The Optimal Notre Dame Scheduling Model

[BleedBlueGold]

Consider me 100% on board with abandoning this scheduling model. You don't have to schedule like Bama to win like Bama. But dammit, even Bama isn't running through these ridiculously hard top 3 SOS schedules. There is a middle ground somewhere.

I recall Swarbrick and BK talking about the ND Brand. It should've clicked right then and there that they want the national ND brand to spread all over the country and they're gonna make a schedule that conducive to hitting this goal, winning be damned.

 

[BobbyMac]

Get over the "travel" talk. Every game in the ACC is a 2ish hour flight except the close schools, Pitt and Louisville and then Miami which is a 3 hr flight. So they spend and extra 2.5 hrs flying to LA in a specially configured Delta charter with extra room. They may take a 747 to SC, I know they did for the Pinstripe Bowl and Clemson in '15.

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[RDU Irish]

These schedules are just moronic. It is as if they are looking for maximum week to week attention with less than zero regard for any playoff/bowl placement.

2018 - Hey where should we go after our trip to NYC? How about the furthest possible distance we can conjure within the continental US? Yeah, sandwich the pomp and circumstance Shamrock Game in between FSU and USC - what could go wrong? Not to mention a trip to Va Tech after Stanford dings us up and before Pitt sneaks in for an upset special. Ball State, Vandy and Wake Forest (underrated) after Michigan is a nice early season set up at least.
2019 - spacing and locations are more like it but we seriously have UGA, Michigan and Stanford on the road in the same year
2020 - Clemson, @GT, Louisville, @ USC - front of the schedule looks more reasonable (particularly if they had swapped Wisconsin for Indiana) but who in their right mind finishes with that? Then you have the three game stretch of Wisconsin, Stanford, Pitt - wtf.

 

[GowerND11]

I remember when the NCAA Football game was out. I'd always use ND for my dynasty. Each year for my schedule I'd set it up with generally these rules:
No Sunbelt or FCS teams
Keep: USC, Navy, Michigan State, and Stanford
Rotate: Purdue, Michigan, Pitt, Boston College, Miami (Generally 3 of them a year)
One MAC School
One Big East (Replace with AAC)
2 Mid to low teams from the SEC or Big XII
Marquee game against a top 10 ranked team first game of season.

Obviously with the ACC agreement it could still be something like:
5 ACC
Navy and USC
Rotate: Michigan St, Purdue, Army, Air Force, Stanford
1 MAC
1 AAC
Lower team P5 from Big XII or SEC, even a B1G or Pac-12

That schedule could STILL be hard, but manageable.

 

[RDU Irish]

Get over the "travel" talk. Every game in the ACC is a 2ish hour flight except the close schools, Pitt and Louisville and then Miami which is a 3 hr flight. So they spend and extra 2.5 hrs flying to LA in a specially configured Delta charter with extra room. They may take a 747 to SC, I know they did for the Pinstripe Bowl and Clemson in '15.

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Chicago to RDU is about 90 minutes in the air. Big difference b/w that and USC or Miami. I tolerate air travel and most of these guys have half a foot and over 100 pounds on me to fold into their seat. Someone like Quentin Nelson sits next to you on any flight and you would be bitching to your friends about it no doubt.

No substitute for sleeping in your own bed too. You don't see Bama and OSU scheduling this type of travel for a reason and ND is completely foolish to subject themselves to this sh!t.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I don't want any part of scheduling some "OOC" Powerhouse. USC and Stanford take the cake. Some years MSU and UM are going to be there. You'll almost always get at least one from the ACC. There is zero reason to be scheduling teams like Texas, Georgia, OSU, etc. If played in vacuum, yes. But to toss them in to a schedule that's already loaded with 3+ perennial top 20 teams? No thanks.

 

[BobbyMac]

You guys are wasting time. These schedules are locked in to the mid 20's. Texas will force ND into the ACC before they can back out of all of what's on the books.

And Chicago to RDU is close to 2 hours than 90 min RDU. Just because you fly by Gulfstream doesn't mean we all do.

 

[NDRock]

I don't want any part of scheduling some "OOC" Powerhouse. USC and Stanford take the cake. Some years MSU and UM are going to be there. You'll almost always get at least one from the ACC. There is zero reason to be scheduling teams like Texas, Georgia, OSU, etc. If played in vacuum, yes. But to toss them in to a schedule that's already loaded with 3+ perennial top 20 teams? No thanks.

