Tag: Power Five

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told reporters in a Zoom news conference Tuesday that he has confidence the Irish will play a full 2020 season. College football is in a state of a limbo overall thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the event of a shortened schedule, it’s possible that Power Five commissioners could decide their teams only will play within their conferences. Because the Irish remain independent for football, this would cost them 10 of their 12 scheduled opponents.

Notre Dame’s 2020 schedule includes games against six ACC teams, one apiece from the Big Ten and SEC and its annual meetings with Pac-12 teams USC and Stanford. An 11th game, the annual contest against Navy which currently is scheduled to open the season in Dublin, Ireland, also could be in jeopardy if non-Power Five conferences also choose to play conference games only. Obviously, this arrangement would decimate the Irish of their competition, and who knows what would happen after that?

In his regular conversations with the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision commissioners, which come with being part of the College Football Playoff management committee, Swarbrick said he has pushed for a conference-only model “plus one”. This would maintain such traditional rivalries as Clemson-South Carolina and Cincinnati-Miami (Ohio). Regardless, he believes the committee’s collaboration and communication gives college football “a chance” to develop a policy to bring the sport back.

There are many hurdles to clear to have the season everyone wants, but Swarbrick doesn’t sound willing to allow his football program to be left out in the cold. In a worst-case scenario, Irish fans will circle back to this and point out an empty promise. However, even the most conference-loyal leaders have to admit that college football simply can’t exist without Notre Dame. It’s only fair to give the Irish just as much a chance to compete as everyone else.