Michigan-Notre Dame Tentatively Back On
[Eric Upchurch]
It's not quite official, but the head coaches of both ends of the rivalry more or less announced today that Michigan-Notre Dame will resume in the near future. Brian Kelly was more specific than Harbaugh:
“We’re going to make that happen,” the seventh-year Notre Dame head football coach said Thursday, relaxing in his office. “We’ve got some work to do, but we’re going to make it happen.
“It’s something (ND athletic director) Jack Swarbrick and I want to do, and we’re going to get that game back together. We’ve got some challenges, but I think we can pull it off.”
How soon?
“We want to do it as soon as we can,” Kelly said. “We’ve got Michigan State home-and-home the next two years (2016-17), and then we’re hoping to. We want to get in on the schedule as quickly as possible after that.”
For his part, Harbaugh said they'd been working on resuming the series for "7, 8, 9 months" and that there were Ts to cross and Is to dot. Hoping those details include a rivalry trophy portraying Dave Brandon hunched over a computer, typing furiously.
Michigan currently has home games against Arkansas and SMU lined up for 2018 and an open date September 8th. It's an MSU/OSU away year and they should get the next home game in the series. ND currently has two openings in 2018, with Ball State scheduled for September 8th. They already have a couple of highly attractive home games in Stanford and FSU; their 2019 home schedule is currently pretty weak, with USC and not much else of interest. Resuming the series with a Michigan home game in 2018 appears to make sense for everybody.
The main problem: adding a game at ND in 2019 would lock Michigan into just five home games, which I assume is unacceptable. If the Arkansas return game gets moved—or that series gets flat-out canceled—they can get up to six. That would still be the fewest home games Michigan Stadium has seen since the move to 12 games. The ever-increasing blizzard of TV money makes it more likely Michigan can weather that financially, but it's a problem. One that the two sides appear to be working through.
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Let then fill their schedule with the Wake Forest's of college football. They made their bed with the ACC, let them sleep in it.
with the hell with ND crowd. If we renew the series, I hope it's a two year on and then a few years off. I really enjoy seeing UM play teams from different parts of the country and teams from the SEC, Pac-12 and even Big 12 rather then another midwest foe from Indiana. Let's keep our brand national.
How can you BE any more of a "national brand" than by playing THE most "national brand?"
To hell with the idiots who keep saying "to hell with Notre Dame"--that's stupid. If Notre Dame was as irrelevant and weak as a brand as Michigan fans think (or wish for), than why OH WHY are they THE brand everybody covets?
But I'd rather Michigan and Notre Dame be playing, so to hell with them when we play them.
If hard on lasts for more than 4 hours, you should consult your doctor right away
Fuck the Irish. I was fine with it when that series ended. Get off their damn high horse and join a conference and then we'll talk.
Nobody could make us look like National Champions in September, and our QBs look like Heisman favorites in September than Notre Dame.
Maybe we should play them in November.
My interests right now is Michigan improving and beating MSU/OSU so their fans can shut it. I dont feel the need to support/bolster NDs resume with a quality opponent in UM. In the age of playoffs (PLAYOFFS???) they need us WAY more than we need them.
Would love 2 years on/ 2 years off and/or playing every other year (At M in 2017, at ND in 2019, at M in 2021, etc)
We should play ND. Traditional, close rivalry. Why not?
However, I want home-and-homes with other big programs too. With ND ever year, M seemed to schedule only tomato cans and ND (this year it's just tomato cans). With 3 NC games, may have to spread it out a bit.
Playing them twice every four years (home & home) would be ideal.
Tomato cans serve a purpose. In the current alignment, we play Ohio State, Michigan State, and Penn State every season. For the next four seasons, we play Wisconsin every year as well. Three of the next four years we play either Nebraska or Iowa (another potentially major B1G foe). After this year's weak non-conference slate, we play an SEC team from 2017-2019 (with only one in AA).
