Notre Dame Football: It’s time the Irish found a conference

As it stands, Notre Dame football is independent, free of any conference ties. However, it may be about time for that to change after the Cotton Bowl loss.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish sit as an independent in terms of athletics, ice hockey not included apparently. They aren’t fighting with other schools in terms of record to be the best within that certain group. They are just simply existing, being themselves.

However, it may just be time for them to start being themselves within another conference because being independent just ain’t working out when it comes to the big games.

For starters, that bowl record is atrocious when the team is actually fighting against strong opponents. Let’s just look at the two closest examples. Remember 2012? Manti Te’o, the undefeated record and the fake girlfriend? Yeah…we all remember that. What else happened though? Notre Dame got routed by Alabama in the BCS Title Game.

Move forward six years and, despite never-ending hype and underdog votes, Notre Dame was once again wiped away by a member of an actual conference- Clemson out of the ACC. It wasn’t pretty and all in all was quite disappointing for every Irish fan worldwide I’m sure.

Now, I know you are asking what that has to do with being in a conference. Here you go. Being within a conference, especially a Power 5 one, gives you a set group of opponents each season. If you are in a strong conference like the SEC, ACC or Big Ten, you get tested week in and week out. In that scenario, you end up preparing yourself for a big-time bowl game were you to earn one by playing teams that are just as talented as you are.

Right now, the Irish have a few strong opponents, but it isn’t enough to cut it. This team struggled against Vanderbilt- the team that does nothing but get good grades and sit at the bottom of the SEC each and every season.

When you play in an actual conference, having the Coach of the Year means a little more too as you have played better competition and your coach has had ample time to prove himself and his ability to make in game adjustments to get you to an undefeated record. It helps that being a conference also tends to make your school more money, but that is neither here nor there.

Simply put, it’s time for the Fighting Irish to find a home within a conference. Maybe, just maybe, it will help them be more prepared for the next time they are lucky enough to find their way into a big-time bowl game or the Playoff once again.