Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 SEPT. 14, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED S eptember 2014 has represented an end of an era as Notre Dame followers have known it since the end of World War II. While much of the narrative has been on the closing of the cur- tain with the Michigan series that has been al- most annual since 1978, overshadowed is the fact that this will be the last meeting with in-state rival Purdue until 2021. T h e B o i l e r m a k e rs had joined USC and Navy as annual contests on the Notre Dame schedule since 1946. When Pur- due snapped Notre Dame's 39-game unbeaten streak in 1950, Fighting Irish head coach Frank Leahy commented that if the streak had to end, he was glad that it at least came against a "time- honored foe" such as Purdue. Games with Purdue were a part of Sep- tember as much as Labor Day, but the changing landscape in college football also has altered Notre Dame's geographi- cal emphasis in scheduling and recruiting. With the Big Ten expanding to nine conference games and Notre Dame's new affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference, rooms at the inn for home- and-home series have become less of a priority, although the recent addition of Ohio State in 2022-23 was a coup. (What odds could you get that Brian Kelly and Urban Meyer will still be the head coaches then?) It wasn't a Notre Dame schedule without Purdue, Michigan State and Northwestern through much of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, with Michigan then replacing Northwestern in 1978. Half of Notre Dame's 10-game sched- ule in 1968 had five straight Big Ten teams (Purdue, Iowa, Northwestern, Il- linois and Michigan State), and even in 1994 there were four (Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue). Next year, Notre Dame will not face a Big Ten opponent for the first time since 1916 — and even back then it was Michigan State and Nebraska, which didn't actually join the league until 1953 and 2011, respectively. With Notre Dame's ACC affiliation, Michigan became the first casualty, fol- lowed by Purdue and Michigan State. The Spartans are off the Irish slate in 2014-15, but return with a game at Notre Dame on Sept. 17, 2016, and host the Irish on Sept. 23, 2017. Beyond that there is only a tentative arrangement between the two schools in 2026-27. Maintaining these provincial rivalries remains an objective but not a priority in Notre Dame's scheduling. Some of it is tied to recruiting demographics. In any given year, the base of Notre Dame's recruiting will feature players from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania, maybe about eight to 12 prospects per year. The proximity in region is part of that appeal. Notre Dame already has a presence in the Mid- west and Northeast, and always will. Where it needs to expand its market- ing for the other 10 to 12 recruits per year is in California, Texas, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia). That is why an annual visit to Califor- nia to play at either USC or Stanford is a must. That is why a four-year deal with Texas (2015-16, 2019-20) was desired — plus Shamrock Series games there in 2009, 2013 and again in 2016. Florida is covered now with Florida State and Miami in the ACC, and Georgia has become prioritized with a series against the Georgia Bulldogs in 2017 and 2019 (plus ACC op- ponent Georgia Tech). " T h e d e m o g ra p h - ics have shown a move to the certain areas in the country now that are hotter recruiting," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "The Carolinas are stron- ger just because of the shift in demographics. Because of that, we're stronger in that area — Virginia, North Caro- lina on the East Coast. "People are moving out of the mid- western towns that were industrial based. It's more about economics. Peo- ple are moving into areas where they can find a better lifestyle. "You just take a look at Pennsylvania, the great high school teams that used to be in that area. Now, because of the steel town, the exodus of so many jobs in that area, that high school football is not what it once was. I think that's hap- pened in a lot of these industrial cities throughout the Midwest, as well." Every era has had its challenges. Notre Dame didn't even become coed until 1972, and attracting elite black athletes to the private, Catholic school didn't really be- gin until the late 1960s and early 1970s. Academic standards were always a standby in case of downfalls, and Notre Dame was usually considered behind the curve in facilities, salaries or even a training table the past 30 years until rectifying it. Today, attracting top prospects that reside in warm-weather climates, where the best football is played, is the prime obstacle. The landscape is always shifting, which often leads to a change in schedule. ✦ BEST OF THE FIFTH QUARTER ✦ LOU SOMOGYI ✦ SEPT. 15, 2014 Changing Landscape Alters Recruiting And Scheduling EDITOR'S NOTE: The late, great Lou Somogyi possessed an unmatched knowledge of Notre Dame football, and it was his mission in life to share it with others. Those of us at Blue & Gold Illustrated would like to continue to provide his wis- dom and unique perspective from his more than 37 years covering the Fighting Irish for this publication. Notre Dame and Purdue met annually from 1946 to 2014, but they have faced each other only once (2021) in the last nine years. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER