UPDATE: Michigan to open 2018 season AT ND, host them on October 26, 2019!
UPDATE:
Official release.
We open the 2018 season against them and then will host them in 2019.
ON OCTOBER 26TH
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/070716aaa.html
2018 schedule
| 9/1 | at Notre Dame |
| 9/8 | OPEN DATE |
| 9/15 | vs SMU |
| 9/22 | vs Nebraska% |
| 9/29 | at Northwestern% |
| 10/6 | vs Maryland* |
| 10/13 | vs Wisconsin% |
| 10/20 | at Michigan State* |
| 10/27 | Bye Week |
| 11/3 | vs Penn State* |
| 11/10 | at Rutgers* |
| 11/17 | vs Indiana* |
| 11/24 | at Ohio State* |
| 12/1 | B1G Championship |
2019 schedule
| 8/31 | OPEN DATE |
| 9/7 | OPEN DATE |
| 9/14 | Bye Week |
| 9/21 | at Wisconsin% |
| 9/28 | vs Rutgers* |
| 10/5 | vs Iowa% |
| 10/12 | at Illinois% |
| 10/19 | at Penn State* |
| 10/26 | vs Notre Dame |
| 11/2 | at Maryland* |
| 11/9 | Bye Week |
| 11/16 | vs Michigan State* |
| 11/23 | at Indiana* |
| 11/30 | vs Ohio State* |
| 12/7 | B1G Championship |
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While it's not ideal to have OSU/ND/MSU all home or all away, it does give Michigan the opportunity to have seven home games each season. That's the one thing I didn't like about the non-conf games that Michigan scheduled with Texas, Oklahoma, etc... it provided for 8 home games one season, and then only 6 the next. It's nice to have at least 7 each season...
I don't care where we play because we will win wherever, as for lopsided schedules, I don't give a fuck.
What I do care about is losing the Arkansas series; this shit pissed me off; I want to smash an SEC team every fucking year from now to 2099
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Just a P.S. on the schedule above - unless sonething has changed - Michigan and Army were to play in Ann Arbor on 9/7/19.
I will join in.
Why all three away? why why why?!?!?!
No hotel needed for ND, MSU, and OSU trips that year.
I think given the spotty (relative to "rivals") amount this game has been played over time would make it a perfect candidate for two games every four years. That would keep the schedule somewhat free for teams like, say, Arkansas.
Thankfully, Warde wasn't the AD during the Nike negotiations. We would have ended up with Reebok and $20M less.
So, the only viable explanation for this is that Manuel wants 7 home games every year. Does this mean we shouldn't hold our breath if we are expecting to see the VT, UCLA, Oklahoma, and Texas actually happen? The only major series that fits this pattern of away games in even years currently is with Washington. Is 8-6-8-6 really that big of a deal when we have years to plan for it financially? I thought the extra home games in even years sort of made up for traveling to OSU/MSU given that we have plans to get a big time opponent on the Big House in September.
But the BIG is unique, always has been. The other two of the Big Three - all-time winningest programs - have their own deals, but I am not quite certain how TX pulled it off without being an independent. When TX first got their deal, I think they were still the number one program in their conference; Such is not the case any longer, but they are still making more money that anyone else inat conference from T.V. rights.
UM is one of those schools that could probably pull of the t.v. deal because of the diversity of the school and the number of states represented on its football team. It's definitely, like ND, a school with national appeal. However, even with it's own T.V. deal, TX is still obligated to play other members of the conference. So, too, would Michigan.
Things appear to be getting better on the field, but as an Independent, the previous decade would not have been that attractive. If we were going to get rid of PSU, it would have to had been attempted when Emmert lifted their sanctions. Delaney would have had to call for a vote of conference ADs, and if the vote would have gone as expected, the onus would have been turned right back on Emmert who would have had some serious explaining to do on why he lifted the sanctions in the first place.
But even playing the two schools you despise, if we take care of business on the field we are basically guaranteed a spot in the playoffs as was proven by MSU last season with one loss;
It's not going to be a perfect system any longer. We just have to make the best of what is accorded us.
You have to be strategic in scheduling and with the current 4 team playoff, a P5 school (+ND) will always be left out. An OOC loss to ND likely means ND is really good and would jump us in the top 4 (even if they had 1 loss) and Michigan was 12-1, since ND beat us head to head.
However, a 12-1 Michigan B1G champ would be ranked ahead of an 11-1 ND (assuming M beat Arkansas and lost a random conference game, say to a Wisconsin) and gets ranked ahead of at least 1 other P5 Conference Champ.
Also, look at Bama's 2016 OOC schedule. It's:
USC (good, not great team, not unlike an Arkansas) and 3 cupcakes. Is anyone saying Saban doesn't "beat the best"?
You can beat the best and also schedule wisely for both the team and fans--they aren't mutually exclusive. We pay Warde Manuel millions of dollars to do this.
this part of the department's duties. I wouldn't think it would be that difficult to keep the schedules balanced so no one gets "tricked fucked." The league has to do all the scheduling so it's up to the individual ADs to handle this shit when it occurs. We can't expect to let things slide and think well have it made up to us down the line somewhere. Nothing, and I don't care what it is, works out the way its supposed to, so you'd better call someone on it when it happens. You'll know who it is because they try to pull shit on everyone.
You'd think it'd lessen when it applies to a sector of the entertainment business that promotes fair play and life lessons as part of its appeal. News Flash. Same amount of Dick Heads. If you're not the type that doen't like confrontation, don't feel alone; no one does. So force yourself to get over that quickly and it'll get easier because they'll spend their time trying to trick fuck an easier target. It's the way of life and our Athletic Department, as OP said, gets paid a shit ton of money to free our coaches and players to concentrate on what they should be concentrating on. Don't put something extra on their plate or you won't be around too damn long. And I'm hoping things go as planned for Jim so next time we hand out an extension of a contract, it will be to someone who has earned it. Keep our good coaches happy and on payroll. When you see someone is struggling, make it be known what you expect and hold them to it.
But, and this can't be emphasized enough, if you want to get the best out of them, make sure they're getting the best out of you.
I know this isn't ideal, but did you honestly expect ND to give us a contract where we got one more home game than them? That's like willingly handing over 6 million dollars or so, not gonna happen.
If you think we shouldn't play them because of how they ended the last series, that's fine. But if we wanted them back on, it had to be a straight up home and home deal. And in that case, I don't see a huge deal with when they put the games. This is just a quick fix to get the series going again, and I'm guessing the next time they schedule it, they'll address the home/away opponent imbalance better. It sucks the way the last one ended but that was a big contractual mistake by Brandon (good description in Endzone) and it's spilled milk now.
What I don't understand is dropping Arkansas. You could have kept the home game in September 2018 (we'd just have to move it a week or have ND move their Ball State game) and the road game in 2019. We'd only have 6 home games in 2019 instead of 7, but I think the fans and accountants would understand if 4 of them were Iowa, ND, MSU, and OSU.