Notre Dame Football: Irish should play Alabama, no questions asked

Rumors have swirled that Notre Dame football could be the opening-week opponent for the Crimson Tide, replacing the USC Trojans.

Notre Dame football has never backed away from a challenge when it comes to scheduling marquee opponents. In what figures to be a very strange 2020 football season because of scheduling snafus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, now might be the perfect time for the Irish to get way out of their comfort zone.

Rumors swirled this week that Notre Dame and Alabama could be working on a way for the two teams to meet to open the season.

I can’t emphasize this enough: If you’re Notre Dame, there is no reason to not jump on this opportunity immediately. I mean, what exactly do you have to lose?

When rumors started swirling, many Irish fans on social media discussed displeasure in playing the Crimson Tide. After all, the Irish certainly have not performed admirably in big games against top opponents.

But if there was a time for Notre Dame to just go for it all, now is that time.

Amid all of the speculation about scheduling, no one knows what the postseason might look like, if there even is a post-season. Therefore, if the start of the college football season is allowed to go on, there’s no sense in waiting for marquee matchups later in the season that may nor may not even be allowed to happen.

And, if you’re a Notre Dame fan, when would be better to play Alabama — the first game of the season as they break in a new quarterback or… well… any other time?

If there ever was a time for the Irish to swing for the fences, this is the perfect opportunity. Playing Alabama would offer the Irish plenty to gain and not much to lose. And if there’s anything that Irish fans could use in 2020, it’s the opportunity to play high-level, meaningful football as soon as humanly possible.