Question: Notre Dame never plays SEC games...is there any specific reasons?

Ole Man Dan

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Apr 21, 2008
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It has never been in NDs best interest to play SEC teams.
Years ago they were thought of as a 'Special Team' and too good to play SEC teams.
Times have changed.

In the last dozen years, ND hasn't wanted any part of the SEC.
They haven't been very good and a 'L' hurts their image.
ND has been propped up by the media for years. It's just recently that they have began to play football again. What they had been playing looked like a combo of 'Flag Football'
and a pick-up game of Football...

The luster has been off the ND football team for some time, but the media failed to acknowledge that 'the king had no clothes'...

Yep, I sugar coated it... ;)
 
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TideMan09

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They've had enough trouble keeping their heads above water without playing any SEC teams on a regular basis..They're not dumb..I'd stay away from SEC competition as well..Their supposed superior intellect comes in handy after all..
 

Redwood Forrest

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This is why their move towards the ACC puzzles me. I would have thought if they were going to move "toward" a conference it would have been the big 10. That is where they have more natural rivalries.


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I think it has to do with their TV rights. The ACC wants to be relevent so badly that they bowed down and let ND call the shots. The Big 10 was not so eager to do this, kind of like Texas found out when they wanted to take their Longhorn Network with them to the PAC 12 and Big 10. Shows how desperately ACC wants to be a player.
 

Florida Tom

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I think it has to do with their TV rights. The ACC wants to be relevent so badly that they bowed down and let ND call the shots. The Big 10 was not so eager to do this, kind of like Texas found out when they wanted to take their Longhorn Network with them to the PAC 12 and Big 10. Shows how desperately ACC wants to be a player.
This
NBC has all their eggs in the ND basket, they have more to say about schedule than we may think.
 

4Q Basket Case

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In years gone by -- not lately -- they played regular season series against LSU, Ole Miss, and us. Plus, we cancelled a home-and-home with them after the 2002 NCAA ruling.

I think they didn't schedule SEC teams because they don't recruit that much here, and because their schedule was tough enough without needing a boost.
 

BFANLC

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In a dream world
Would you schedule any games with the toughest conference in the land if your program was down? More than likely once their program gets back on its feet they will try and play more sec teams.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Or maybe this:

1996
Notre Dame 14 Vanderbilt 7 (not even a good Vandy - 2-9)

1997
Notre Dame 24 LSU 6
LSU 27 Notre Dame 9

1998
Notre Dame 39 LSU 36 (a 4-7 LSU mind you)

1999
Tennessee 38 Notre Dame 14

2001
Tennessee 28 Notre Dame 18

2004
Notre Dame 17 Tennessee 13

2005
Notre Dame 41 Tennessee 21

2006
LSU 41 Notre Dame 14

So sure, the Irish (once the implosion began) were 5-4 against the SEC, and three of those were routs and the Irish wins tended to come in close games against relatively mediocre SEC teams. Now to be fair - it was us (not ND) who wanted to drop the mid-2000s games when we threw a bone to either Fran or Shula (forget which; we also moved off Penn State to 2010-11).

Then again - it's the Irish. They don't really have to, you know?
 

Maverick2

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Nov 28, 2012
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Or maybe this:

1996
Notre Dame 14 Vanderbilt 7 (not even a good Vandy - 2-9)

1997
Notre Dame 24 LSU 6
LSU 27 Notre Dame 9

1998
Notre Dame 39 LSU 36 (a 4-7 LSU mind you)

1999
Tennessee 38 Notre Dame 14

2001
Tennessee 28 Notre Dame 18

2004
Notre Dame 17 Tennessee 13

2005
Notre Dame 41 Tennessee 21

2006
LSU 41 Notre Dame 14

So sure, the Irish (once the implosion began) were 5-4 against the SEC, and three of those were routs and the Irish wins tended to come in close games against relatively mediocre SEC teams. Now to be fair - it was us (not ND) who wanted to drop the mid-2000s games when we threw a bone to either Fran or Shula (forget which; we also moved off Penn State to 2010-11).

Then again - it's the Irish. They don't really have to, you know?

You conveniently left out ND's 5-1 lifetime record against Alabama including never losing to Bryant I believe 4-0. Yes some of those were bowl games against Alabama, but you included 41-14 beating by LSU which was a bowl game.


The schedules are made 8-10 years in advance and I can assure you that ND will play anyone who wants to play them including ANYONE from the SEC. The issue is when you are an independent as ND, the conferences want to play ND BEFORE they start their conference schedules and ND has been locked into Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue. Michigan State and Purdue have always been on the ND schedule as a way of thanking them for refusing to "black ball" ND decades ago as the rest of the BIG-10 wanted to do, led by Michigan. That was the main reason ND and Michigan had not played for decades until renewing the rivalry in the 1980's.

ND's new arrangement with the ACC is now going to open up more opportunities to play other teams from other conferences and trust me they will play ANY team from the SEC.....Especially being that they have a history of going in as an underdog and beating SEC teams. UGA is the ONLY SEC team with a winning record against ND


ND does not play Wofford, Jacksonville State, Georgia Southern. They have NEVER played an FCS school and never will. And before you start making fun of Navy, you know Navy that went to LSU two years ago or so and ran all over the vaunted LSU defense before LSU pulled the game out late in the 4th quarter.
 
