Well It Would Have Been Cool to Play ‘Bama
In case you missed it, Nick Saban said he would like to see the Crimson Tide schedule a game with the Irish. While the thought of seeing two storied programs such as Notre Dame and Alabama was intriguing, Notre Dame’s John Heisler was quick to comment that such a game would be almost impossible to schedule.
Beginning in 2011, Notre Dame, an independent, has agreed to play three Big East teams per year, a request that was made when Miami and Virginia left the conference in limbo by jumping to the ACC.
“Those commitments will give us more home-and-home games than we know what to do with,” Heisler said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with (not wanting to play) Alabama.”
“Unless something changes, it would be pretty tough to do,” said Heisler, who added he wasn’t sure when the Big East agreement would end.
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On one hand, not seeing a potential Notre Dame-Alabama matchup in favor of seeing Notre Dame play the likes of South Florida, Syracuse, or UConn is pretty disappointing. Before we crucify Kevin White for his scheduling habits though, the commitment with the Big East insures Notre Dame keeps its Big East bowl tie ins.
Notre Dame’s schedules in general have been one of the areas people point to most frequently when criticizing Kevin White. Not the quality of the opponents, but rather the order in which the games are played. In 2005, Notre Dame had one home game among its first five contests of the year. This year the Irish will be away from home for four of its first six games.
Oh well, like I said the other day, even if Notre Dame and Alabama were to play, Saban would likely be on his second or third job by then. Alabama probably would have another 2-3 national titles per season by then as well.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
That would be a game that would get an incredible amount of press and media attention. Maybe it will happen in years to come when the conference regulations change. Both teams have a storied tradition in college football history.