Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 APRIL 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME NOTRE DAME RELEASES 2018-19 FOOTBALL SCHEDULES The newly released Notre Dame football schedules in 2018-19 check pretty much all the boxes Fighting Irish vice president and director of athlet- ics Jack Swarbrick has outlined. First, other than the Big 12, four of the five Power Five con- ferences are represented, includ- ing Vanderbilt (2018) and Geor- gia (2019) from the SEC plus Michigan (2018-19) and North- western (2018) from the Big Ten. The Pac-12 always is on with the Fighting Irish standard fare of USC and Stanford, while the ACC will have usually five with Notre Dame's partial foot- ball membership in the league. Because Notre Dame is a football in- dependent, Swarbrick has maintained that it is imperative the Irish have a broad-based representation on the schedule to provide the College Foot- ball Playoff committee data on how it matches up versus the Power Five. Second, both years have seven home games — although one each season could be moved to a different venue for a Shamrock Series outing. Third, the bye week continues to ap- pear in the middle of October, coincid- ing with fall break. That is deemed the ideal midseason break to decompress a bit from both academics and football. A second bye was added in 2019 because the opener at Louisville is on Labor Day (Sept. 2), thereby prompt- ing an off Saturday five days later. Fourth, some equilibrium was added with Ball State in 2018 and New Mexico — coached by 1997- 2001 Fighting Irish head coach Bob Davie — and Bowling Green in 2019. Some other notes include: • The 2018 slate has a truly All- Academic feel with Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Stanford on consecutive weeks in September, Navy on Oct. 27 (in San Diego) and Northwest- ern a week later. That quintet and Notre Dame are generally locks in any Graduation Success Rate (GSR) rankings, football or otherwise. • When Notre Dame lines up against Florida State at home on Nov. 10, 2018, it will be the 25th anniversary of the No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown in 1993, almost to the day (Nov. 13 in 1993). • Michigan's Jim Harbaugh will attempt to become the sixth coach to beat the Irish as head coach at two different schools. He defeated Notre Dame at Stanford in 2009 and 2010. The five previous to achieve the feat were Howard Jones (Iowa and USC), Johnny Majors (Pitt and Ten- nessee), Dennis Erickson (Miami and Oregon State), Nick Saban (Michigan State and Alabama) and Todd Gra- ham (Tulsa and Arizona State). • The 2019 road schedule appears especially daunting with trips to Louisville (on Labor Day), Geor- gia, Michigan and Stanford. Conversely, other than against USC, the home games versus New Mexico, Virginia, Bowling Green, Virginia Tech, Navy and Boston College are relatively un- inspiring that season. — Lou Somogyi MICHIGAN RECEIVER FREDDY CANTEEN TO JOIN NOTRE DAME AS GRADUATE TRANSFER This summer, Michigan wide receiver Freddy Canteen will become the fourth graduate transfer at Notre Dame under head coach Brian Kelly. The others were punter Alex Wulfeck (Wake Forest), cornerback Cody Riggs (Florida) and safety Avery Sebastian (Cal). Graduate players receive an un- dergraduate degree from one school, but use any remaining eligibility at another. Because they have received their degree, they are eligible to play immediately rather than sit out a sea- son. Canteen is scheduled to gradu- ate from Michigan this May after having enrolled in January 2014. Be- cause he also sat out 2016 for medical reasons, he will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. "Freddy will bring some speed and athleticism to our wide receiver group," Kelly said. "Freddy is a com- mitted, focused and determined indi- vidual, both on and off the field, and our receivers and offense will benefit greatly from his addition." "I'm very thankful to Coach Kelly and his staff for believing in me," Can- teen said. "I'm excited to start this new chapter in my life and can't wait to get going with my new teammates." For now, Canteen can be viewed as the replacement for Notre Dame's Corey Holmes — who likewise as a junior is planning to graduate this summer and use his final two years of eligibility at another school. Holmes (6-0½, 190) and Canteen (6-1, 185) are about the same size and are known primarily for their speed. Holmes reportedly ran Notre Dame's fastest 40-yard dash (4.39) in 2016 dur- ing winter workouts, while Canteen reportedly has been clocked at 4.43. 2018 Schedule Date Opponent Sept. 1 Michigan Sept. 8 Ball State Sept. 15 Vanderbilt Sept. 22 at Wake Forest Sept. 29 Stanford Oct. 6 at Virginia Tech Oct. 13 Pittsburgh Oct. 27 vs. Navy* Nov. 3 at Northwestern Nov. 10 Florida State Nov. 17 Syracuse Nov. 24 at USC * at San Diego 2019 Schedule Date Opponent Sept. 2 at Louisville Sept. 14 New Mexico Sept. 21 at Georgia Sept. 28 Virginia Oct. 5 Bowling Green Oct. 12 USC Oct. 26 at Michigan Nov. 2 Virginia Tech Nov. 9 at Duke Nov. 16 Navy Nov. 23 Boston College Nov. 30 at Stanford The Fighting Irish and Wolverines will renew acquaintances and kick off the 2018 season on Sept. 1. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA