There are rumors that the Big Ten could potentially cut out all of their out of conference games this season and play a 10-game conference schedule. Obviously this effects the Irish, as they are schedule to play Wisconsin in Lambeau Field, their only Big Ten opponent this year.
CFB UPDATE:
– According to @TomDienhart1, B1G will likely play a 10-game, conference-only schedule
– Nothing officially decided yet but important meeting to be held 7/9
– Expect decision in 8-10 days
– Could still start 9/5 and span 13-14 weeks, allowing more schedule flexibility— Inside NU (@insidenu) July 8, 2020
Yes, this is just a rumor at the current moment but with Ohio State being the first Big Ten school to suspend voluntary team activities after teams like North Carolina, Boise State and Kansas have done the same. The Buckeyes were one of the few schools that didn’t disclose their testing results, but it must be concerning if they opted to shut things down for at least a week.
If the Big Ten were to just go to a conference only schedule, the Irish would not face the Badgers this year, who knows if the game would be rescheduled in the future. It would be just one game, but the bigger issue would be if other conferences followed the Big Ten.
With no conference affiliation in football for the Irish, they could be put in a very awkward situation. Would Notre Dame join a conference for a season, and if so who would they join? The ACC seems like the most logical destination, but the hypothetical addition of the Irish would put the conference at 15 teams. Would the Atlantic and Coastal divisions be absolved for the year?
There would be so many questions going forward. It would make sense for the Irish to join the ACC for the season, getting a taste of conference football. Everything would go back to normal in 2021 hopefully, but regardless of what happens, the entire year of 2020 will always have an asterisk next to it.