ND independence might not last much longer.
The talks around the 2026 playoff format don't favor access to the playoff for ND. The SEC and B10 are talking 4 bids each.
Replies to: ND independence might not last much longer.
Heard Grunhard on the radio today. He was adamant that ND MUST join a conference, or be left out
by the future changes in college football. He made some interesting points.
I still hope ND stays INDEPENDENT forever, but it was interesting to hear a former player not offended by the idea of change.
Why don't the Big10 and SEC just cut out the middle man and have their champs play?
Why the pretext of having a "college football playoff" committee that is largely controlled by them, where they have allocated spots in the playoffs, and they force others to join their division?
I'm not a Swarbrick fan, but I happen to agree with him on this. What the SEC and Big10 are doing shouldn't be affiliated with tax-exempt colleges. Spin it off into another pro league.
But they don't want that. They don't want another competing college football product. Which I think is and will be the answer to this whole thing.
The NBC deal was a first step towards marrying ND and the B1G. Powerful business interests want it
to happen now. Chess pieces will eventually be put into place to make it inevitable and allow ND to save face in doing it.
Agreed.
It's an inevitability in my eyes.
The B10 and SEC are going to push for and likely receive 4 bids each for the proposed 16 team playoff starting in 2026. ND will have to be on the right side of that if it wants to compete for national titles. Being independent in that environment is a non-starter, and going to the dying ACC would be a colossal mistake.
Time to join the B10 and kick some PSU, OSU & Michigan ass!
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Zzzzz
Every year we get this same take, for (insert new reason here).
And every year, we're still independent.
Can't really disagree with this. However, the real question becomes, is it now TIME to join?
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Although technically Independent in football now, ND is a de facto member of the ACC. Not a big
leap to full conference membership any longer.
More than playoff access, I think it will come down to TV and other revenue.
The landscape is changing fast.
If the access to the playoff decreases, and the ability to create a viable schedule decreases, ND will bend the knee.
I hope that doesn't happen, but it could.
Nd has said that access would push a decision to join, and it looks to be about to happen.
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^^^^THIS^^^^^^
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An independent ND that fills up its schedule with group of 5 teams is intramurals. There is no ince
ntive for any school to schedule ND. Sure, there might be some TV exposure, but that will wane with time.
Are you nuts? Teams like TN State along with top teams like Michigan relish playing ND.
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I'm keeping this
'There is no incentive for any school to schedule ND'.
This is one of the most absurd things I've ever seen on this board, and that's saying something.
What do you see as an incentive. USC can play perennial top 15 teams OSU, Oregon, Washington, Pen
n State and Michigan on top of the tier 2s in the big 10. What advantage is it to USC to play Notre Dame? If they beat the others in the Big 10, they'll have plenty of quality wins to qualify for a playoff.