[terry]

Here's a list of future non-conference opponents, taken from the new media guide --

9.5 William & Mary........................................................ 2020 
10.10 at Notre Dame ................................................... 2020 
11.28 BYU.................................................................... 2020 

9.4 at Kansas State...................................................... 2021 
9.18 at Vanderbilt......................................................... 2021 
11.27 Notre Dame ....................................................... 2021 

10.15 at Notre Dame ................................................... 2022 
11.26 BYU.................................................................... 2022 

9.2 at BYU.................................................................... 2023 
11.25 Notre Dame ....................................................... 2023 

8.31 TCU...................................................................... 2024 
9.7 Vanderbilt ............................................................... 2024 

9.6 at Vanderbilt........................................................... 2025 
9.13 at BYU................................................................. 2025 

9.4 at TCU .................................................................. 2027
9.11 Vanderbilt ............................................................ 2027 

9.2 at Boston College ...................................... .......... 2028 

9.15 Boston College ................................................... 2029

[terry]

Here's a list of future non-conference opponents, taken from the new media guide --

9.5 William & Mary........................................................ 2020 
10.10 at Notre Dame ................................................... 2020 
11.28 BYU.................................................................... 2020 

9.4 at Kansas State...................................................... 2021 
9.18 at Vanderbilt......................................................... 2021 
11.27 Notre Dame ....................................................... 2021 

10.15 at Notre Dame ................................................... 2022 
11.26 BYU.................................................................... 2022 

9.2 at BYU.................................................................... 2023 
11.25 Notre Dame ....................................................... 2023 

8.31 TCU...................................................................... 2024 
9.7 Vanderbilt ............................................................... 2024 

9.6 at Vanderbilt........................................................... 2025 
9.13 at BYU................................................................. 2025 

9.4 at TCU .................................................................. 2027
9.11 Vanderbilt ............................................................ 2027 

9.2 at Boston College ...................................... .......... 2028 

9.15 Boston College ................................................... 2029

[Phogge]

Hopefully they go 2-0 vs William and Mary.

[Phogge]

Hopefully they go 2-0 vs William and Mary.

[BigEasyCard]

Sorry to see Notre Dame drop off the list after 2023.  Hopefully they will take the remaining available slot going forward.

Planning to be in Nashville on 9/18/21.

Geaux Cardinal!

[BigEasyCard]

Sorry to see Notre Dame drop off the list after 2023.  Hopefully they will take the remaining available slot going forward.

Planning to be in Nashville on 9/18/21.

Geaux Cardinal!

[winflop]

Sorry to see Notre Dame drop off the list after 2023.  Hopefully they will take the remaining available slot going forward.

I believe the original deal was for 25 or 30 years, which expires after 2023 season. I expect it to be renewed. Notre Dame wants - and arguably needs - an annual game in California, for both fundraising and recruiting. What are they gonna do, schedule a cupcake game against Kal or UCLA?

[winflop]

Sorry to see Notre Dame drop off the list after 2023.  Hopefully they will take the remaining available slot going forward.

I believe the original deal was for 25 or 30 years, which expires after 2023 season. I expect it to be renewed. Notre Dame wants - and arguably needs - an annual game in California, for both fundraising and recruiting. What are they gonna do, schedule a cupcake game against Kal or UCLA?

[terry]

Agreed. I expect that the Notre Dame series will be extended.

[terry]

Agreed. I expect that the Notre Dame series will be extended.

[Mick]

Sorry to see Notre Dame drop off the list after 2023.  Hopefully they will take the remaining available slot going forward.

I believe the original deal was for 25 or 30 years, which expires after 2023 season. I expect it to be renewed. Notre Dame wants - and arguably needs - an annual game in California, for both fundraising and recruiting. What are they gonna do, schedule a cupcake game against Kal or UCLA?

Might not be a bad idea for them, actually.  Both universities have strong academics -- closer than Stanford to ND's academics.  And Stanford has been stronger than both of those teams for quite a while.  We've won seven of the last ten against Notre Dame, and one of their three victories was vacated (the 20-13 game in 2012).