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ALA2262

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In recent years, ND has adopted a policy of playing an off site home game each year rather than scheduling an additional home and away series. These games appear to be neutral site games but they are not. ND books the stadium, controls the tickets, and NBC has the TV rights. ND's original intention with these games was to come into Big 12 and SEC territory and play teams from those conferences under their terms. Little problem. Big 12 and SEC TV contracts prevented that.

So instead of playing Texas or ATM in San Antonio in 2009 they wound up having to bring in Washington State. In 2010 and 2011, instead of playing Bama and/or Florida in Orlando, they wound up scheduling Army. They were able to get out of that venue because the Citrus Bowl did not make all of the improvements per their contract. The 2010 game with Army was played at Yankee Stadium. The 2011 game wound up being against Maryland in Landover. Yep, they played a home game in Maryland against....Maryland!

In 2012, they had booked the Super Dome in hopes of playing LSU or Bama. Wound up scheduling Baylor, and then buying out of that game. Played Miami in Chicago instead.
 
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ND1976

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Dec 4, 2012
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Our previous AD, Dr. Kevin White, watered down the schedule in general and in particular with an annual "off-site home game", now called the "Shamrock Series", where we would play in Yankee Stadium, Soldier Field, etc. with no return game in the visitor's stadium. Then he was also scheduling 6 or 7 true home games. The 7-4-1 model meant three home "buy" games on top of the "off-site home game", leaving little room for adding a quality opponent on top of those four games and the "regulars" - USC, Michigan, Michigan State, Navy, Purdue, Stanford, and sometimes Pitt or BC or BYU, and sometimes an additional service academy (but not as often as you guys think). The 7-4-1 watering down drove us alums crazy. Additionally, our Big 10 opponents claim they will not play any out of conference games once their conference play starts. USC will no longer play us in November in South Bend, so we play them at home in October in odd years and on the coast Thanksgiving weekend in even years. We play Stanford at home in October in even years and and on the coast Thanksgiving in even years. (Although both Alabama and Tennessee have come to South Bend in December.)

I wish I could say with total confidence that Dr. White was not trying to duck you guys, but I can't. Anyway, Dr. White was an outlier, and things have changed.

7-4-1 is now 6-5-1. Michigan and Michigan State are no longer regulars. (They may become "occasionals". Although like most alums I am weary of Michigan's b.s.) We have picked up a couple of home and home with Texas in place of Michigan, and will be adding more quality opponents in that slot, including hopeful some home and homes with you guys. Pitt and BC will count against our ACC allotment. Oklahoma is playing in South Bend next year. I think Purdue and may have to be willing to play us in October or November if they want to remain a regular.

Brian Kelly and our new AD Jack Swarbrick have both stated they want to get back to playing a more national national schedule. Kelly has said we have to play and beat SEC teams to be the best. When Kelly got to ND he said he had to build a SEC type defense to compete for the championship. Trust me, we respect you guys.

The ND people who went to the our games at Alabama report that that you guys are great hosts. (Games at LSU, not so much.) I went to the '73 Sugar Bowl and the 1976 game in South Bend and found the Alabama folks to be friendly and sportsmanlike. Looking forward to more good games with you guys.
 

ND1976

BamaNation Citizen
Dec 4, 2012
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You are giving us a too much credit for the caliber of opponents we are trying to schedule for the off site home games. Next year it is Arizona State in Dallas. I cannot imagine Alabama agreeing to a proposal to play us in Yankee Stadium or Soldier Field or the Meadowlands with us getting the home team ticket allotment, Alabama getting the visiting team allotment, game broadcast on NBC, and no return game. Not even we have the chutzpah to propose that to you guys, and I doubt that we formally did. I can't believe Miami took that deal.

Although a return game at a neutral site with Alabama getting the home team allotment .....

Maryland didn't bend over as bad as you think. That game was at FedEx Field, which is not their home stadium.
 

ALA2262

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You are giving us a too much credit for the caliber of opponents we are trying to schedule for the off site home games. Next year it is Arizona State in Dallas. I cannot imagine Alabama agreeing to a proposal to play us in Yankee Stadium or Soldier Field or the Meadowlands with us getting the home team ticket allotment, Alabama getting the visiting team allotment, game broadcast on NBC, and no return game. Not even we have the chutzpah to propose that to you guys, and I doubt that we formally did. I can't believe Miami took that deal.

Although a return game at a neutral site with Alabama getting the home team allotment .....

Maryland didn't bend over as bad as you think. That game was at FedEx Field, which is not their home stadium.
I did not say that ND was proposing to play Bama in those locations as off-site home games. I said that they were hoping to schedule Bama or Florida in Orlando, and Bama or LSU in New Orleans. BIG difference from NY or NJ. Any time you can play an off-site home game in the opponents home state (Maryland), you have shafted them. Which is why the Big 12 and SEC TV contracts prevent that.

You don't really believe ND booked stadiums in Texas with the intention of playing Washington State and Arizona State. Do you? Or in New Orleans to play Baylor? Or Orlando to play Army?

The Maryland game is proof of my contention as to what ND was attempting to do. The ACC TV contract allowed it. SEC and Big 12 TV contracts do not. The fact that they got out of the New Orleans and Orlando venues is furthur proof.
 
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