Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

[TeddyG]

OK, I just purchased the game last week. And when I think about how Ill structure the conferences in my dynasty, I keep going back and forth on what to do with Notre Dame.

Im kind curious to know what you guys do with Notre Dame and Im also interested in input in terms of the pros and cons of putting them in a conference or keeping them as an independent.

[Starfleeter]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

Just keep them independent. Their conference rating is A+ anyway I think. Plus you can schedule any team to play them. Their schedule isn't locked since they have no conference games. Granted, the CPU will auto-generate schedules for them but still. It's better to main the tradition of them being an independent.

[TeddyG]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

Just keep them independent. Their conference rating is A+ anyway I think. Plus you can schedule any team to play them. Their schedule isn't locked since they have no conference games. Granted, the CPU will auto-generate schedules for them but still. It's better to main the tradition of them being an independent.

I hear you. Thats pretty much where Im coming from much of the time. But then, other times, I think putting them in the Big 10 would make sense.

I think when I do start a dynasty, Ill convert the Big 12 to the Big 10 and then make the Pac 10, the Big 10. Essentially, I would make the Big 10 have 12 teams, the Pac 10 have 11 teams, and then make the Big 12 have 10 teams.

[Starfleeter]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

You're going to try to re-align the dynasties similar to the conference agreements that have been made so far etc?

[TeddyG]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

You're going to try to re-align the dynasties similar to the conference agreements that have been made so far etc?

Yeah. Im thinking something like this:

New Big 12 (formerly Big 10)
Michigan
Ohio State (I know theyre in seperate divisions but they shouldnt be)
Penn State
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
-------
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa State (NW is out)
Illinois


Big 10 (formerly Big 12)
Texas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
TCU (Baylor out)
Oklahoma State
Northwestern
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
and either Colorado State or SMU

Pac 11 (formerly Big 10)
USC
UCLA
Washington
Washington State
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
Oregon
Oregon State
Cal
either Stanford, Utah, or Boise State

[PrettyT11]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

Yeah. Im thinking something like this:

New Big 12 (formerly Big 10)
Michigan
Ohio State (I know theyre in seperate divisions but they shouldnt be)
Penn State
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
-------
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa State (NW is out)
Illinois


Big 10 (formerly Big 12)
Texas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
TCU (Baylor out)
Oklahoma State
Northwestern
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
and either Colorado State or SMU

Pac 11 (formerly Big 10)
USC
UCLA
Washington
Washington State
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
Oregon
Oregon State
Cal
either Stanford, Utah, or Boise State

You should keep Stanford with those other Pac 10 schools and just put Boise in the MWC with Utah. You could also leave Baylor with those Big 12 teams and keep TCU in the MWC giving them the conference they should/wish they would have had if Utah and BYU wouldn't leave.

[Silas Barnaby]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

Notre Dame goes into the Big 10 and Navy goes into the Big East. That's how I do it.

[TeddyG]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

You should keep Stanford with those other Pac 10 schools and just put Boise in the MWC with Utah. You could also leave Baylor with those Big 12 teams and keep TCU in the MWC giving them the conference they should/wish they would have had if Utah and BYU wouldn't leave.

Well let me roll out the rest of what I would do.

Florida State to the SEC replacing Vanderbilt. And because Florida State would be in Vanderbilts spot, Id have to switch Florida and Tennessee to make UF and FSU play the last game. Or did they change that this year? I would then move USF to the ACC to occupy FSUs old spot. This way MIami and USF become rivals in the ACC.

I would also probably switch Boston College and West Virginia. That makes more sense, I think.

But Im not a big fan of having a school in a powerhouse conference purely for academics. So, I basically have ousted Baylor, Stanford, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt from their conferences potentially. Id leave Duke in the ACC because the North Carolina schools are kind of the sun around which everything else orbits where that conference is concerned. Its a basketball conference and its a North Carolina conference.

Yeah, I realize Stanford has a lot of history and established rivalries but they really havent done a lot compared to Boise State or Utah in recent years. I anticipate one of the teams Ill control will be Colorado and playing at Boise seems a little more fun than playing at Palo Alto. But other times I feel like you and think I should do what you mentioned with the MWC or WAC. I guess I can always schedule an out of conference game at Boise?

Also, Im not a big fan of Baylor. They just seem kind of like an also ran and I just dont find them interesting. I think TCU makes more sense.

[TeddyG]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

Notre Dame goes into the Big 10 and Navy goes into the Big East. That's how I do it.

Does it sometimes feel like youve denied college football its Darth Vader thats free to roam the country side?

[PrettyT11]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

Florida State to the SEC replacing Vanderbilt. And because Florida State would be in Vanderbilts spot, Id have to switch Florida and Tennessee to make UF and FSU play the last game. Or did they change that this year? I would then move USF to the ACC to occupy FSUs old spot. This way MIami and USF become rivals in the ACC.

I would also probably switch Boston College and West Virginia. That makes more sense, I think.

IMO I wouldn't make that move at all. That makes the top dog conference even stronger and really seperates them from the rest of the pack and makes the ACC alot weaker. It will also take away the top rival game in the ACC in Miami vs FSU. Also it takes a rival game off both of thier shedules. Yes USF and Miami would play each other but you can't create new rivals in the game so they hurts Miami big time. You would also eliminate all of FSU rivals but FLA since you can't create new ones. So unless you was controlling FSU and shedule thier rivals OOC you will be hurting them big time as well. Not to mention it would really hurt thier recruting since the CPU shedules visits on rival games. So that would leave FSU having all of thier potential recruits vist at the very end of the year. They would lose out on alot of recruits they could/would get if they stayed in the ACC.

[Pielet]

Re: Is it better with Notre Dame in a conference or not?

No love for the Wildcats?!?!? I think since 1995 they've been arguably the 3rd or 4th best team in the Big 10.