The modern realities of college football begin to take a toll
Ever since USC’s recent move to the B10, there have been rumblings that the Notre Dame-USC yearly battle of contrasting values, ways of life, and football may be in jeopardy. Why?
Well, that depends on who you ask. May Irish fans believe the Trojans aren’t tough enough to handle a B10 slate, plus the Irish every year, so they are looking at CFP access loss prevention in non-conference scheduling, which includes not playing Notre Dame moving forward.
A more neutral observer may note that things change and that with the realities of the Trojans’ new B10 schedule, it doesn’t make sense to risk a loss by making games scheduled optionally harder than they have to be, historic rivalry be darned.
There are also rumors of the Big Ten and SEC exploring playing one crossover game per year. Should this occur, to go along with the nine-game conference slate, and USC would have 11 Power 4 games in the regular season.
This is a legitimately tough ask.
Irish fans have very wide-ranging thoughts on Notre Dame & USC possibly ending
I asked Notre Dame Twitter a very simple question recently.
How would you feel if USC discontinued its yearly series with the Irish?
The answers were wide-ranging and relatively expected. From West Coast Irish fans who love getting to see Notre Dame in California every other year, to feelings of genuine anger, frustration, and rage, a sense of general sadness hangs over the concept of this scenario coming to fruition for many people.
On the other hand, a fair number of folks are open to looking forward to building new rivalries and continuing to build a history on an annual basis with an elite Clemson program.
Would these people prefer to play USC? Sure, but as long as the Irish aren’t the ones initiating the breakup, it’s onward and upward for this group with a clean conscience.
The reality is that there were always going to be downside consequences to expanding the CFP and creating two mega power conferences; we just weren’t sure exactly what they’d be and how they’d take shape.
We are starting to find out.
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