Bronco on Notre Dame in ACC: “All the way in, or all the way out”

By Jerry Ratcliffe

When the pandemic turned the college football world upside down, the ACC threw Notre Dame a bone … a very large bone.

The Irish were in a bind, being one of only a few independents in college football. It had several games lined up with the ACC as it has for several seasons. Some of Notre Dame’s regular opponents, at least in August, had decided to move their seasons to the spring, leaving the Irish without a full schedule of opponents.

Then, the ACC came to the rescue. The ACC decided to throw its divisions out the window for this season, to play an 11-game schedule, and to allow Notre Dame football membership for one year only, also allowing the Irish to compete for the ACC championship and the league’s automatic Orange Bowl bid.

At the time, it seemed to be an acceptable idea, knowing that this was supposed to be Brian Kelly’s best Notre Dame team, a team that would likely finish in one of the top two spots and play for the ACC title in Charlotte this month.

Notre Dame is a member of the ACC in all of its sports except football.

Now that December is here, Notre Dame will finish No. 1 in the 15-team race, haven beaten Clemson without quarterback Tyle Lawrence, last month. Clemson and Notre Dame will meet for the league title in two weeks.

Does it still seem like a good idea to have Notre Dame playing for the ACC championship?

Bronco Mendenhall isn’t so sure.

“I think most of us [ACC coaches] would just prefer that [Notre Dame] is in or they’re out, and all the way in, or all the way out,” Mendenhall said Monday during his weekly presser.

“That’s idealistic, and probably too simplistic but that probably summarizes what most of the ACC coaches feel.”

The Virginia coach said he has respect for Notre Dame’s program and how the Irish have played this year, the undefeated season they’ve had.

“I think they earned the right to play for the championship through the way they’ve played this season, but I’m sure that feelings are mixed,” Mendenhall said. “They have qualified, given the same chance we all have to get an ACC Championship and to their credit, they’ve earned that.”