Thoughts on Arkansas Series?

5,553 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by mattfreeman
mattfreeman
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Great to get in SEC country and against a team Notre Dame should beat. Not sure the impact of recruiting but good to get Vandy and Arkansas on the schedule.
5th qtr irish
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I think it is great to rotate through home and home series with SEC, Big 12 and Big 10 schools as long as you keep the schedule as balanced as possible.

I assume we are going to keep Navy, USC and Stanford for the foreseeable future plus 5 ACC game. USC, Stanford and Navy are all teams that typically will have 10 wins these days so already strong opponents.

Usually the ACC slate has 1 very tough team, 2 pretty good teams and 2 weaker teams but that is kind of luck of the draw once you play them.

That leaves 4 games left each year. This year we chose Temple, Georgia, Michigan State and Miami of Ohio. This is about the range of what I'd like to see from the 4 remaining games because MSU is off from their recent run. You have a blue blood in Georgia, a Power 5 mid level in MSU, a MAC team and Temple (who is much stronger than when this was originally scheduled but the right kind of opponent).

So, Arkansas or Vandy as the mid level Power 5 slot is good. They might be up or down from recent results when we play them vs what they are now but it is a good guess. You just have to try and have two weaker teams in the 4 and ideally one historically strong team (Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc).

ND needs to balance playing a challenging schedule to earn credibility while also trying not to overdo it. They also want to hit alums and recruits across the country. Arkansas is not an ideal opponent but it is an interesting one to rotate through in a home and home in my view.

For example, on paper the 2019 schedule looks too tough in the top half of the schedule (At Louisville, at Georgia, USC, at Michigan, Virginia Tech, at Stanford). They did get Bowling Green, New Mexico but at Duke, Navy, Virginia and BC are not gimmes. Having Georgia and Michigan in that 4 team group is a bit too strong. If you substituted Michigan for Illinois or Iowa, I'd be on board for example.
5th qtr irish
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I'm also pleased that they seem to be improving where the byes are and the spacing of top opponents. It is never perfect but when I look at future schedules it seems pretty good on paper.
mattfreeman
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5th qtr irish said:

I think it is great to rotate through home and home series with SEC, Big 12 and Big 10 schools as long as you keep the schedule as balanced as possible.

I assume we are going to keep Navy, USC and Stanford for the foreseeable future plus 5 ACC game. USC, Stanford and Navy are all teams that typically will have 10 wins these days so already strong opponents.

Usually the ACC slate has 1 very tough team, 2 pretty good teams and 2 weaker teams but that is kind of luck of the draw once you play them.

That leaves 4 games left each year. This year we chose Temple, Georgia, Michigan State and Miami of Ohio. This is about the range of what I'd like to see from the 4 remaining games because MSU is off from their recent run. You have a blue blood in Georgia, a Power 5 mid level in MSU, a MAC team and Temple (who is much stronger than when this was originally scheduled but the right kind of opponent).

So, Arkansas or Vandy as the mid level Power 5 slot is good. They might be up or down from recent results when we play them vs what they are now but it is a good guess. You just have to try and have two weaker teams in the 4 and ideally one historically strong team (Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc).

ND needs to balance playing a challenging schedule to earn credibility while also trying not to overdo it. They also want to hit alums and recruits across the country. Arkansas is not an ideal opponent but it is an interesting one to rotate through in a home and home in my view.

For example, on paper the 2019 schedule looks too tough in the top half of the schedule (At Louisville, at Georgia, USC, at Michigan, Virginia Tech, at Stanford). They did get Bowling Green, New Mexico but at Duke, Navy, Virginia and BC are not gimmes. Having Georgia and Michigan in that 4 team group is a bit too strong. If you substituted Michigan for Illinois or Iowa, I'd be on board for example.
Yeah I agree, I would love for them to open with a MAC or traditionally low-tier program to start the year. Temple is good. I know Notre Dame fans don't want to play MAC programs but getting a solid win to start the year does wonders, esp for young teams.

MAC, Illinois, Temple, Memphis, or teams like Florida Atlantic/FIU/etc. You can gradually work your way into the season and build confidence to play some tougher games in week 3 and on. Also, gives a look at some of the up and coming coaches time to time.

NDCrusader
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I'd rather play teams in Texas. TCU, Baylor... even SMU and Rice. Get into Texas where the players are and get them out to the games. Fayetteville is in the middle of nowhere.

Plus, when 2025 rolls around, this could be ugly. Add Stanford if the contract is extended past '24 and the cupcake and that rounds it out.



novairish
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I'd prefer ND play more games with teams like Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Tennessee, etc. than teams like Michigan.
jamie uyeyama
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NDCrusader said:

I'd rather play teams in Texas. TCU, Baylor... even SMU and Rice. Get into Texas where the players are and get them out to the games. Fayetteville is in the middle of nowhere.

Plus, when 2025 rolls around, this could be ugly. Add Stanford if the contract is extended past '24 and the cupcake and that rounds it out.




I think the thing with playing at a place in order to help recruiting is different than it used to be. With everyone able to recruit nationally more than before because of Hudl, YouTube, etc, it's just not the same as when maybe ND recruited Texas in addition to the Big 12 schools and a few others. Now all the top Power 5 programs recruit Texas.

NDCrusader
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jamie uyeyama said:

NDCrusader said:

I'd rather play teams in Texas. TCU, Baylor... even SMU and Rice. Get into Texas where the players are and get them out to the games. Fayetteville is in the middle of nowhere.

Plus, when 2025 rolls around, this could be ugly. Add Stanford if the contract is extended past '24 and the cupcake and that rounds it out.