It's funny, I prefer scheduling one "big team" every year like a Georgia, Texas, OSU. What I've come to loathe are the games next year against Northwestern and Vandy. Give me:

5 ACC
Navy, Stanford, USC
1 Big name to start the year (like Michigan next year)
3 absolute cupcakes from the lower FBS leagues

Place your cupcakes strategically and you're good.

 

[snoopdog]

West coast, to east coast to west coast is to much for full time committed student athletes. Never mind adding FSU and USC to that mix.

There is really no way to justify this scheduling decision for student athletes

 

[snoopdog]

It's funny, I prefer scheduling one "big team" every year like a Georgia, Texas, OSU. What I've come to loathe are the games next year against Northwestern and Vandy. Give me:

5 ACC
Navy, Stanford, USC
1 Big name to start the year (like Michigan next year)
3 absolute cupcakes from the lower FBS leagues

Place your cupcakes strategically and you're good.

Why can’t Navy, Stanford or USC be the name to start the season and then add Purdue or Northwestern as your Fourth game. Because the ACC games come with Clemson, FSU, V Tech......

I am sure an AD committed to win 10 wins would try and limit the crazy matches as much as possible

 

[RDU Irish]

You guys are wasting time. These schedules are locked in to the mid 20's. Texas will force ND into the ACC before they can back out of all of what's on the books.

And Chicago to RDU is close to 2 hours than 90 min RDU. Just because you fly by Gulfstream doesn't mean we all do.

I'm talking actual fly time - you can waste half your life waiting to get in the air or to a gate at O'Hare.

 

[NDRock]

Why can’t Navy, Stanford or USC be the name to start the season and then add Purdue or Northwestern as your Fourth game. Because the ACC games come with Clemson, FSU, V Tech......

I am sure an AD committed to win 10 wins would try and limit the crazy matches as much as possible

You could. I like to think of the 5 ACC games, Navy, Stanford, and USC as our conference games. So with our 4 remaining games, I would like one big team that we normally don't play. Like a Texas, Georgia, Oregon, etc... and 3 absolute cupcakes. Most power 5 teams do this with their OOC schedules.

 

[irishff1014]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Notre Dame’s Shamrock Series returns in ’18 at Yankee Stadium as the Irish will close with a schedule that may hurt its playoff chances.<a href="https://t.co/eO0uYOb8KI">https://t.co/eO0uYOb8KI</a> <a href="https://t.co/T5Y7FpEXQo">pic.twitter.com/T5Y7FpEXQo</a></p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/938848762931437568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Stupid to take away a home game IMO

 

[BleedBlueGold]

It's funny, I prefer scheduling one "big team" every year like a Georgia, Texas, OSU. What I've come to loathe are the games next year against Northwestern and Vandy. Give me:

5 ACC
Navy, Stanford, USC
1 Big name to start the year (like Michigan next year)
3 absolute cupcakes from the lower FBS leagues

Place your cupcakes strategically and you're good.

Why can’t Navy, Stanford or USC be the name to start the season and then add Purdue or Northwestern as your Fourth game. Because the ACC games come with Clemson, FSU, V Tech......

I am sure an AD committed to win 10 wins would try and limit the crazy matches as much as possible

The bolded is why I feel that way. Notre Dame doesn't need to be scheduling 5 or 6 power houses in the same season. Literally no one else is doing that. FSU had a top 5 SOS this year and they played 3 power houses (Bama, Clemson, and Miami - and the U is kind of a stretch since this year was their first good year in awhile). But they also had to play NCST, WF, BC, Louisville, and Florida. People wanting ND to play a schedule that could consist of USC, Stanford, Michigan, Georgia, Navy, Clemson, and FSU all in the same year are insane.

 

[ickythump1225]

I was wrong to think that Notre Dame would quietly kill this failed attempt at nostalgia, and try to start scheduling to WIN games rather than some bullshit BRAND OPPORTUNITY. I should have known that powerful men that have agendas, tend TO STAY ON THAT AGENDA REGARDLESS OF THE WAKE OF DESTRUCTION THEY LEAVE BEHIND.

Of course the best way to win in college football, and in life, is to have just ONE home game after October 13th (Florida State Seminoles on November 10).

https://www.onefootdown.com/2017/12...stadium-in-2018-this-is-dumb-orange-swarbrick

At least other people are noticing our stupid scheduling model.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

https://www.onefootdown.com/2017/12...stadium-in-2018-this-is-dumb-orange-swarbrick

At least other people are noticing our stupid scheduling model.

