Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2020 17 2037. Whether it's entirely or par- tially ACC, head coach Brian Kelly said in a July 16 interview on ESPN's "Get Up" he's confident his team will play a strong schedule. "Our phone is ringing off the hook right now with teams looking for games," Kelly said. "That's probably the least of our concerns right now. There are plenty of games to play. We'd just like to play some." This year 's ACC opponents are Wake Forest (Sept. 26), Pitt (Oct. 17), Duke (Oct. 31), Clemson (Nov. 7), Georgia Tech (Nov. 14) and Louis- ville (Nov. 21). Additionally, Navy (Sept. 5 or 6), Arkansas (Sept. 12) and Western Michigan (Sept. 19) are still set as the first three games of the year. That's the schedule, for now. It's subject to change or cancellation at any time. The seemingly inevitable solution is to add more games against ACC teams. Four of them have Oct. 10 as an open date. Three have Oct. 24 free. Navy is open Nov. 28, which could allow Notre Dame to move that game once again to play an ACC team on Sept. 5. It's also possible an ACC conference-only decision involves an entirely reworked schedule. The idea behind conference-only schedules is flexibility and unifor- mity of safety protocols. By playing nine or 10 games in a time frame for 12, any in-season pauses due to out- breaks on a team and resulting nixed games have more makeup windows. Adapting schedules is easier when there are only 14 or 15 teams to deal with instead of 130, with fewer open dates. There is also the comfort of know- ing the player lined up on other side of the ball has been tested with the same frequency and operates under the same travel and practice proto- cols. That is not likely to be an is- sue with Power Five versus Power Five games, especially with univer- sal guidelines across all five leagues. But it can become one with games against Group of Five or Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams that may not have the finan- cial capability to test as often or in the same quantity. OTHER DECISIONS STILL LEFT TO MAKE One scenario that remains in play for the ACC and other leagues is a hybrid schedule designed to protect marquee non-conference rivalries. Swarbrick has advocated for this "conference plus one" model since the idea of shortened seasons arose this spring. It may not be a national idea, but there is still hope for it. "The SEC, the Big 12 and the ACC are on the same page as far as our col- lective desire to be patient before mak- ing any decisions," Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek told report- ers. "You look at some of the in-state rivalries that exist, especially between the SEC and the ACC, it makes sense that Clemson should play South Caro- lina, Georgia should play Georgia Tech and Florida should play Florida State. "Just eliminating those games be- cause you want to play a conference- only schedule, at least at this point, does not make a great deal of sense." Any such model would allow Notre Dame to keep its game against Arkansas. The Razorbacks' other three non-league games are against two Group of Five teams and an FCS opponent. The Ameri- can Athletic Conference is also waiting to make a deci- sion, and commissioner Mike Aresco has said in multiple in- terviews that he wants to pre- serve critical non-conference games if possible. Per Aresco, one option for the AAC is a 10-game season with eight league games and two non-conferences match- ups. That would give Navy room to play its rivalry games with Army and Notre Dame. The ACC and other Power Five leagues adopting a simi- lar model would allow Notre Dame the flexibility to play Navy and Arkansas without having to choose between the two. It's also worth noting the AAC's testing and safety guidelines are nearly identical to the Power Five's. Only two series have continued uninterrupted longer than the Irish versus the Midshipmen, who have played every year since 1927. Even in a pandemic, the idea of canceling it feels like sacrilege unless the entire season is forcibly squashed. "All the options are on the table," Yurachek said. "I just want to play football this year. … If that's eight SEC games and one non-conference game or 10 SEC games, we'll play whatever we're able to play this year." The immovable opponent, though, is the same for all 130 FBS schools. It's COVID-19. The virus and the control of it will shape the decisions. Nothing is off the table. Nothing is a stupid suggestion or prediction. "Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement. "If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic." Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith shared the same idea after the Big Ten's conference-only move. He told reporters he is "very con- cerned" about the ability to hold a season. Swarbrick told ESPN he sees an on-time start to the season as "less likely." When those are the sentiments com- ing from some of college athletics' most influential figures, one wonders what the odds are of all this schedul- ing conjecture even mattering. ✦ 2020 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL SCHEDULE As of July 20 Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Sept. 5 or 6 at Navy TBA Sept. 12 Arkansas (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Sept. 19 Western Michigan (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Sept. 26 vs. Wake Forest* TBA Oct. 3 Open Date Oct. 10 Open Date Oct. 17 at Pittsburgh TBA Oct. 24 Scheduled Bye Oct. 31 Duke (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 7 Clemson (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 vs. Georgia Tech^ TBA Nov. 21 Louisville (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 28 Open Date * at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.; ^ at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta "The SEC, the Big 12 and the ACC are on the same page as far as our collective desire to be patient before making any decisions. You look at some of the in-state rivalries that exist, especially between the SEC and the ACC, it makes sense that Clemson should play South Carolina, Georgia should play Georgia Tech and Florida should play Florida State." ARKANSAS ATHLETICS DIRECTOR HUNTER YURACHEK ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A "CONFERENCE PLUS ONE" MODEL