I can agree with many of Zona's points. Some of you just love to argue. And many of you lack the desire to see things from another person's or team's perspective. The overall driving force is the MONEY.
Norte Dame has turned down several lesser Bowl Game invitations in the past because the payout wouldn't equal the cost. Notre Dame turned down several invitations to join the BIG 10 in the past because of our conference revenue sharing.
Notre Dame has a national TV package and it is probably dictated to them by their network to play nationally oriented and followed teams like USC and Stanford and Michigan. Let's face it, people outside of Indiana when they turn on the TV to watch a Notre Dame game would rather them play somebody other than Purdue. I could see their network wanting ND to play OSU, mich, Texas, USC, Florida, penn st, Alabama purely for the name and tv audience. Nobody in Utah is going to want to watch no verses Purdue. It's not about the level of competition. It's about the name of the school and recognition by the casual fan.
He does make a point about scheduling. ND does have to play games against ACC teams. And yes, Purdue is playing NW the first game of the year. But when was the last time Purdue played a non-conference game as one of their 3 last games of the year? Purdue would never schedule ND as their last game. So ND has to play somebody.
A point that was not made. As an independent, for ND to get a possible invitation into the championship series, it has to beef up its schedule against tough opponents, and also have 11+ wins. If ND doesn't have a win against a quality team, it won't be considered for the national championship series. And if it doesn't have at least 11 wins, it can also forget it. ND needs to play teams like Mich and USC and win to have a chance of a big bowl invite. Beating a 6-6 Purdue team does nothing to help the. A loss to Purdue would be a season killer financially. So based on their ACC commitment of 5games and their commitments to USC, navy and Stanford, ND has 4 games to play a couple of elite teams to brag about when Bowl selection comes, and a couple of gimmes in order to ensure a 11-12 win season. Ball st and vandy are those gimme games. Mich is the national recognition game. Playing Purdue would not be a national recognition game to the bowl selection committee or generate much tv revenue or be a gimme game either. Maybe in the future, when Purdue is a BIG 10 conference title contender like UW, it would be more appealing to Purdue.
Something that has often been said to me by non-Purdue fans. Playing Notre Dame was always a big thing and big game and rivalry for Purdue fans. But Notre Dame fans point to USC as their rival. And if you're a Notre Dame fan or alum, who would you rather see Notre Dame play and beat? Purdue? Or USC and Michigan.
Anybody with intelligence knows why Ball st is on Notre Dame's schedule. It provides the opportunity for a 55-7 blowout victory. It boosts their ratings, and provides a lot of opportunities for highlight reel plays of long touchdowns.
And yes, it does get tiresome listening to Purdue fans bash other college's academic programs. At last glance, Purdue's academic programs are no longer the best in the world, including our engineering programs. Even Rose Holman is rated higher than Purdue in some engineering degrees.
As for Notre Dame, it's simply about the money and what their TV contract dictates. And it's the same for Purdue. Purdue and the BIG 10 bowed down to the TV network to add night games and games on other nights besides Saturdays for the TV revenue. The TV revenue ruined our basketball schedule. Just ask the coaches.
