ND to play ASU in football series

Submitted by wayneandgarth on

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130611/notre-dame-to-play-arizona-state-in-2014/?sct=uk_t2_a11 

 

So the "chickens" drop the Michigan series supposed to allow for their ACC five game commitment.  Now they line up this inferior pair of games against a much lesser ASU team.  What punks - Hoke couldn't have been more dead on with his discription of these dopes. 

phork

June 13th, 2013 at 1:32 PM ^

Uh these games have been scheduled for quite some time.  ND was trying to get out of the second game for ACC scheduling reasons but our former AD forgot to include a game buyout clause in the contract.

But the nugget you seemed to have missed is that ND is lining up a 10 year series with Texas which, in effect, replaces you.  All that it needs is the John Hancocks.  Drop a midwest game for a series against Texas?  Yes please.  I'll miss you guys but you can rest assured knowing that I'll be here to give lumps (and take them) once our series goes on Hiatus.  Don't be sad though.  Its not, you..  Well yes it is.

CLord

June 13th, 2013 at 1:49 PM ^

yes. please continue to run away from your midwestern roots to further 'nationalize' the ND brand of mediocrity.  can't wait for the day you're reduced to army/navy status.  oops, navy's been kicking your ass recently too no? you're already half way there.

1464

June 13th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^

Do you truly feel like ND mediocrity is 11-1?  Let's play a game, who is more mediocre?

 

Team 1 - 2 losing seasons, 13 winning seasons

3-9, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6, 8-4, 8-5, 9-4, 9-3, 9-3, 10-3, 10-3, 10-3, 10-2, 11-2, 11-2 (0.675)

Team 2 - 4 losing seasons, 9 winning seasons

3-9, 5-7, 5-7, 5-6, 6-6, 6-6, 7-6, 8-5, 8-5, 9-3, 9-3, 9-3, 10-3, 10-3, 12-1 (0.605)

CLord

June 13th, 2013 at 2:30 PM ^

You're like the guy who thinks he's good at poker because he won one hand after catching pocket Aces.  Over the long haul, M has kicked ND's ass, and given how we're trending, both sides know that is how it would have resumed shortly had ND not chickened out.

1464

June 13th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^

To be honest, Texas will be a step down from us over the next decade.  That's not written in stone, obviously, but there are pretty strong indications to that effect.  Michigan may have to borrow your "Return to Glory" phrase and actually fulfill it, and Mack Brown is a lame duck coach at this point who cannot outplay or outrecruit TAMU.

93Grad

June 13th, 2013 at 4:11 PM ^

every year.  Seriously, there is no way you can spin this that looks good for ND.  They backed out of one of the top 10 rivalries in all of college football with consistently huge tv ratings every year so they could play a crappy ACC schedule plus Sparty and Purdue. 

phork

June 14th, 2013 at 12:46 AM ^

I don't have to spin it in any way.  I would say to your top 10 rivalaries comment that it is a regional phenomenon.  UTL Part 1 was on ESPN 3, because NASCAR was on ABC. 

As far as backing out I remember a certain AD or 2 who pulled the plug on the series in 1909 and again in 1943.  Talk about chickening out, you should know you have done it twice.

And as I have said before Sparty is on the endangered list as well.

MgoBadFish

June 13th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^

"Drop a Midwest game for a series against Texas"? ND decide to run away from their only big Midwest game and keep playing Purdue and Sparty. There were better options, it seems to me ND wanted to soften their schedule. Just like Michael and women...

CLord

June 13th, 2013 at 1:46 PM ^

Nice try man, but fail.  ND could schedule Alabama and LSU every year, but the fact that they backed out of the series with the only Big Ten school that’s kicked their ass for decades, while preserving their two series with inferior Big Ten opponents they traditionally dominate under some bullshit “stronger tradition” excuse, is all the reasoned observers of the world need to know that yes, in fact ND chickened out of the Michigan series.  Not to mention the underhanded – anything but Christian – way they went about doing it to ensure a 2 for 1 home game scenario to close it.

