Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/86484
UNDER THE DOME DID NOTRE DAME MAKE A MISTAKE BY CUTTING THE MICHIGAN SERIES SHORT? Point ✦ Counterpoint: Yes with an independent schedule, yet still play five ACC games per year, it was obvious Michigan, Michigan State and possibly Purdue were on the chopping block. Playing three programs from the Midwest isn't a huge boost on the recruiting front. But why get rid of Michigan? We're talking With Notre Dame's desire to canvas the country By Wes Morgan about the two winningest college football programs in history with Michigan's .742 winning percent- age a hair above Notre Dame's .741. Sure, Purdue is a longer rival and an in-state foe, having played the Irish every year since 1946. But Notre Dame owns a 45-22 re- cord over the Boilermakers since then, with a 15-5 mark in the last 20 years and an average margin of victory of 12.7 points in those last 15 wins. In the last 20 meet- ings with Notre Dame, Michigan boasts an 11-8-1 record. Notre Dame is 10-10 against No alists is the assumption that every thing the Irish do has been done the same way since 1887. Joe Montana didn't always wear a blue-and-gold jer- sey. Paul Hornung didn't walk from the Basilica to the stadium before every home game. And Notre Dame has never played its rival Michigan more than 10 years in a row. Many of those breaks, in fact, are what have made their meetings more meaningful. In 2015, the My biggest gripe with the Notre Dame tradition- By Dan Murphy Michigan State over the last 20 meetings, making it an exciting matchup along with the one ver- sus the Wolverines. Michigan and Michigan State draw more national interest than Purdue. But all three, in my opinion, would be better to keep on the schedule than Navy. The Irish still feel indebted to the Midshipmen for keeping the campus afloat financially during World War II. That debt has long been paid. Navy has won three times in the last six years, but Notre Dame owns a 73-12-1 all-time record. The Irish have beaten Navy 17 of the last 20 meetings by an average of 22.06 points per game. How exciting. Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick, who is no stranger to making tough decisions, recently told Michigan it wasn't renewing the series in 2015-17. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND whom appear to be headed in the right direction, go head-to-head in the last half of the current decade. But Notre Dame's new deal with the Atlantic teams will start their third vacation from one another in the past two de- cades. Each time the rivalry has re- turned with just as much fanfare and fuel. Yes, it would be fun to watch the likeminded neighbors, both of Coast Conference — the catalyst for cutting the Michigan games — is still a net gain. Take a few years to enjoy watching the Irish play Florida State or Miami instead, both of which have some storied history in South Bend. The Wolverines will be back soon enough. Notre Dame and Michigan are tak- ing a break; they're not getting divorced.