?
And are we playing split squads with Temple and Akron on the 26th?

 

[Zbi]

I believe this is our 2015 schedule. Does this look like a Boise St. type schedule to you?

9-5 Texas
9-12 @ Michigan
9-19 @ Purdue
9-26 Temple
9-26 Akron
10-17 Southern California
11-7 Wake Forest
11-14 @ Pittsburgh
11-21 Syracuse
11-28 @ Stanford
TBA @ Boston College
TBA UMass

It does not look like a Boise State schedule. My point is the team with tougher schedule will generally have the edge. Can you play cupcakes and still go to a BCS game? Absolutely. If you have teams with identical records, the team that has the tougher schedule will get into the championship game.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I believe this is our 2015 schedule. Does this look like a Boise St. type schedule to you?

9-5 Texas
9-12 @ Michigan
9-19 @ Purdue
9-26 Temple
TBA Akron
10-17 Southern California
11-7 Wake Forest
11-14 @ Pittsburgh
11-21 Syracuse
11-28 @ Stanford
TBA @ Boston College
TBA UMass


This is a "well-balanced" schedule

I would like to see something like that every year.

 

[gkIrish]

We open against Texas and then Michigan in 2015? Jesus.
Also, Michigan State?
And are we playing split squads with Temple and Akron on the 26th?

What I posted may not be the exact schedule. But it's close.

Edit: NVM about UConn

 

[OrlaNDomer]

IMO: UConn would be a better matchup than Akron and I would hate to see us take Michigan St off the schedule I think its become a good rivalry in recent years. Also love to see ND play in FL in the regular season. Who wouldn't want to see NDvFSU or NDvUM or even NDvUF any would be a front runner for college gameday.

 

[Rhode Irish]

This is all for marketing. I guarantee you that this will be a neutral site game at Gillette. This is no coincidence -- Connecticut renegs on this game, ND schedules the next most logical team that would be willing to play there. Like what was being discussed in another thread, ND desperately wants to entrench itself in the northeast.

This is a great point, and I'm not too sure how familiar everyone is with New England university politics, but UConn and UMass hate each other. Nice poke in the eye to UConn if they play this game at Gillette.

 

[irishog77]

It's not about exposure to recruits. It's about exposure to fans. And ND has more fans - current and potential - in heavily Catholic and under-college-footballed New England than they do in most any of those other places.

And they play the only football team around there people know about every year already. Times and demographics are changing and will continue to change. Besides there being a lot of people in Florida and Texas period, there are also a lot of Catholics there. Hell, each of those states has more people than all of New England combined. Arizona and Nevada have had population explosions going back 20 years or so. I understand what you're saying, but at a certain point, a business enterprise needs to worry beyond existing customers and ponder new customers as well.

 

[D-BOE34]

It does not look like a Boise State schedule. My point is the team with tougher schedule will generally have the edge. Can you play cupcakes and still go to a BCS game? Absolutely. If you have teams with identical records, the team that has the tougher schedule will get into the championship game.

Generally yes. ND is one of the 2? We go. As stated before, we are a cash cow. Not only that but ESPN would be strongly behind us to watch us lose. (That may be just in my head but I believe it)

 

[irishog77]

This is a great point, and I'm not too sure how familiar everyone is with New England university politics, but UConn and UMass hate each other. Nice poke in the eye to UConn if they play this game at Gillette.

Not really something ND fans care all that much about-- the Hatfield and McCoy-esque feud between Uconn and Umass. Probably not something the powers that be at ND care all that much about either.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I dislike this. Student-athletes do not come to Notre Dame to play UMass.

Do they come to lose to South Florida?

I'm 100% for this.

 

[gkIrish]

Do they come to lose to South Florida?

I'm 100% for this.

Tulsa bro, Tulsa

 

[Buster Bluth]

Either team?

 

[Rhode Irish]

Not really something ND fans care all that much about-- the Hatfield and McCoy-esque feud between Uconn and Umass. Probably not something the powers that be at ND care all that much about either.

The only reason that ND would care is if they are upset with UConn about how they backed out of their scheduling commitment with us.

 

[DillonHall]

The original post/article says the game's at ND

 

[dublinirish]

after the Western Michigan game a 2 years ago didnt Swarbrick say that ND would never ever again play a MAC team?

 

[ThePiombino]

I don't see the problem with this. At best it's a tune-up game (which, IMO, has been long overdue). At worst, it's a (hopefully) boring match-up between teacher and student; (again- hopefully) national powerhouse, defending champion ND and some obscure, barely FBS team. You can't play in Dublin every season-opener.

 

[phork]

Scheduling these teams is never a good idea. There is no benefit to it and if you happen to lose this game its certain Doom. See, Michigan vs AppSt.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

Some good conversation here, but other than the Molnar connection, why UMass? What a weird thing. If we're going dip our toe in the cupcake pool and need new england so bad, why not Harvard? Harvard is historically relevant and academically we share similar values. I think it would be a neat matchup story wise (if not on the field).

 

[Meacon Irish]

My guess is because Harvard is still an FCS team, whereas UMass is an FBS team now. Sure, a MAC team, but we can still crow we've never played an FCS team.

 

[BGIF]

Some good conversation here, but other than the Molnar connection, why UMass? What a weird thing. If we're going dip our toe in the cupcake pool and need new england so bad, why not Harvard? Harvard is historically relevant and academically we share similar values. I think it would be a neat matchup story wise (if not on the field).

The Molnar connection is the prime factor as was Tulsa's AD and former ND Associate AD Bubba Cunnigham's role in the ND Tulsa game. But keep in mind this is a buy game, a one time HOME game, not a home and home series. So the New England comment doesn't apply. IF this develops into a home and home down the road also keep in mind that ND historically travelled for the national fan base more so than recruiting. And they have since Rockne, hence the Subway Alumni term.

As for Harvard, I believe ND last played an Ivy in the early 50's, had a 4 year home and home with Penn. Penn was a power team in the 40's finishing in the Top 20 half a dozen times. But as the emphasis on recruiting grew the Ivy's refused to budge on a core belief that athletics should not be influence admissions. The Ivy's don't offer athletic scholarships.

The Ivy's dropped into Div 1AA in the early 80's. As Meacon noted ND hasn't played a Div 1AA or FCS school since that Division was created. ND is one of only 4 schools, I believe, that have not played a lower Division school. ND last played a Div 1 AA caliber school in the 1930's. Harvard would be an inappropriate opponent for ND.

UMass moves up to FBS this year and plays UCON, Michigan, Indiana, and Vandy as well as a 8 MAC games. They played Michigan in 2010 as a 1AA school. Again, IF this was to develop into a home and home McGuirk Stadium only seats 17,000 now with plans for 25,000. ND could sell more tickets than that stadium's capacity. UMass is playing home games in Foxboro, 69,000 seats, for the next couple of years. It would make more sense for UMass to host ND in Foxboro. ND fans from throughout the Northeast could travel there easily and find accomodations they couldn't in Amherst.

 

[jonesman]

Will some of you Domer fans stuck in the 1980's PLEASE wake up and smell what is happening in college football. I am tired of hearing that ND needs to schedule all BCS teams and none of these cupcakes. Well, you will have your wish this year and I don't want to hear your complaints when this team is looking beatdown come November.

TODAY"S college football landscape is far different from our glory days of LOU. The talent is spread farther, which means you have many more capable teams. Further, ND is not the end all of college football anymore. We must make adjustments. That is why the Jumbotron is coming, field turf is coming, early entries have been allowed and more things will be on the horizon.

In order for us to compete, we must make some schedule adjustments. Those involve a few softer games, but still maintaining many BCS powers. ND is still going to play the USC, UM, MSU, Miami, Texas and Oklahoma's, however we must have some breathers. EVERY BCS school is already doing this. That is why you see the Alabama's scheduling the Georgia Southern's.

A perfect example of how a team has scheduled themselves into the BCS for multiple years is OSU. Tressel was a genius at this. He sold everyone on the concept that he wanted to give Ohio colleges the benefit of playing OSU. Well, the reality is that he knew he could schedule automatic W's where he could rest players and get out early season wrinkles playing teams like Youngstown St, Akron, Ohio, Toledo. Further, OSU also gets those in conference breathers with the bottom feeders of Minnesota, Indiana and Purdue.

So, please wake up and realize that ND is not going to fill the schedule with UMass, Temple, Western Michigan, Northern Ill and other softies. We will have the power BCS teams, but also include some teams where we are definite favorites.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

If you don't like scheduling mid-majors, don't complain about being a perennial 8-4 team.