Michigan-ND may not happen again until 2030
If you look at the future schedules of both teams, they're completely filled or basically filled.
Michigan has home and homes with Washington in 2020-2021, UCLA in 2022-2023, Texas in 2024 & 2027 and Oklahoma in 2025-2026 . Unless we take another multi-million dollar bath like we did with the Arkansas series AND cancel dream match-ups with Texas and OU, I don't see it happening.
The VaTech series for 2020-2021 was already cancelled as the CFP doesn't require you to face 11 Power 5 teams. Jim Hackett even said scheduling that many P5 non-conference series made no sense.
On the other side, ND's non-ACC home and homes feature Wisconsin (Green Bay & Chicago) in 2020-2021, Ohio State in 2022-2023, 2024-2025, MSU in 2026-2027 and Alabama in 2028-2029. I don't know about you but other than MSU, those are some attractive match-ups that I can't imagine ND wanting to cancel.
Are we looking at an 11-year hiatus? Is this even a rivalry anymore?
I stopped caring about ND the moment they dropped off the schedule. It will always be a rivalry in spirit I suppose as I'm sure neither side will ever stop hating the other. But wow that's a long time.
Think about this: if the next meeting beyond 2019 is in 2030, the freshmen that will play in that game are currently about to be 2nd graders.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:47 PM ^
Yea I’m over it...
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:55 PM ^
Error in the OP: I somehow didn't type Texas A&M for 2024-2025.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^
Self flagellation is the only acceptable solution.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:45 PM ^
Is there a Super Guide for self-flagellation techniques?
August 23rd, 2019 at 8:18 PM ^
I get confused. Is self flatulation an appropriate punishment?
August 24th, 2019 at 10:19 PM ^
To hell with Notre Dame.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:47 PM ^
Even though ND is technically still a rival, I will be beyond pissed if any of the currently scheduled home-and-home games get cancelled to play them again. Fuck ND!
August 23rd, 2019 at 9:24 PM ^
I agree...somewhat.
I've always thought that we should play ND home/away then skip 2 years...then repeat.
This way anyone who graduates plays them at least 1 time and probably 2 or even 3 times.
ND/@ND
Florida/@Florida
ND/@ND
Texas/@Texas
ND/@ND
Washington/@Washington
ND/@ND
UVA/@UVA
...something like that.
Then always fill the other 2 games with a MAC school and big name school/terrible football program. NEVER A SERVICE ACADEMY!
Something like EMU and Kansas.
August 23rd, 2019 at 10:39 PM ^
Sounds good to me. It's good playing ND but nice to change things up too. And Michigan should avoid 2 tough OOC games. Except I didn't know we have home and homes with 2 Pac12 teams. Definitely not a fan of heading out west. Never seems to go well during the regular season. I assume they fly out Friday? I wonder if they could leave Thursday.
People in this thread keep saying we don't need ND. We don't need anybody. Since when was that the measure of anything? It's a great rivalry. If you hate ND, don't you want to play them and beat them?
August 24th, 2019 at 2:06 AM ^
No, we don’t need them. Join or die. No “independent” in 2019 should ever get playoff consideration. They need us more than we need them. They had their shot at the big 10 multiple times, and let it go. Find a conference, or be the cute drifter, sometimes upset team that has no higher aspirations, because they can’t get more being an outsider.
Playing ND is always fun, especially because of the not just geographic, but style, and history of both programs.
A win looks good. A loss looks bad. Always, no matter what part of the season the game is played.
Until they find a group to be part of, playing similar talent on a regular basis, and giving us back our home game they owe us, they can wallow in independent, private school obscurity.
August 24th, 2019 at 8:52 AM ^
I was told on this board that ND is a full member of the ACC- because their cross country and women's field hockey teams compete in the ACC.
So stop calling their independent football team an independent.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:47 PM ^
Sooooo... just your opinion.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:47 PM ^
I’m honestly fine with this
we have basically one chance to play a marquee game. I’d rather see some new blood than play the same team every year.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:30 PM ^
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:48 PM ^
Unpopular opinion: I don't like ND therefore I don't want them on UM's schedule...personal feelings. Warde will probably beg them though and we'll have them scheduled again in few years with a neutral site game and a game at ND...with Warde, I have BPONE
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
Note to Warde: F ND!!!
And no, that DOES NOT stand for "Fish North Dakota"
August 23rd, 2019 at 9:12 PM ^
But could it be "Found No Dick"?
August 23rd, 2019 at 9:42 PM ^
I agree Rob f. F#@k ND!!!
Let's kick their ass this year and forget about them.
Still can't stand the sight of Lou Holtz. Frickin cheatin weasel!!!!!
Kelly is a total douche bag.
August 23rd, 2019 at 10:53 PM ^
Plus he killed that kid.
Speaking of douches who have killed people, I read that Ray Lewis is going to be on "Dancing With the Stars".
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:50 PM ^
Good. We have a limited number of out of conference games and I'd rather watch us play different teams than play ND year in and year out. Especially since the ND game doesn't matter as much as big ten games.
