Notre Dame Football: Will 2020 circumstances inspire Irish to join ACC?
By Ben Belden
What joining a conference might look like for Notre Dame
The most logical landing spot for the Irish would undoubtedly be the ACC, especially given their current relationship with the conference. If Notre Dame did, indeed, join the ACC, they would be the 15th school to do so. Currently, the conference has two divisions — the Atlantic and the Coastal — with 7 teams in each division. Logic would dictate that the conference add a 16th team to keep divisions even (Navy, anyone?).
In that model, Notre Dame would play 7 divisional games, 1 crossover game within the conference (which could be the same every year, based on the best rivalry or could rotate yearly), and 4 non-conference games.
If the Irish were to join the Coastal division, that would mean perennial games against Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Duke, and Georgia Tech.
The Irish then would play one crossover game against one of Clemson, Louisville, Wake Forest, Florida State, Boston College, Syracuse, North Carolina State, or whoever the 16th team ends up being. Again, this could be on a yearly rotation or it could be a locked-in matchup based on rivalries. Florida State or Boston College both would be fun and would make a lot of sense for perennial opponents.
For those wondering, Notre Dame would only play Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, or at best, once every 8 years.
From there, the Irish could fill in their 4 non-conference games with teams like USC, Navy, and a couple other Group of Five teams.
Of course, the Irish would then qualify for the ACC Championship, as well.
As a lifelong Notre Dame fan, you definitely could sell me on that arrangement and that schedule, as it provides the Irish a pool interesting matchups, an opportunity to keep their two biggest and most important rivals, and a chance to play for a conference title.