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Didn’t expect that one next, did ya?
With summer on the way and any number of conference-realignment shenanigans possible in the college football landscape, I thought I would take some time over the next few weeks to survey all the different possible long-term destinations for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and see if I could talk myself, and possibly some of you, into them. These options will include the Irish maintaining the status quo of independence along with alignment to all of the remaining major conferences: the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, and even the SEC. I’ll do my best to not tip my hand as to my own opinion during this process and just adopt the perspective of someone arguing for this, and in return I’ll ask that we keep the feedback from getting too personal.
(Yes, that was the same introduction I used last week – you’re going to see it a few more times).
Last week we covered the chalk option, which was Notre Dame remaining independent. This week we’re going to take it the opposite direction and try to make an argument for what at least appears to be Notre Dame’s least likely long-term destination: the Southeastern Conference.
This seems like the hardest option to argue for from an Irish fan’s perspective because it feels so unthinkable. Arguments against it would be legion, including but not limited to:
All of these are valid, and I am actually not really here to rebut them. The best argument for Notre Dame to jump to the SEC lies not in rebutting them, but simply ignoring them.
The argument for joining the SEC is simple: leave the past behind. Forget fitting in, forget tradition, forget the need to feel like you belong. Forget geography, and the obligation you feel you owe the past; the rest of the sport certainly isn’t respecting them. Step forward boldly and solidify your future in what has been, is, and will likely continue to be the most competitive and decorated conference in college football. Feel like you don’t belong? Make them make room for you.
Never again would we have to wonder if Notre Dame would be able to fill out a difficult or compelling schedule. We would never be short of opportunities for quality wins. A Notre Dame team that made it through this conference gauntlet would never again be questioned as a playoff participant or have the legitimacy of its record called into question. And apart from a rough CFP outing against probably the greatest team in the greatest dynasty in college football history in 2020, Irish teams have shown out better than one might think against the SEC in recent years; with the conference hegemon now entering a questionable transitional period, it could the best time ever to jump into the fray.
From a financial perspective this move would be a bonanza: we are talking yearly matchups with the likes of the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers…and oh yeah, a couple teams from Texas and Oklahoma that are joining the fray. The Irish would be the highest-rated game nearly every week and wins in these games would bring the Irish to heights of recognition they have rarely seen in the past couple decades.
Lastly, let’s dive into the philosophical and historical bit and let me really stretch to play devil’s advocate. One could make an argument that this kind of move is in some sense the Notre Dame tradition; the Irish became a blue blood by refusing to blow with the winds the larger college football landscape wanted them to, particularly at times when those winds were being blown by the University of Michigan and its conference of goons. The forward pass, the national schedule, the USC rivalry, post-WWII recruiting of veterans, green jerseys, the Catholics vs. Convicts series, the Cheerios Bowl; a great many of Notre Dame’s greatest moves and signature contributions to college football history came where it innovated, stepped outside the mainstream, and went against what tradition or conventional wisdom would dictate. This could be another of those moments, if we choose to make it. The SEC is the strongest castle in college football right now; eternity awaits if we can take it. Who’s with me?
(I know a lot of you probably aren’t with me so before inviting you to comment I will remind you this is just me exploring the idea from the perspective of someone who would support it and not necessarily my own opinion).
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