Actually, I'm quite aware that the Michigan-Florida game was scheduled in Dallas, TX to open the 2017 season.  That said, it's not relevant to Brian's comment that the home-and-home with Oklahoma was the "first game scheduled in the post-ND era that comes close to replacing Notre Dame in terms of appeal.".

Now, evidentally, either Brian overlooked the Florida games three years down the pike or he feels that the Gators don't come close to the Irish in terms of appeal.  If that's the case, perhaps he can elaborate for his blog readers which teams Michigan should and can schedule that are on a rough par with Notre Dame on the "appeal meter".

I personally would have put Florida on that list.  I'll also add that I prefer to have games on campus over neutral sites--and that includes the current four-team playoff (which I expect will eventually morph into an eight-team playoff with the five major conference champions getting autobids).  I can understand why the game with UF may have had to be a one-off contest at a neutral site.  Florida hasn't travelled north of the Mason-Dixon Line in decades, they play in the SEC East and they have an annual non-conference game with Florida State on the docket already.  To be frank, I'm rather surpised David Brandon was able to get them to agree to play the game in the first place.

There is a handful of programs I'd like to see Michigan play home-and-home series in the future as Notre Dame replacements.  This series with Oklahoma being scheduled eleven years in advance shows you how early these non-scheduling agreements are put in place, so it's not a matter of just snapping your fingers (on a side note, the UM-ND series was agreed upon in 1970, but the first game was played in 1978).  The schools that UM might like to play might just not be available.

But if I were to put together a list of non-Pac 12 programs (since Michigan has played UCLA, Washington and Oregon in the non-conference portion over the last twenty years and getting a home-and-home with USC or Stanford would be difficult seeing that they play nine conference games plus Notre Dame each year), that would include the following:

Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama (would have to be neutral site game since the Tide is not scheduling home-and-homes with non-conference opponents), Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and Miami-FL.  

Other programs that might be interesting would be Clemson and South Carolina.  If I were to pick a third Big XII team, it might be Oklahoma State or maybe Texas Christian.  I'd also add 2015 opponent Brigham Young and maybe Arizona State to the list as well, but the ones listed in the paragraph above would be my primary targets.

Put me at the top of the list.  I'd be 74 & 75.  And I already don't feel so good!

11 years from now my granddaughter will be 30.