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I kid, I kid.

They played WSU, UNLV, Citadel, and NIU that year...

http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/bigten/wisconsin/yearly_results.php?year=2005

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The beer, the cheese, the brats, the... scenery..

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I would put them on the schedule were they game 1. If they were game 2, I'd have to be careful that we had a relatively easy (UMass-level) game 1. Why? UW nonconference opponents in the Brentski era:

2012 - Northern Iowa, Oregon St., Utah St., UTEP
2011 - UNLV, Oregon St., Northern Illinois, South Dakota
2010 - UNLV, San Jose St., Arizona St., Austin Peay
2009 - Northern Illinois, Fresno St., Wofford, Hawai'i
2008 - Akron, Marshall, Fresno St., Cal Poly
2007 - Washington St., UNLV, THE Citadel, Tennessee
2006 - Bowling Green, San Diego State, Western Illinois, Buffalo

Not exactly murderers' rows. Now, per Wikipedia, Wisky has signed on to play Arizona St in 2013, Washington St. in 2014 and 2015, Virginia Tech in 2016 and 2017, and Washington in 2017 and 2018. Who wants to bet they try to play ND in 2014, 2015, 2016, and/or 2018? I know they won't play us in seasons when they already have two tough OOC opponents -- their recent history shows that is a non-starter. Two is their absolute max.

So we'd be best off getting them in game 1. But game 2 would be OK if we had a walkover ourselves in week 1.

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Let's see...Madison, WI vs. Shit Hole, Michigan. Yeah, you can tell me about how awesome Ann Arbor is, but the fact remains that it's still populated by Michigan fans. Give me State St. and a game against Wiscy any day.

Hell, I'll just make a weekend of it and hit a Packer game the next day.

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In a heartbeat.

With UW? I think I would.

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I don't have one good thing to say about the B1G.

Alvarez pursuing a series with ND; words from Brandon on the Michigan series.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-wisconsin-ad-alvarez-pursued-notre-dam...

When he suspected that fellow Big Ten schools perhaps were vacating spots on Notre Dame's schedule, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez leapt at the chance to fill them.

The former Irish defensive coordinator got blocked there. But he remains open to getting his current and former employers together on the field at some point.

"I've talked to Jack (Swarbrick) about it," Alvarez said Wednesday as Big Ten meetings concluded in downtown Chicago, referring to Notre Dame's athletic director.

"And I thought there were some other Big Ten schools that may take a couple-year hiatus, and I was trying to get us involved. But we just never could work anything out. I'd like to have them scheduled."

Meanwhile, Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon offered little clarity on the future of the Notre Dame series besides a general tenuousness of sorts: It remains intact on a three-year rolling basis, meaning either side can opt out of the series with three years' notice.

So far, no one has, and Brandon wasn't playing soothsayer to know if either side ever will.

"What I personally know at this point is that we're going to play for the next three years," Brandon said. "I don't have any control over what Notre Dame may be thinking moving forward beyond that. And the world is changing pretty rapidly. All I can assure you of is we're going to play them the next three years.

"Once we play them this year, it will be another three years. It's kind of an 'evergreening' contract, that we're going to keep playing them with a three-year commitment, but that can change if conference realignment occurs, if there's a number of different variables that occur. That would be something both schools would have to look at."

Tags:
scheduling