BYU Will Be Fine, Notre Dame or Not

Could ND's move to the ACC tackle the Cougar's independence plans?

Recent announcements by Notre Dame that the Irish will be taking its non-football sports to the ACC have BYU fans up in arms. Because ND also agreed to play 5 football games every year against the ACC, Cougar fans are seeing the supposed writing on the wall that ND will attempt to cut some games against BYU to make room for the ACC contract while retaining some of the storied rivalries such as USC, Michigan, and Navy.

But let's not forget one thing: Notre Dame is still independent in football. The switch to the ACC does not indicate, as many of suggested, that independence is not possible anymore. It only indicates what we all already knew: the Big East is dead.

Sure, the 5 game deal with the ACC might make things a bit more difficult, but BYU and Notre Dame have a healthy relationship that will make ditching the contract difficult for the Irish. Let's not sugar coat it; the 6-game series means a lot to BYU's independence prospects. Because of that, BYU will work day and night to make sure that all 6 games are played.

I still think that the Big 12 will eventually come knocking on BYU's door, this time ready to accept the Cougars' special limitations. Until then, BYU is in good position to sit tight on independence.