The Brand opportunity comment is spot on. I mentioned this yesterday. Completely agree.

 

[snoopdog]

Optimal

1) @Alabama....give Saban sometime to get ready to make game interesting
2) Michigan ....breather after a tough opening win
3) Stanford..... cupcake 3rd game
4) @ Clemson....pray for no Hurricane
5) Virg Tech.....another cupcake game
6) @ Miami... cooler in mid October
Bye
7) Navy.... cupcake
8) FSU.....see how they like late October football
9) BC.....cupcake before the tough stretch
10) @Georgia.... tough but doable
11) Ohio State.....both teams looking to make a late impression on the committee
12) @USC....tradition

May not go 12-0 , but 11-1 gets us in the discussion for a playoff spot.

 

[NDShark]

Optimal

1) @Alabama....give Saban sometime to get ready to make game interesting
2) Michigan ....breather after a tough opening win
3) Stanford..... cupcake 3rd game
4) @ Clemson....pray for no Hurricane
5) Virg Tech.....another cupcake game
6) @ Miami... cooler in mid October
Bye
7) Navy.... cupcake
8) FSU.....see how they like late October football
9) BC.....cupcake before the tough stretch
10) @Georgia.... tough but doable
11) Ohio State.....both teams looking to make a late impression on the committee
12) @USC....tradition

May not go 12-0 , but 11-1 gets us in the discussion for a playoff spot.

Did you forget italics? How many teams each year realistically would get through this with 1 or fewer losses?

 

[NDRock]

Optimal

1) @Alabama....give Saban sometime to get ready to make game interesting
2) Michigan ....breather after a tough opening win
3) Stanford..... cupcake 3rd game
4) @ Clemson....pray for no Hurricane
5) Virg Tech.....another cupcake game
6) @ Miami... cooler in mid October
Bye
7) Navy.... cupcake
8) FSU.....see how they like late October football
9) BC.....cupcake before the tough stretch
10) @Georgia.... tough but doable
11) Ohio State.....both teams looking to make a late impression on the committee
12) @USC....tradition

May not go 12-0 , but 11-1 gets us in the discussion for a playoff spot.

Byes are for pussies.

 

[RDU Irish]

Byes are for pussies.

Obvious open spot for Oklahoma - we can't give the Big12 a pass from our utter dominance. 13 games might finally earn us some respect against the argument we play not CCG.

 

[ickythump1225]

Optimal

1) @Alabama....give Saban sometime to get ready to make game interesting
2) Michigan ....breather after a tough opening win
3) Stanford..... cupcake 3rd game
4) @ Clemson....pray for no Hurricane
5) Virg Tech.....another cupcake game
6) @ Miami... cooler in mid October
Bye
7) Navy.... cupcake
8) FSU.....see how they like late October football
9) BC.....cupcake before the tough stretch
10) @Georgia.... tough but doable
11) Ohio State.....both teams looking to make a late impression on the committee
12) @USC....tradition

May not go 12-0 , but 11-1 gets us in the discussion for a playoff spot.

F**king weak bro. You forgot to add that we should have multiple "Shamrock Series" games every year, think of the brand opportunities! We could play Michigan in what's left of the Pontiac Silverdome. Our game against Stanford could be on the Apple campus. BC could be in Boston Garden and we could play FSU at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

 

[RDU Irish]

Navy on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Persian Gulf is an obvious global branding op.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Wait, wait, wait.

We're playing Navy in fucking San Diego? Lmfao

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Made the mistake of browsing the FB comments since ND's FB released the '19 and '20 schedules.

People genuinely love playing the toughest schedule possible. Which would be fine if these same people weren't the ones wanting BK fired after ND goes 7-5 and loses 3 out of 4 in November.

People honestly think ND is "stooping to Alabama's level" by scheduling teams like Western Michigan and Bowling Green. They want top teams across the board. See above point.

Serious question: If ND scheduled slightly easier and started winning 10, 11, or even 12 games per year and was a perennial playoff contender (and maybe even won a championship), would these "fans" be complaining about our SOS?

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Made the mistake of browsing the FB comments since ND's FB released the '19 and '20 schedules.

People genuinely love playing the toughest schedule possible. Which would be fine if these same people weren't the ones wanting BK fired after ND goes 7-5 and loses 3 out of 4 in November.

People honestly think ND is "stooping to Alabama's level" by scheduling teams like Western Michigan and Bowling Green. They want top teams across the board. See above point.

