Notre Dame Lands Alex Anzalone, Irish-ACC Rumors Floated

Mass was not the only thing on the docket for America’s most renowned Catholic institution this Sunday. Notre Dame football landed a commitment from Alex Anzalone, a top 50 national recruit from Wyomissing, Pa. Virtually every top tier program was vying for the linebacker’s commitment. Anzalone was at the center of a mini-controversy involving an Ohio State fan and convicted sex offender this past spring.

The ensuing flap led to Anzalone decomitting from OSU, and Brian Kelly is reaping the benefits.

Anzalone’s verbal pledge to join the Irish is hardly the only news emanating from the Golden Dome this Sabbath. TigerIllustrated.com, Clemson’s Rivals website, reports that ACC presidents met with Notre Dame. Discussion of UND shopping around its non-football sports has run rampant, and the holy grail of UND football affiliation is an intriguing caveat.

DeLoss Dodds floated the possibilities a Notre Dame-Big 12 partnership posed. Such a partnership could benefit the ACC in kind, particularly with the conference’s open date in the newly restructured Orange Bowl deal.

This blog has contended Notre Dame is not in a position where it needs a conference. The university’s deal with NBC Sports is still lucrative, and the program’s longstanding rivalries allow it to sculpt a formidable schedule. The Irish play a BCS-caliber annually without handcuffs.

In the same regard, a partnership with a conference guarantees UND a certain number of marquee games and postseason partner beyond the playoff. UND already has a schedule heavy with ACC members. The Irish play Miami in Chicago this season, continues its “Holy War” rivalry with Boston College, hosts Wake Forest and Pitt, the latter of which joins the ACC as early as 2013. Last season, UND played BC, Wake, and Maryland, as well as Florida State in the CHAMPS Sports Bowl.

A hypothetical three or four-game series with the ACC does little to change recent trends. Reigniting the rivalry UND shared with FSU in the early 1990s is an intriguing prospect. Forging new series with Virginia Tech and Clemson has to pique fans’ interest, too.

Of course, we are dealing purely in hypothetical. There has been no shortage of unsourced reports floated this off-season, particularly pertaining to the ACC. Skepticism is the best practice.