UConn?!?

This is a horrible, horrible scheduling development. We have contracted for a home and home with UConn. This is the "big name" opponent we were lining up for the 2010 opener. Uconn, who has played only 107 games in I-A (FBS) and is 54-53 in those games. UConn, who just moved up to I-A in 2000 and who as recently as 1999 was playing Ivy and Patriot League opponents. UConn, whose new stadium has a capacity of 40,000. UConn, who has an alltime record of 7-20 against Delaware and 8-19 against Holy Cross. UConn, whose most common opponents all time are UMass, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Yale.

UConn is not a "major" college football program. They are barely above a MAC team prestige wise. There is absolutely no upside to Michigan to playing such a team, and there is no reason why we should be doing a home and home with this team, especially considering what we supposedly have passed on before. This matchup won't be a game of the week, and will barely get any mention on the college football shows. Especially galling about this development is that we are probably giving up several million dollars of revenue to play a game at UConn.

We should be playing a top ten non-conference team every year. Since Notre Dame has not been that type of program in the last 15 years or so, we should be looking to play teams like Texas, LSU, Georgia, Florida,Oklahoma, and the like. If we don't want to schedule tough games like that along with Notre Dame, with should look at programs like Virginia Tech, Auburn, or any of the various Pac Ten teams we have played in the past (Cal, UCLA, Stanford, Washington, Oregon).

Ideally, I'd like to see us play Notre Dame at home one year, in South Bend the next year, and then take a two year break, where we can schedule a home and home with an elite team such as those listed above. We could then add lower level BCS teams, as additional games in years when we don't have big home games.