Notre Dame Football: Looking for Reasons to be Optimistic
With college football potentially in peril, we search for reasons to be optimistic to be a Notre Dame football fan.
It’s easy to be really, really negative about the odds for college football this fall. UConn cancelled their season first. Then came the first conference, the MAC. On Monday, as rumors swirled around the Big Ten, Old Dominion cancelled before C-USA did so for them. A few hours later, the Mountain West was done for the fall of 2020.
In the midst of it all, rumors swirled about the Power 5 conferences and which conferences would and wouldn’t play. Rumors even swirled about the SEC taking in name brand programs like Ohio State and Michigan for the season.
DP was told an hour ago that the Big 10 and Pac 12 will cancel their football seasons tomorrow... The ACC and the Big 12 are on the fence.. And the SEC is trying to get teams to join them for a season.
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 10, 2020
Watch live: https://t.co/sMaeXQkLfl pic.twitter.com/oSUNGMTEqw
Meanwhile, Big Ten coaches were making major statements about this season, and situation as a whole. Nebraska head coach, Scott Frost, said they’re prepared to look for other options, outside of the Big Ten.
"Our University is committed to playing no matter what, no matter what that looks like and how that looks. We want to play no matter who it is or where it is."#Huskers HC Scott Frost on opponents for 2020. pic.twitter.com/kTPN9znv0v
— Huskers Radio Network (@HuskersRadio) August 10, 2020
Through all the expectations surrounding the Power 5 cancelling, a couple of things became clear. The Big Ten and PAC-12 will likely cancel the fall season. Debate the merits, reasons, and whole situation if you want. That’s what they’re expected to do. The SEC wants to wait and see. That’s why they pushed their season so far back to begin with. Meanwhile, the Big 12 and ACC are reportedly on the fence.
Notre Dame, being an ACC football team for this season, will likely do as the conference does for the 2020 season. Of course, they may go Independent again, but filling out a full schedule may be impossible without the conference.
One ACC coach, Louisville’s Scott Satterfield, is adamant that a season will happen.
Satterfield “The ACC is moving forward no matter what other conferences do”
— Kent Taylor (@KentTaylorTV) August 10, 2020
Now, let’s be clear, the Athletic Directors, coaches, and players don’t have final say in whether or not a season will actually occur. However, it certainly seems that Satterfield is more than confident the season will happen.
Next. Notre Dame football players join the #WeWantToPlay Movement. dark
Given that, coming from an ACC coach, and reports that the ACC isn’t preparing to move or cancel the season as of right now, there is reason to at least be hopeful that Notre Dame plays 10 games this fall. Now, maybe that’s overly optimistic, and maybe it’s better to be a realist, but why not add a moment of positive thought to this college football season?