My issue with ND is that I think they could have thrown their weight around for the good of college football, but didn't do so. Maybe because it was for self interest. Maybe for love of the status quo. Or maybe they just didn't think of it. Not sure. But if USC and ND would have joined forces, they could have acted as a counter balance to P2 hegemony. You and I talked about this before. USC and ND could have formed a conference in their own image with ACC teams, Pac-12 teams and maybe some others. It would have been a national conference, and it could have been set up to basically give Notre Dame the national scheduling it commands. But now USC has gone to the Dark Side. And Notre Dame is now isolated. The only other near-bluebloods not in the clutches of the P2 are FSU, Clemson, Washington and maybe a waning Miami. You could throw everything that is left in college football outside of the P2 into one big conference, and it wouldn't match either of the P2. And in proportion, Notre Dame is looking smaller. My earliest recollection of college football was as a 7 or 8 year old watching USC on national TV back in the John McKay and Lynn Swann days of the 1970s. They were my first favorite team. And even after I became a Hokie, they were always my favorite of the bluebloods, and would be sure to watch their games on TV. Loved the whole schtick. Student Body Right, Traveler, the Song Girls, the Trojan Marching Band and "Tribute to Troy" and "Fight On", the uniforms, the Coliseum, etc. They were the team of the West. And all of their games felt like epic clashes. The UCLA game was the battle of LA. The Notre Dame game was the only true national rivalry, East vs. West. And the Rose Bowl, always seemed to be USC vs. Michigan or Ohio State in a Midwest vs. West granddaddy of them all on New Year's Day. But man, am I disappointed in them now. Yeah, I know the money was too hard to resist. And they felt like it was their only realistic option. But the Big Ten? Really? Say it ain't so. I guess I always thought that USC and ND each had deep enough pockets to be able to compete with the Big Ten and SEC. But I guess I was naïve or just incorrect. Well, at least on the USC side. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 3/25/2023, 12:03:49 PM