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  4. title => "The \u2018Notre Dame should join a conference\u2019 buzz is pointless"
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  6. article_body => "<p>Over the last week or so, a steady stream of college coaches have taken to their bully pulpits to make the argument that Notre Dame should have to join a conference and\/or play a 13th game to be eligible for the College Football Playoff. It\u2019s a topic that\u2019s generated plenty of buzz \u2014 the season\u2019s just over a month away, thankfully \u2014 though in reality, it\u2019s a pointless debate.<\/p>\n<p>Money drives college football. It's why Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers are in the Big Ten. It's why Colorado and Utah are in the Pac-12. It's why Mizzou and Texas A&amp;M are in the SEC. It's why Syracuse and Pitt are in the ACC. And it's why a number of traditional and\/or heated rivalries \u2014 like Notre Dame-Michigan&nbsp;\u2014 are dormant.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[MORE: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnchicago.com\/notre-dame\/ranking-notre-dames-schedule-make-or-break-games\">Ranking Notre Dame's schedule: The make-or-break games<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All this talk emanated from ESPN\u2019s \u201cCar Wash,\u201d which puts college coaches on a media blitz in Bristol before preseason camp starts next month. After Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said Notre Dame should have to join a conference within a year because \u201cthey don\u2019t have independents in the NFL,\u201d the likes of Clemson\u2019s Dabo Swinney, Florida State\u2019s Jimbo Fisher, Duke\u2019s David Sutcliffe, Virginia Tech\u2019s Frank Beamer and North Carolina State\u2019s Dave Doeren jumped on board with the idea of requiring the Irish to play an added game or fully join a league.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gary Pinkel said no independents in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CFBPlayoff\">@CFBPlayoff<\/a>. \u201cGive Notre Dame year to join a league. They don\u2019t have independents in NFL\"<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McMurphyESPN\/status\/623150547995099136\">July 20, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dabo Swinney agrees w\/Gary Pinkel: \u201cAbsolutely Notre Dame needs to be in conference or play 13 games to be in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CFBPlayoff\">@CFBPlayoff<\/a>\"<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McMurphyESPN\/status\/625758686586269696\">July 27, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Add Jimbo Fisher, David Cutcliffe, Frank Beamer &amp; Dave Doeren to list who believe Notre Dame should be in league\/play 13 games<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McMurphyESPN\/status\/626081717376434176\">July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There are plenty of reasons why all this chatter doesn\u2019t carry any weight. First, it\u2019s all coming from coaches, who wield a fraction of the power athletic directors, conference commissioners and the College Football Playoff selection committee does. And ACC commissioner John Swofford seems fine with his conference\u2019s arrangement with the Irish.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JJStankevitz\">@JJStankevitz<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Matt_Fortuna\">@Matt_Fortuna<\/a> Worth noting too than when asked last week, Swofford said he had no expectations of that changing any time soon<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Hale (@DavidHaleESPN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DavidHaleESPN\/status\/626122594702503937\">July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Having Notre Dame play five games against ACC opponents per year (four in 2014, six in 2015 due to scheduling constraints) helps from a strength of schedule standpoint but more importantly from a monetary standpoint. The cheapest ticket on StubHub.com for this fall\u2019s Notre Dame-Virginia game in Charlottesville is $79, while fans can get in the door for a mid-October game against Syracuse for as cheap as $17. Tickets are often hard to come by when Notre Dame rolls into town, and that\u2019s a huge boost for athletic departments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[MORE: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnchicago.com\/notre-dame\/ranking-notre-dames-schedule-trap-games\">Ranking Notre Dame's schedule: The trap games<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It would take a consortium of athletic directors and conference commissioners to pressure the selection committee into only picking teams that\u2019ve played 13, not 12, games to get Jack Swarbrick &amp; Co. to even consider ending Notre Dame\u2019s football independence. But even if they pressured the selection committee, they\u2019d have to convince ESPN to forgo a potential ratings boon and exclude Notre Dame from the competition.<\/p>\n<p>That seems incredibly unlikely. ESPN\/ABC routinely puts Notre Dame in prime time even when it plays mediocre opponents like Pitt, Purdue and Syracuse, and last year\u2019s loss to Florida State in Tallahassee became the most-watched non-BCS game on ABC in two years. The game it beat out? 2012\u2019s Notre Dame-USC game.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 have their own networks, as does the University of Texas. The latter \u2014 the Longhorn Network \u2014 is one of the core reasons why the latest cycle of conference realignment began back in 2010. Ratings matter, and Notre Dame gets ratings.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s the whole other issue, too, of Notre Dame being dinged for only playing 12 games by the selection committee. We\u2019re only one year into the playoff, but Baylor and TCU were left out of the four-team bracket in favor of four teams that played 13 games in 2014. An 11-1 Notre Dame team might have a difficult time beating out a 12-1 conference champion.<\/p>\n<p>But for Notre Dame to hit the panic button and join a conference \u2014 which would have to be the ACC, as per the university\u2019s deal with Swofford\u2019s league \u2014 would be short-sighted. Coach Brian Kelly is on record saying he expects the College Football Playoff to consider expanding to at least eight teams in the future, which wouldn\u2019t be a surprise given how good the ratings were for the two semifinals and championship in its inaugural year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[MORE: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnchicago.com\/notre-dame\/notre-dame-brian-kelly-dismisses-nfl-speculation\">Brian Kelly dismisses the NFL speculation<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Assuming the playoff does grown to eight teams, Notre Dame could certainly get in the field with an 11-1 record. The first four teams left out last year all played a dozen games and went 11-1 (Baylor and TCU) or 10-2 (Mississippi State and Michigan State). It might lead to a couple of nervous Novembers in South Bend, but there\u2019s no reason for Notre Dame to give up its independence if the playoff ultimately will double its field.<\/p>\n<p>So unless the NCAA (or, let\u2019s be honest, Power Five commissioners) granted independent programs a waiver to play a 13th game that doesn\u2019t involve a trip to play Hawaii in Honolulu, Notre Dame is sticking to 12 games. It\u2019s not easy to see why. Just follow the money and not the hot takes from other coaches.<\/p>\n"
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Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Over the last week or so, a steady stream of college coaches have taken to their bully pulpits to make the argument that Notre Dame should have to join a conference and/or play a 13th game to be eligible for the College Football Playoff. It’s a topic that’s generated plenty of buzz — the season’s just over a month away, thankfully — though in reality, it’s a pointless debate.

