A Quick Scheduling Note | by Pat
The rumored Army game has been confirmed and now Notre Dame's 12 game schedule for 2006 is complete. No date has been set, but looking at the tentative schedule, October 14th and November 18th are both open dates. The first would give Notre Dame five home games in a row, but also means the Irish would play 11 straight weeks without a break. The latter date would keep the bye week in the middle of the season open and also break up two end-of-season roads games, but would negate the advantages of having a bye week to help prepare for what likely will be a tough road game at USC.
| 2006 | |||
| 1 | 9/2 | @ Georgia Tech | ACC |
| 2 | 9/9 | Penn State | B10 |
| 3 | 9/16 | Michigan | B10 |
| 4 | 9/23 | @ Michigan State | B10 |
| 5 | 9/30 | Purdue | B10 |
| 6 | 10/7 | Stanford | Pac10 |
| 12? | 10/14 | Army? | Ind |
| 7 | 10/21 | UCLA | Pac10 |
| 8 | 10/28 | Navy | Ind |
| 9 | 11/4 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 10 | 11/11 | @ Air Force | MWC |
| 12? | 11/18 | Army? | Ind |
| 11 | 11/25 | @ Southern Cal | Pac10 |
Also of interest in the linked article is the fact that the neutral site "home" game is still being pursued. A potential start date as well as geographic preferences are mentioned as well.
In addition, Notre Dame is exploring the possibility of adding a neutral-site home game, which John Heisler, senior associate athletic director, compared to an "in-season bowl game." It would probably be played beginning in 2009, in the Southeast or the Southwest.
The game would be sold as part of Notre Dame's national television package, now on NBC. Heisler compared the off-site home-game concept, which is expected to aid national recruiting, to the "barnstorming years of Knute Rockne," when Notre Dame played in cities like Chicago and New York in the 1920s.