ND’s been mediocre for decades now, and this chicken-shit method of going about “nationalizing” your brand by pairing up with the East Coast ACC and keeping your California games, and reaching out to Texas? It will just make enjoying your mediocrity that much more after all this fuss.

CLord

June 13th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^

Really?  Here, in all those outcomes, how many were ND blow outs?  Not only has Michigan won more overall, but when I think 38-0 I get ND double-vision.  The close games may be a wash, but the only team to get its ass really kicked in this series over the last several decades was ND, several times.

inthebluelot

June 17th, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^

2003, 2007 and the latter was an asskicking in A2 by Ryan Mallett, freshman QB. Combine that with Rich Rod owning you guys and the other blowout in South Bend when Woodley scooped and scored to seal the coffin... I'd say its been a healthy dose of being owned the last decade.
EDIT: how the hell is this post trolling? Get a girlfriend dude....

Wolverine 73

June 13th, 2013 at 2:39 PM ^

There is no reason why ND could not have rotated the Purdue, Michigan and MSU series, playing 2 of 3 of them each year, with a home and home two year series with a pair, then a home and home with a second combination etc.  That way, they keep all three going, and just have a two year break in a six year period from each series.  But they opted to keep the weak sisters and end the series with the strong team.  That looks, walks and squawks like a chicken.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

June 13th, 2013 at 1:48 PM ^

You know what else was scheduled for quite some time?  The Michigan series.  Don't act like ND couldn't have dropped ASU if they'd wanted to, instead of Michigan.  How did there end up being an out clause in the Michigan contract but not in the ASU contract, I wonder?  They're not that incompetent at ND.   Buck buck.

CLord

June 13th, 2013 at 1:54 PM ^

Honestly though if I was ND I'd be scared of Michigan too.  I mean even in our biggest downturn ever we ran off a 3 game win streak with some incredible wins, and last year it took ND's best team in decades getting 6 turn overs, and Denard's worst game ever, for ND to scrape by with a win at home by less than a TD.

Simple fact us Michigan is in ND's head.  They fear us, so they are chickening out under the auspice of "nationalizing the brand."

LOL

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

June 13th, 2013 at 2:41 PM ^

I can see the need to clear out a little space for the ACC games.  That arrangement leaves them seven yearly slots.  Have to play USC and Navy, I would put both ahead of Michigan.  That leaves five.  Let's say they decide they just absolutely must play Stanford every year because for whatever reason they like to play in Cali every year.  Four.  They like to play an instate team.  OK, fine, Purdue.  Three.  Still a lot of room.

Texas has nothing to do with "nationalizing the brand" and everything to do with the fact that DeLoss Dodds is utterly desperate to have ND on Texas's schedule.  I mean he practically got on his hands and knees and begged the Big 12 to invite ND.  He thinks a Texas-ND hookup will cure AIDS and put a man on Pluto.  So that's more about finding out exactly how desperate, in terms of dead presidents, Dodds really is.

Even so there's still room for Michigan.  So yup - the way I see it, ND wants to present itself to the country as the Midwest's premier football team, and getting beaten by Michigan every year - and early - puts a major damper on those plans.  So they won't play anyone within 500 miles that they fear as a threat.

Jaqen H'ghar

June 13th, 2013 at 5:56 PM ^

Phork,

I honestly would like to make a bet with you on that Texas series. I will bet you at least $100 that this series will be no more than a home and home. Texas would never do a 10 year series with a team that could beat them, but then even if they win it still doesn't look that good cause it's Notre Dame.

robmorren2

June 13th, 2013 at 11:17 PM ^

ND fans always base their scheduling around recruiting (allegedly). However, recruiting has never been an issue. I'm not sure that playing in Texas really changes the landscape of their recruiting that much. Maybe they sub a midwest 4* for a Texas 4*. I would much rather see the top 2 programs in history play each year. I think the geographical scheduling is only important for programs that are trying to build into major-program status; Boise St, TCU, Northwestern, etc. Notre Dame will get predominantly 4* & 5* players regardless of their scheduling.