Serious question: If ND scheduled slightly easier and started winning 10, 11, or even 12 games per year and was a perennial playoff contender (and maybe even won a championship), would these "fans" be complaining about our SOS?

Idgaf who we play (love playing tough teams)

I don't want the fucking team traveling to Cali twice (and NY) in a 4 week period... The logistics are awful.

 

[GowerND11]

Made the mistake of browsing the FB comments since ND's FB released the '19 and '20 schedules.

People genuinely love playing the toughest schedule possible. Which would be fine if these same people weren't the ones wanting BK fired after ND goes 7-5 and loses 3 out of 4 in November.

People honestly think ND is "stooping to Alabama's level" by scheduling teams like Western Michigan and Bowling Green. They want top teams across the board. See above point.

Serious question: If ND scheduled slightly easier and started winning 10, 11, or even 12 games per year and was a perennial playoff contender (and maybe even won a championship), would these "fans" be complaining about our SOS?

I think what ACamp said earlier in the thread would happen. We'd be blasted, mostly by other fans, that our schedule is even more weak than we already make it (which it isn't, but you know... idiots) for a while, but then when we are sitting at 11-1/12-0 with no major injuries being able to compete in NY6 games and playoff games with other contenders it wouldn't matter much.

And I doubt our own fans would complain seeing the team undefeated against a weak schedule... see 2012.

 

[RDU Irish]

How about really setting the trend and focusing on the student athlete. Schedule 11 games with the extra bye week to focus on their health and studies. Argument being it is just as "hard" as Bama or pOSU scheduling the Mercers of the world and when we win 10 in a season it means something. I don't think a one loss ND misses the playoff in this scenario AND we are more likely to be one loss or better.

7 home games - one Shamrock and three true away games. Stanford gets the boot so we eliminate one Cali trip. More Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, less Michigan, Wisconsin, OSU. More Vanderbilt less Georgia. Between the ACC lineup and USC we have plenty of SoS to fall back on.

 

[stlnd01]

Idgaf who we play (love playing tough teams)

I don't want the fucking team traveling to Cali twice (and NY) in a 4 week period... The logistics are awful.

I agree with this. We should play a tough schedule. But we need to be smarter about how we schedule it week to week.

 

[RDU Irish]

I think what ACamp said earlier in the thread would happen. We'd be blasted, mostly by other fans, that our schedule is even more weak than we already make it (which it isn't, but you know... idiots) for a while, but then when we are sitting at 11-1/12-0 with no major injuries being able to compete in NY6 games and playoff games with other contenders it wouldn't matter much.

And I doubt our own fans would complain seeing the team undefeated against a weak schedule... see 2012.

Anyone who thinks our 2012 schedule was weak needs their head examined.

Navy in Dublin
Purdue
@Michigan State
Michigan (back to back top 25 teams)
BYE
Miami in Chicago
Stanford
BYU
@Oklahoma
Pitt
@BC
Wake Forest
@USC

So on road to MSU, Oklahoma and USC is easy? Two non-P5 conference teams in Navy and BYU? Maybe they didn't finish as strong in the rankings but there was tons of pedigree in that schedule.

Final AP rankings - Stanford #7, Oklahoma #15, Michigan #24 - ND #4
PreSeason - USC #1, Oklahoma #4, Michigan #8, MSU #13, Stanford #21 - ND Unranked

And I could argue preseason unranked ND beating these teams hurt their collective rankings - especially Michigan and MSU early in the season.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Anyone who thinks our 2012 schedule was weak needs their head examined.

Navy in Dublin
Purdue
@Michigan State
Michigan (back to back top 25 teams)
BYE
Miami in Chicago
Stanford
BYU
@Oklahoma
Pitt
@BC
Wake Forest
@USC

So on road to MSU, Oklahoma and USC is easy? Two non-P5 conference teams in Navy and BYU? Maybe they didn't finish as strong in the rankings but there was tons of pedigree in that schedule.

Final AP rankings - Stanford #7, Oklahoma #15, Michigan #24 - ND #4
PreSeason - USC #1, Oklahoma #4, Michigan #8, MSU #13, Stanford #21 - ND Unranked

And I could argue preseason unranked ND beating these teams hurt their collective rankings - especially Michigan and MSU early in the season.

Yeah pretty sure that was borderline top 20 SOS. Might've received a bump after Bama, but still. It's possible he meant that it didn't turn out to be top 5 or top 10. Looking at the list of teams, it easily could have been, but some of those teams didn't end up being as good as first thought.