The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703389
FROM OUR READERS • It looks to me as if Warde Manuel didn't really have a choice. We're moving to a nine-game Big Ten schedule. Michigan needs to play at least seven (of 12) games at home each year to meet its budget. Thus, Michigan can play a non-conference road game only in years when it plays five confer- ence home games. In other years, Michigan must play all its non-conference games at home. What does all this mean? Michigan could not play Notre Dame (or anyone else from outside the Big Ten) on the road in 2019. Michigan needed the game to be in Ann Arbor. (Notre Dame obviously went along with this even though it's currently slated that year to play at Louisville, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Duke and Stanford.) If the 2019 game is in Ann Arbor, the 2018 game obviously has to be in South Bend. This stinks for Michigan because it already plays MSU and OSU on the road that year. But because Michigan has five Big Ten games in 2018, it can afford to play a non-conference game on the road that year. The real problem, then, is not that we're getting rolled by Notre Dame. The real problem is the Big Ten schedule which (1) forces us to play MSU and OSU on the same home/road cycle and (2) gives us MSU and OSU at home during years in which we only play four conference home games and therefore have to play all non-conference games at home. Warde Manuel and Jim Harbaugh need to get this changed. But that won't happen until at least 2020. jameshgale • Wow, 2019 at home also takes away a bye week at the end of October and replaces with a bye in mid-September. Obviously, U-M wanted this more and did what they had to do to fit Notre Dame back in the schedule. Notre Dame is the big winner in this deal. elway4u2nv • To get this done, Notre Dame is taking on a 2019 schedule that includes road games at Louisville, Georgia, Michigan and Stanford, which I'm sure is not ideal for them either. Looks like both sides made some sacrifices and jameshgale's point about U-M needing seven home games every year carried the day. JerseyBlue4 • I have mixed feelings on this. I kind of want to play Notre Dame again but the fact that we have to go to Notre Dame in 2018 is not a good move. That is going to be one tough year for road games as you mentioned. The 2018 team could be GREAT but lose three or four games because of the schedule. Buckles8