Good stuff. I think my comments are in line with Swarbrick's statements
particularly, "One is if our independence proved to be too great an obstacle towards participating for the national championship." That is the scenario I presented (or tried to present).
If ND is confident that running the table will get them in and they are satisfied with that, then status quo. If the landscape changes, e.g., upgrades across the board mean more of an NFL model for conference champs, then ND perhaps rethinks.
The P conferences control the selection process. How often do they not vote as a block? Often? Ever? I think this is what ND's leadership will stay on top of. Swarbrick has acknowledged they are willing to take a tougher road. But what would they consider to be "too great an obstacle"? At what point does ND say, "If [having watched the process] that's how the decisions are made, we're totally screwed unless we reconsider".
At the risk of being redundant, the latter scenario is what brought ND back to the bowls. Not participating was too great an obstacle to being voted champion. Was that as big of a deal as independence? No. Was it a big deal? Absolutely.
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In response to this post by TerryD)
Posted: 09/20/2016 at 2:26PM