[Mick]

Sorry to see Notre Dame drop off the list after 2023.  Hopefully they will take the remaining available slot going forward.

I believe the original deal was for 25 or 30 years, which expires after 2023 season. I expect it to be renewed. Notre Dame wants - and arguably needs - an annual game in California, for both fundraising and recruiting. What are they gonna do, schedule a cupcake game against Kal or UCLA?

Might not be a bad idea for them, actually.  Both universities have strong academics -- closer than Stanford to ND's academics.  And Stanford has been stronger than both of those teams for quite a while.  We've won seven of the last ten against Notre Dame, and one of their three victories was vacated (the 20-13 game in 2012).

[Canalejas]

I think it would make some sense to reduce the frequency of the ND matchup from yearly to twice every four years.  In the off-years ND would actually be well served by playing against UCLA and Berkeley to preserve their annual CA game.  

As for Stanford, I think it would free up some spots for OOC games against other P5 opponents without having to play 11 P5 games every year.

[Canalejas]

I think it would make some sense to reduce the frequency of the ND matchup from yearly to twice every four years.  In the off-years ND would actually be well served by playing against UCLA and Berkeley to preserve their annual CA game.  

As for Stanford, I think it would free up some spots for OOC games against other P5 opponents without having to play 11 P5 games every year.

[stupac2]

I've wanted to get out of the ND game for a long time. I don't think the upsides are worth the downsides under the current playoff system. That said, if you care about things like revenue or actively want a challenging schedule (without getting any recognition for it ever) then I can understand wanting to keep it.

[stupac2]

I've wanted to get out of the ND game for a long time. I don't think the upsides are worth the downsides under the current playoff system. That said, if you care about things like revenue or actively want a challenging schedule (without getting any recognition for it ever) then I can understand wanting to keep it.

[82lsju]

IMHO one of the big downsides of the ND game is that we now play USC in early Sept, this is the best game in the even year schedule and having it in Sept is not ideal, especially for the students

[82lsju]

IMHO one of the big downsides of the ND game is that we now play USC in early Sept, this is the best game in the even year schedule and having it in Sept is not ideal, especially for the students

[Mick]

IMHO one of the big downsides of the ND game is that we now play USC in early Sept, this is the best game in the even year schedule and having it in Sept is not ideal, especially for the students

I know it's not popular, but I'd still rather play SJSU every year.

And now back to your regularly scheduled carping...

[Mick]

IMHO one of the big downsides of the ND game is that we now play USC in early Sept, this is the best game in the even year schedule and having it in Sept is not ideal, especially for the students

I know it's not popular, but I'd still rather play SJSU every year.

And now back to your regularly scheduled carping...

[akiddoc]

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

[akiddoc]

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

[Mick]

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

I realize that the schedule for upcoming years is a done deal and that the schedule organizers don't really care what fans want -- not really -- either in terms of opponents or time of game.  But the Pac-12 schedule is brutal enough without having to add Notre Dame and an SEC team to the schedule.  Personally, I really worry about the health of our team, playing all those top caliber programs, one right after the other. I'd rather have three cupcakes than a tough off-season schedule, both for overall record and health reasons.  Bring on Hawaii and SJSU.

[Mick]

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

I realize that the schedule for upcoming years is a done deal and that the schedule organizers don't really care what fans want -- not really -- either in terms of opponents or time of game.  But the Pac-12 schedule is brutal enough without having to add Notre Dame and an SEC team to the schedule.  Personally, I really worry about the health of our team, playing all those top caliber programs, one right after the other. I'd rather have three cupcakes than a tough off-season schedule, both for overall record and health reasons.  Bring on Hawaii and SJSU.

[OutsiderFan]

The corporate college football industry needs to make up its mind about what it wants from the playoff and scheduling. Right now they are in this middle ground that makes no sense and provides very little direction.

Alabama is working to change its schedule to reduce cupcakes, under the auspices that people aren't paying to go to see FCS and San Jose State level teams at Bryant-Denny Stadium. At the same time, going undefeated is seen as the ticket to the playoff, regardless of schedule strength.  These two forces are at odds against each other.