August 23rd, 2019 at 7:15 PM ^
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:51 PM ^
I'm much more excited about the other OOC match-ups you listed (UCLA might be good in a few years?) than trying to pigeon hole Notre Dame back in the schedule any time soon.
Let's just kick ND's ass this year and move on.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:52 PM ^
By that time, I still probably won’t be able to get that Sparty.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:54 PM ^
“To hell with Notre Dame.”
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:03 PM ^
Surprised it took eight comments before we got this one.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:55 PM ^
I very much like having a marquee match up in the non conference slate either week 2 or 3. It doesn't make a difference to me whether it is ND or another big program like the ones we have scheduled with Washington, UCLA, Oklahoma and Texas.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
I was sad when the series ended, but honestly getting them back feels like a chore now. Especially with a 9 game conference schedule, I really couldn't care less if we play them in the future.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:59 PM ^
That's the one game I'm thinking about not attending this season unless I can get the tickets dirt cheap somehow. 3 big game prices in a row is just too expensive. This game shouldn't even be in October.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:31 PM ^
The present value of $200 in October or $200 in September is roughly $200.
Prediction: you'll be there.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:22 PM ^
Just sell half of your clothes online.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:04 PM ^
Well, we better win this year as I'll probably be pushing up daisies by 2030.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:44 PM ^
I think we are about the same age man, stay positive. Eat a salad. Monkeys like salads, right?
Now that you mention it though, funerals & burials have always weirded me out, like more than just a little. Glad my family's customs are not like some Indonesian villagers, where they exhume their loved ones every three years for the Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses. They brush their hair, put new clothes on 'em & pose for pictures with the living. I think I would have to find a new family.
August 23rd, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
I told my kids I do not want to be cremated or stuck in a coffin. After a misdiagnosis of death I'd hate to wake up in the furnace or 6 feet under.
I told the I wanted to be put on a tree stand (as some native American tribes did) and they can come find what bones they can find and bury those.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:08 PM ^
That will be ok. I will not surprised if M meets ND in playoff somewhere in between. Things have a way of working out.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:09 PM ^
I bet that somehow both schools will be talked into a kickoff classic (don't think it's still called that anymore) a couple times in that span. The whole country tunes in for this game.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:11 PM ^
Who cares. Forget about 'em.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
I don't miss the avalanche of PI flags and broken plays that magically work in South Bend every two years. We also don't really get a lot of credit when we beat them.
Sure the schadenfreude is amplified in those cases. But we can still check in on NBC for that.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:23 PM ^
I mean, we don't get "credit" when we beat them because we haven't put ourselves in position for credit to matter.
The only way an out of conference game matters is if it's make or break for a playoff spot. We've certainly never put ourselves in that position in a season in which we beat ND.
Last year Michigan might have been able to make an argument for inclusion had they beaten ND and at least lost closer to OSU so there would have been value to beating them and there really wasn't any downside to losing to them.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:13 PM ^
Well we did go 35 years between games once. I’m good with that.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:14 PM ^
I'd rather play Notre Dame in the CFP
August 23rd, 2019 at 9:48 PM ^
I'd rather watch ND play Ohio State in the Quick Lane Bowl.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:17 PM ^
We should have never scheduled them the last couple years. Our schedule is strong enough.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:28 PM ^
Bad take. Didn't hurt to lose to them last year, it could have helped to beat them (could have had a good argument for inclusion with a closer loss to OSU) and it's 1000 times more fun to play that game to open a season than to play MTSU.
There's almost no downside so absolutely we'd rather play fun, meaningful games than not.
August 23rd, 2019 at 7:30 PM ^
More interesting games for the fans = yes. There is no CFP benefit for an overly difficult schedule.
August 23rd, 2019 at 8:34 PM ^
But there was no downside CFP-wise to losing to ND. A win over a CFP-bound ND team might have been the difference between going or not going to the CFP had the loss to OSU not been ugly.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:17 PM ^
Good. In the playoff era, it is not wise to schedule a perennial top 10 team. We should look to play a 20-30 ranked team every year, but not a top 10, to add to an already competitive big ten slate.
Playing them this year could hurt us come playoff decision time. 11-1 with one big ten loss you can make it. 10-2 with loss to Notre dame and you're most likely out.
August 23rd, 2019 at 7:01 PM ^
This is the correct take.
With the strength of the B1G East, we should always schedule to skate thru the non-conference games and shoot for a 12-0 or 11-1 record and the best shot of making the playoff. Any more losses than this and you probably aren’t making the CFP anyway, even with a marquee win early because that means two conference losses. The SEC has figured this out and been scheduling noncon cupcakes for years...and yet it seems there are always several SEC teams in consideration for the playoff. M consistently makes it harder on themselves than necessary.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:26 PM ^
I hope Brian Kelly is gone by then. I don’t know how much longer it will be before his head explodes during one of his rants directed at his own players/coaches, the refs, opposing players/coaches or media.
He might be a winner but I don’t think the guy is good for college football. At all.