Those are 5-6 BATTLES each season. Potentially add ND in 18-19. What if Maryland (another perennial foe in this alignment) rises up a bit under Durkin? We only get Rutgers and Indiana once a year each. It'd be nice to have one September game every year that we can count on a W and cycle in some younger guys in the second half.
Two big-time non-conference opponents each year are enough.
Adn would that be to watch them play for, oh, about $500.00 for a family of four? (figuring all expenses if you don't have to fly in and get a hotel, etc)
Would that be to pay a PSL, season ticket package price, donations, etc?
Would that be for the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars for the premium skyboxes?
to play at least once a year. I'm fond of the MAC and getting them some money and exposure.
with other big programs. UM already has home and home's scheduled with other big programs through 2027. Unless they try to cancel that I don't think it's a problem. In fact, if they add ND to certain years UM would have a brutal non-conference schedule.
While playing ND should definitely happen, it should not be every year now that we get fewer non-conf games.
I would actually be content playing them once every four years. As the marquee non-conf game: 3 years with a variety of opponents, then one year with ND. Repeat.
I agree with this as well. Why does it have to be an all or nothing? Why can't we play them every other year, continuing the rivalry but then also allowing us to scheule other major matchips. A win win.
After the debacle of the last series starting AND ending with games at ND, they owe us one. Therefore I'd like the see the first 2 games of the series both in Ann Arbor. But this will never happen.
2018, ND and Ball St both have opens on Sept 1. Ball St @ ND would make sense as an opener for each team. ND at Michigan Sept 8 would leave ND with 5 home games, but with three open dates to pick from, one of which will remain open for a bye. Could easily add someone to get to 6 home games. Michigan would end up with 8 home games that year, just like this year.
2019, M has an opening Sept 14. Notre Dame has New Mexico that day, but could conceivable move that to Sept 7 (even though that would be 5 days after playing Louisville on the road on Labor Day, but ND could probably weather that and still get the dub). Sept 14 is the easiest date to make work, but M would only have 5 home games. So this may not be the best season for a game from M's perspective.
2020, M is booked up out of conference with at Washington, Ball State, and VA Tech. Even with assuming the Ball State game could move or be canned, would M want three P5 teams non-con? Doubtful.
2021, M has at VA Tech and U-Dub at home, with one opening. Again, 3 P5 teams? Would require some wrangling.
So, while 2018 seems like an obvious fix, the subsequent years aren't as clear. The B1G schedules that are known only go through 2019 though, so there could be some flexibility in 2020 and beyond.
God Dave Brandon was the worst thing to happen to MIchigan football in a long, long time
I believe that's how Dave Brandon refers to himself
"Ever After" or "Camp David"
Take your pick
Rich Rod and Hoke. Looking back serves no purpose other than to appreciate were we are today. I'm so old, I still have bad memories of the Michigan dark ages in the '60s under Bump Elliott.
But I'm glad the ND matchup got put on hiatus for a little while. It was getting old year in and year out.
I'd go with it once every 4 years from now on.
As much as we despise Brandon, one of the condequences of ND ending the contract was UM had to go out and get some legit non-conference games scheduled for the upcoming years. Had ND not gave DB the middle finger I'm not sure we'd have Texas, Oklahoma, VaTech, UCLA and Washington scheduled in future years.
Dave Brandon did to Michigan what Kanye West did to Bohemian Rhapsody.
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Bad blood for a while. We've always been on again off again with ND.
This pleases me.
Good for Michigan, good for the sport in general. Good
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is something to be said for history. Michigan and Notre Dame have intrinsic historical ties. They have two of the best stadiums in the game, two of the best uniforms, and the two best fight songs. They are natural geographic rivals and are both usually very good. There is every reason in the world for this game to continue being played. They are not going to play it every year, which I think was a change that was in order.
In short, these two teams are way, way too similar not to be playing.
This game can take some breaks at times but it should happen more often than not.
"To hell with Notre Dame" doesn't mean they slink off. It means we send them there.
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