I think the thing with playing at a place in order to help recruiting is different than it used to be. With everyone able to recruit nationally more than before because of Hudl, YouTube, etc, it's just not the same as when maybe ND recruited Texas in addition to the Big 12 schools and a few others. Now all the top Power 5 programs recruit Texas.


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While technology has definitely changed recruiting, some things that haven't changed are:

- The value of in person contact with a recruit and the ND program/staff.
- The value of being invited as a guest of a team that is interested in you.
- The value of knowing the interested team plays in your home market/state often (or is scheduled to do so), not 5-9 hours/ two states away by car.
- The value of ND generated media coverage in the home/state market.

Impressions drive a consumer's relationship to a brand. No different in recruiting.

All these factors can strongly influence a recruits perception of ND's program and how they may possibly fit into it.

Example:

I did more unofficial visits at ND than all other schools combined... and they didn't recruit me. I would be the guest of the opposing team. Teams like Dayton, Marquette, Cornell, Rice, etc all impressed upon my family how nice it is that they regularly played 30 minutes from my home.
jamie uyeyama
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NDCrusader said:

jamie uyeyama said:




While technology has definitely changed recruiting, some things that haven't changed are:

- The value of in person contact with a recruit and the ND program/staff.
- The value of being invited as a guest of a team that is interested in you.
- The value of knowing the interested team plays in your home market/state often (or is scheduled to do so), not 5-9 hours/ two states away by car.
- The value of ND generated media coverage in the home/state market.

Impressions drive a consumer's relationship to a brand. No different in recruiting.

All these factors can strongly influence a recruits perception of ND's program and how they may possibly fit into it.

Example:

I did more unofficial visits at ND than all other schools combined... and they didn't recruit me. I would be the guest of the opposing team. Teams like Dayton, Marquette, Cornell, Rice, etc all impressed upon my family how nice it is that they regularly played 30 minutes from my home.

Teams can't have in-person contact with recruits off-campus during the season. Maybe they can get out to a game on a Friday night, but that's about it. They also would have to pay for tickets to the game if they are not invited by the host team. So SMU or Rice or whoever isn't going to give free tickets to a Notre Dame recruit that has no interest in them.

More impressions help, but they would be much better off playing in Florida or Georgia than Texas.
NDCrusader
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jamie uyeyama said:

NDCrusader said:

jamie uyeyama said:




While technology has definitely changed recruiting, some things that haven't changed are:

- The value of in person contact with a recruit and the ND program/staff.
- The value of being invited as a guest of a team that is interested in you.
- The value of knowing the interested team plays in your home market/state often (or is scheduled to do so), not 5-9 hours/ two states away by car.
- The value of ND generated media coverage in the home/state market.

Impressions drive a consumer's relationship to a brand. No different in recruiting.

All these factors can strongly influence a recruits perception of ND's program and how they may possibly fit into it.

Example:

I did more unofficial visits at ND than all other schools combined... and they didn't recruit me. I would be the guest of the opposing team. Teams like Dayton, Marquette, Cornell, Rice, etc all impressed upon my family how nice it is that they regularly played 30 minutes from my home.

Teams can't have in-person contact with recruits off-campus during the season. Maybe they can get out to a game on a Friday night, but that's about it. They also would have to pay for tickets to the game if they are not invited by the host team. So SMU or Rice or whoever isn't going to give free tickets to a Notre Dame recruit that has no interest in them.

More impressions help, but they would be much better off playing in Florida or Georgia than Texas.
I didn't know teams don't provide tickets on the road any longer. Many kids could still get a ticket and come out and see the team in person if invited. Doesn't mean they have to talk with them there like going in the locker room after the game.

As far as being better off playing in Florida & Georgia... they already do through the ACC agreement but I 100% support them playing there more with a series against UCF, USF or FAU. All would be great series in the Temple level tier. Florida would be a great addition in the UGA, tOSU, A&M tier. They could schedule them in '26, '27 or '28.

GA is far more limited than FL in choices. Besides having GT & UGA currently scheduled, the only other option would be a series with GSU if ND agreed to play at the new GSU/Turner Field stadium. If the capacity isn't to ND's liking they could opt to play in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Texas on the other hand is full of opponents that could slot into the Temple tier. SMU, Houston or Rice all put you in markets where ND spends considerable resources and gets you there while minimizing the downside risk.

Other interesting match ups/sites could be a series with UK that included a home game in Cincy, a home and away with Mizzou with a game in St Louis or to fill the MAC level tier, a 2-1 with Tulane where the away game is at the Superdome if Tulane's new stadium is too small.
gohogs14
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I know I'm about a month late on this but I'm really looking forward to this series even though it seems forever away now. Hoping to make the trip in 2020. Just as a college football fan it's awesome to be able to experience.

Anyone's guess as to who our coach will be by then lol. Hope any of you that plan on making the trip to Fayetteville have a good time. We're currently expanding to 80,000 so the renovation will still be fairly new in 2025.


http://arkansasrazorbacks.com/dwrrs/images/new/lookin1.jpg
mattfreeman
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gohogs14 said:

I know I'm about a month late on this but I'm really looking forward to this series even though it seems forever away now. Hoping to make the trip in 2020. Just as a college football fan it's awesome to be able to experience.

Anyone's guess as to who our coach will be by then lol. Hope any of you that plan on making the trip to Fayetteville have a good time. We're currently expanding to 80,000 so the renovation will still be fairly new in 2025.



Nice! Great to have you on the board. I am sure we will be seeing you over the next few years haha.
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