Making matters worse, the bowl executives standing in the way of progress are hell-bent against an expanded playoff, when the reality is an expanded playoff that includes automatic berths for the Power 5 conferences, would largely resolve this.  

Across college football, you would see an end to FCS games against P5, and much greater matchups across the board. I get the notion that the San Jose States of the world would be hurt without the payoffs from playing at Alabama and Florida, but Alabama no longer sees benefit in such charity games, and I'm pretty sure others will follow.

The idea that Stanford would benefit by removing Notre Dame from its schedule is crazy to me.  You know how many programs would KILL to get Notre Dame once or twice, let alone, annually?  Don't eliminate a good opponent and opportunity for rivalry.  Change the system that makes having the game a liability.

[OutsiderFan]

The corporate college football industry needs to make up its mind about what it wants from the playoff and scheduling. Right now they are in this middle ground that makes no sense and provides very little direction.

Alabama is working to change its schedule to reduce cupcakes, under the auspices that people aren't paying to go to see FCS and San Jose State level teams at Bryant-Denny Stadium. At the same time, going undefeated is seen as the ticket to the playoff, regardless of schedule strength.  These two forces are at odds against each other.

Making matters worse, the bowl executives standing in the way of progress are hell-bent against an expanded playoff, when the reality is an expanded playoff that includes automatic berths for the Power 5 conferences, would largely resolve this.  

Across college football, you would see an end to FCS games against P5, and much greater matchups across the board. I get the notion that the San Jose States of the world would be hurt without the payoffs from playing at Alabama and Florida, but Alabama no longer sees benefit in such charity games, and I'm pretty sure others will follow.

The idea that Stanford would benefit by removing Notre Dame from its schedule is crazy to me.  You know how many programs would KILL to get Notre Dame once or twice, let alone, annually?  Don't eliminate a good opponent and opportunity for rivalry.  Change the system that makes having the game a liability.

[stupac2]

The idea that Stanford would benefit by removing Notre Dame from its schedule is crazy to me.  You know how many programs would KILL to get Notre Dame once or twice, let alone, annually?  Don't eliminate a good opponent and opportunity for rivalry.  Change the system that makes having the game a liability.

Around 80% of my dislike of that game is the consistent fellation ND gets from the media, the fact that they are literally always overranked, and that they try to act like the two institutions are equals when they are our inferior in everything except football games that I'm not even old enough to remember.

A lot of our fanbase flat-out hates USC, but for me ND is far far worse. At least USC's flaws (endless cheating/scandals/incompetence) are widely understood, for whatever reason ND gets a pass on that shit. ***** them. I don't want to see any of those stupid leprechauns any more. Beating their smug asses isn't worth it.

[stupac2]

The idea that Stanford would benefit by removing Notre Dame from its schedule is crazy to me.  You know how many programs would KILL to get Notre Dame once or twice, let alone, annually?  Don't eliminate a good opponent and opportunity for rivalry.  Change the system that makes having the game a liability.

Around 80% of my dislike of that game is the consistent fellation ND gets from the media, the fact that they are literally always overranked, and that they try to act like the two institutions are equals when they are our inferior in everything except football games that I'm not even old enough to remember.

A lot of our fanbase flat-out hates USC, but for me ND is far far worse. At least USC's flaws (endless cheating/scandals/incompetence) are widely understood, for whatever reason ND gets a pass on that shit. ***** them. I don't want to see any of those stupid leprechauns any more. Beating their smug asses isn't worth it.

[ColoradoTree]

IMHO one of the big downsides of the ND game is that we now play USC in early Sept, this is the best game in the even year schedule and having it in Sept is not ideal, especially for the students

I know it's not popular, but I'd still rather play SJSU every year.

And now back to your regularly scheduled carping...

The glory of the Bill Walsh Legacy Game must be restored! 

/sarcasm

---

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

This is a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless. OutsiderFan's point about the competing forces of (1) going undefeated and (2) schedule strength relates to this, too. 

I tend to think it's highly unlikely that Stanford will make the playoff, let alone win it. I've made peace with that, and the joy this team gives me comes from beating traditional rivals like SC and Cal, and from beating "newer" rivals like Notre Dame. I'd be very sad to see that game fall by the wayside. 