Money drives college football. It's why Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers are in the Big Ten. It's why Colorado and Utah are in the Pac-12. It's why Mizzou and Texas A&M are in the SEC. It's why Syracuse and Pitt are in the ACC. And it's why a number of traditional and/or heated rivalries — like Notre Dame-Michigan — are dormant.

[MORE: Ranking Notre Dame's schedule: The make-or-break games]

All this talk emanated from ESPN’s “Car Wash,” which puts college coaches on a media blitz in Bristol before preseason camp starts next month. After Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said Notre Dame should have to join a conference within a year because “they don’t have independents in the NFL,” the likes of Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, Duke’s David Sutcliffe, Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer and North Carolina State’s Dave Doeren jumped on board with the idea of requiring the Irish to play an added game or fully join a league.

 

There are plenty of reasons why all this chatter doesn’t carry any weight. First, it’s all coming from coaches, who wield a fraction of the power athletic directors, conference commissioners and the College Football Playoff selection committee does. And ACC commissioner John Swofford seems fine with his conference’s arrangement with the Irish.

Having Notre Dame play five games against ACC opponents per year (four in 2014, six in 2015 due to scheduling constraints) helps from a strength of schedule standpoint but more importantly from a monetary standpoint. The cheapest ticket on StubHub.com for this fall’s Notre Dame-Virginia game in Charlottesville is $79, while fans can get in the door for a mid-October game against Syracuse for as cheap as $17. Tickets are often hard to come by when Notre Dame rolls into town, and that’s a huge boost for athletic departments.

[MORE: Ranking Notre Dame's schedule: The trap games]

It would take a consortium of athletic directors and conference commissioners to pressure the selection committee into only picking teams that’ve played 13, not 12, games to get Jack Swarbrick & Co. to even consider ending Notre Dame’s football independence. But even if they pressured the selection committee, they’d have to convince ESPN to forgo a potential ratings boon and exclude Notre Dame from the competition.

That seems incredibly unlikely. ESPN/ABC routinely puts Notre Dame in prime time even when it plays mediocre opponents like Pitt, Purdue and Syracuse, and last year’s loss to Florida State in Tallahassee became the most-watched non-BCS game on ABC in two years. The game it beat out? 2012’s Notre Dame-USC game.

The SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 have their own networks, as does the University of Texas. The latter — the Longhorn Network — is one of the core reasons why the latest cycle of conference realignment began back in 2010. Ratings matter, and Notre Dame gets ratings.

There’s the whole other issue, too, of Notre Dame being dinged for only playing 12 games by the selection committee. We’re only one year into the playoff, but Baylor and TCU were left out of the four-team bracket in favor of four teams that played 13 games in 2014. An 11-1 Notre Dame team might have a difficult time beating out a 12-1 conference champion.

But for Notre Dame to hit the panic button and join a conference — which would have to be the ACC, as per the university’s deal with Swofford’s league — would be short-sighted. Coach Brian Kelly is on record saying he expects the College Football Playoff to consider expanding to at least eight teams in the future, which wouldn’t be a surprise given how good the ratings were for the two semifinals and championship in its inaugural year.

 

[MORE: Brian Kelly dismisses the NFL speculation]

Assuming the playoff does grown to eight teams, Notre Dame could certainly get in the field with an 11-1 record. The first four teams left out last year all played a dozen games and went 11-1 (Baylor and TCU) or 10-2 (Mississippi State and Michigan State). It might lead to a couple of nervous Novembers in South Bend, but there’s no reason for Notre Dame to give up its independence if the playoff ultimately will double its field.

So unless the NCAA (or, let’s be honest, Power Five commissioners) granted independent programs a waiver to play a 13th game that doesn’t involve a trip to play Hawaii in Honolulu, Notre Dame is sticking to 12 games. It’s not easy to see why. Just follow the money and not the hot takes from other coaches.