Give me a break. Army is awful. FAU could spank 'em. Never say never my friend.

BlueRaider,

I agree FAU or MTSU could spank Army, but it is a storied program that has had epic battles with Notre Dame through the years. And, no matter where the game is played in the country, Notre Dame and Army turn out huge fan bases.

BlueRaiderFn said

Give me a break. Army is awful. FAU could spank 'em. Never say never my friend.

You are confusing football and business. It does not matter who wins the game from a business perspective if the outcome generates revenue.

NBC commits millions of dollars to Notre Dame. They expect a return on investment from advertisers. Advertisers commit millions of dollars to NBC. They expect a return on investment from consumers that watch the game.

No matter how bad they are, Army and Navy have fans all over the country that will tune in and watch a game that will see ads from companies that spend millions of dollars. Neither FAU nor MTSU have that following to generate the interest from the advertisers.

It's not about the game, it's about the game's ability to generate revenue.

Now, once we prove we can we have a following, that's a different story. I am not debating whether FAU or MTSU can compete with Army, Navy, or Notre Dame on the field. That does not matter from the business perspective.

ND operates in their own NCAAF world. They grace :the Big East with their presence in most sports but football. I actually like the Irish, but I don't like the fact that a single team has as much clout as the BCS conferences.

FYI, they have promised (supposedly) to play 3 Big East opponents as a condition of their limited involvement in the Big East. To date, I don't think any of those games have been scheduled. The rumor starts here in Louisville every year but I doubt we will get a shot at them either.

My premise wasn't just that FAU and MT could beat Army, it was also that ND could carry the game as far as viewership. Even a game against an unknown has a lot of pull as long as ND is in it. You are correct in that they will go with one of those that you mentioned and it is along shot that a Sunbelt team gets to play them. I like to stay positive if possible. ;D

Notre Dame = media darling…

overrated as always…….

not that preseason ranking mean too much bu they arent very high in any i have seen…not even top 25…

they dont play a tough schedule…try playing a SEC schedule and see how long they last…….

owlfan1 said

The difference between the "weak teams" that Notre Dame schedules and teams like FAU or MTSU is that Notre Dame's "weak" opponents have big time name recognition and very strong followings. For example, Notre Dame played North Carolina last year. Not a very good team, but a big name

North Carolina has the name recognition in hoops, but for football they are recognized as just another average ACC team.

I'm not saying Notre Dame will play FAU, but it makes more sense for them to play us than Florida/Miami/FSU since it would not be a partisan Irish crowd, not to mention the recruiting factors. I think they'll go for a mediocre regional team that doesn't travel well. This is all about getting more attention (i.e. $$$) from different regions.

It doesn't HAVE to be a regional team.

Notre Dame is playing Washington State in San Antonio in 2009, remember.