This is the end of the Notre Dame/Michigan football rivalry. There’s just no way around it. Notre Dame had an out clause to opt out of the their contract with Michigan from 2015-2017, and they chose to take it. They had to notify Michigan’s Athletic Director Dave Brandon before kickoff this Saturday and it would appear that they have done just that. The last two games of the series will take place September 7th, 2013 at the Big House and September 6th, 2014 at Notre Dame Stadium, both of which are likely to be night games.
This is not to say that these two teams will never play again, but at the moment I would have to say there is less than a 10% chance the schedule each other again. Per mgoblue.com, here is Dave Brandon’s statement: “The decision to cancel games in 2015-17 was Notre Dame’s and not ours,” said Brandon, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics. “We value our annual rivalry with Notre Dame but will have to see what the future holds for any continuation of the series. This cancellation presents new scheduling opportunities for our program and provides a chance to create some new rivalries.”
They cancelled with Michigan because they have to start playing five ACC teams as a part of their contract. Canceling the contract early will certainly piss off Dave Brandon and is going to put a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths; especially mine. As Bo Schembechler once said “We don’t need Notre Dame, they need us more than we need them.” It has also been reported that before he died he said that he would never have scheduled Notre Dame even “if they got down on their hands and knees and begged….To hell with Notre Dame.”
I’m completely upset by this. I hate Notre Dame with a passion and not playing them is going to be a tough pill to swallow. There one of our top three rivals, and it is one of the oldest rivalries in the history of college football, how are you not going to play each other? I just hope Dave Brandon schedules a team that is worth us playing, I don’t want to see four non-conference games against Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and then Delaware (I also don’t want to see Alabama every year). My guess is that he will start scheduling some marquee home and home schedules for new Night games; a lot like Ohio State has done in the past when they scheduled Texas and the U. This would allow Michigan to play some new teams, keep a night game in September, and draw a lot of fan interest and potentially have College Gameday come to Ann Arbor. All things that are important for keeping the program fresh, interesting and generating money.
I’m just extremely pissed right now that Notre Dame has cut the series short. They couldn’t even fulfill the rest of their contract because those arrogant pricks are worried about their new ACC scheduling. Yeah, a schedule full of Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, NC State and Virgina is gonna be really tough for you clowns. Maybe in 2020, when they had originally said they would discuss the future of the schedule between the two rivals, Notre Dame will have a better grip on the schedule and decide to play us again. But it is clear to me, that we had gotten too good for Notre Dame, and this Michigan is only going to climb upwards.
They’re going to play Michigan for the last two times when Michigan is again at its weakest, because starting in 2015 will be the National resurgence/dominance, after a two-year lull. They’re cowards, always have been and always will be. I can’t respect an institution as selfish and arrogant as them. They should have joined the Big Ten years ago but they were too concerned about the independence of their TV contract, they don’t care about tradition; otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog post. I’ve never hated a school more in my entire life, and their actions today did nothing but cement those feelings. I literally cannot stand anything to do with that entire institution. Their special TV contract, their special rules, their announcers on NBC, their former coaches, their formers players, I hate all of it. This isn’t jealousy talking, this is anger out of them thinking they’re better than everyone else when they are just flat-out fucking not. Enjoy the ACC and mediocrity. To hell with Notre Dame.
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