Yeah, things have evolved that way. Football independence has served Notre Dame very well for a long time. But if you take an objective assessment of the current conference alignments, the reality is that for playing a truly coast-to-coast national schedule, playing 2-3 top brands every year, having a strong SOS every year to enhance playoff hopes, and playing traditional rivals (to include USC), ND would be better off in the Big Ten than their current arrangement with the ACC. And if the ACC continues down its slippery slope, that will be even more true in 2-3 years if FSU and Clemson are gone.
A couple of ND's 'sacred cow' traditions have come and gone over the years. ND refused to play bowl games because that would interfere with studies for final exams. Then all of a sudden, bowls were OK. And it was an all-male school. Then all of a sudden, girls were OK. It's going to be the same with football independence. It's now a Holy Grail but if it becomes obvious that a change is needed, that too will come to pass and the ND brand will continue to be as strong as ever.
ND isn't the top brand in college football because they're independent. ND is the top brand in college football because of their legacy.
"ND isn't the top brand in college football because they're independent. ND is the top brand in college football because of their legacy."
I think you framed that perfectly. And it mirrors my own analysis.
I’ll just BOTTOM LINE IT. The best teams will be in the Big Ten and the SEC.
Should those conferences freeze out ND – and what have they to lose if they do? ZERO – ND will be reduced to THE BEST OF THE REST – and at a time when the rest AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE.
For instance, Cal, Stanford and SMU are in no way pound for pound replacements for Clemson, FSU and Miami should the latter three exit the ACC.
And at what point would ND weary each year of trying to cobble together an SOS-worthy schedule, so that it could perhaps still qualify for the playoffs at 10-2? Or on the other hand, if it were unable to assemble that schedule, even at 12-0?
My father, a diehard ND fan from the Leahy era, always scoffed at OU’s 47-game win streak. He argued, “they don’t play anyone.” True or not, WHO WOULD ND PLAY if conferences (Big Ten/SEC) shunned it? Then compare that to whom it would HAVE TO PLAY as a member of the Big Ten.
If ND’s goal is to play the best competition, then it should look to the Big Ten. In what other direction lies greater LEGITIMACY?
And let’s not forget the ironies involved in all of this.
First, the game is no longer a largely regional sport. Conferences still have geographical titles, but for the moment at least, those titles signify less and less. As a result, ND is no longer the only marquee coast-to-coast team. Big “identity loss” right there.
Second, ND tried three times to enter the Big Ten’s tent. Religious bigotry at the time kept that from happening. But now, when it makes even more sense to be a member, ND somehow believes it’s taking THE HIGH ROAD by remaining independent, even as it resists the INEVITABLE DIRECTION of CFB.
And your “sacred cow” point in this regard was SPOT-ON. The almost religious-level INDEPENDENCE ORTHODOXY displayed by many ND supporters is so strong that just the thought of its joining a conference elicits something approaching HOSTILITY.
To me, joining a conference represents nothing more than finally giving up the HOMECOMING KING TITLE and rejoining the rest of the STUDENT BODY. Or to put it more bluntly, abandoning the switcheroo logic of turning REJECTION into grounds for PRESUMED ELITISM.
My sense is that at some point, it’s all likely to BACKFIRE.