That said, this doesn't have to be a choice between playing Notre Dame and having an easier schedule to pave the way to a playoff berth. This season, with Northwestern, UCF, and Notre Dame, is obviously absurd, but the balance next year is pretty good: one top-tier program, one good Group of 5 team, and one FCS team. (The old A-B-C approach to non-conference scheduling.) That schedule preserves the Notre Dame game while giving us a break. 2021 is an intriguing year with three P5 teams, but one that's likely to be bad, one that's likely to be tough but doable, and one that's likely to be very tough. 

You don't get credit for playing three tough OOC games if you take a loss in more than one of them. Playing (and beating) Notre Dame gives us all the positive OOC vibes we'd need, so having a second P5 team that's "good but not great" and then a near-guaranteed win for the third game strikes me as the ideal balance.

[ColoradoTree]

IMHO one of the big downsides of the ND game is that we now play USC in early Sept, this is the best game in the even year schedule and having it in Sept is not ideal, especially for the students

I know it's not popular, but I'd still rather play SJSU every year.

And now back to your regularly scheduled carping...

The glory of the Bill Walsh Legacy Game must be restored! 

/sarcasm

---

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

This is a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless. OutsiderFan's point about the competing forces of (1) going undefeated and (2) schedule strength relates to this, too. 

I tend to think it's highly unlikely that Stanford will make the playoff, let alone win it. I've made peace with that, and the joy this team gives me comes from beating traditional rivals like SC and Cal, and from beating "newer" rivals like Notre Dame. I'd be very sad to see that game fall by the wayside. 

That said, this doesn't have to be a choice between playing Notre Dame and having an easier schedule to pave the way to a playoff berth. This season, with Northwestern, UCF, and Notre Dame, is obviously absurd, but the balance next year is pretty good: one top-tier program, one good Group of 5 team, and one FCS team. (The old A-B-C approach to non-conference scheduling.) That schedule preserves the Notre Dame game while giving us a break. 2021 is an intriguing year with three P5 teams, but one that's likely to be bad, one that's likely to be tough but doable, and one that's likely to be very tough. 

You don't get credit for playing three tough OOC games if you take a loss in more than one of them. Playing (and beating) Notre Dame gives us all the positive OOC vibes we'd need, so having a second P5 team that's "good but not great" and then a near-guaranteed win for the third game strikes me as the ideal balance.

[SamuelMcF]

Around 80% of my dislike of that game is the consistent fellation ND gets from the media, the fact that they are literally always overranked, and that they try to act like the two institutions are equals when they are our inferior in everything except football games that I'm not even old enough to remember.

A lot of our fanbase flat-out hates USC, but for me ND is far far worse. At least USC's flaws (endless cheating/scandals/incompetence) are widely understood, for whatever reason ND gets a pass on that shit. ***** them. I don't want to see any of those stupid leprechauns any more. Beating their smug asses isn't worth it.

 
+10000000

[SamuelMcF]

Around 80% of my dislike of that game is the consistent fellation ND gets from the media, the fact that they are literally always overranked, and that they try to act like the two institutions are equals when they are our inferior in everything except football games that I'm not even old enough to remember.

A lot of our fanbase flat-out hates USC, but for me ND is far far worse. At least USC's flaws (endless cheating/scandals/incompetence) are widely understood, for whatever reason ND gets a pass on that shit. ***** them. I don't want to see any of those stupid leprechauns any more. Beating their smug asses isn't worth it.

 
+10000000

[winflop]

The idea that Stanford would benefit by removing Notre Dame from its schedule is crazy to me.  You know how many programs would KILL to get Notre Dame once or twice, let alone, annually?  Don't eliminate a good opponent and opportunity for rivalry.  Change the system that makes having the game a liability.

Around 80% of my dislike of that game is the consistent fellation ND gets from the media, the fact that they are literally always overranked, and that they try to act like the two institutions are equals when they are our inferior in everything except football games that I'm not even old enough to remember.

A lot of our fanbase flat-out hates USC, but for me ND is far far worse. At least USC's flaws (endless cheating/scandals/incompetence) are widely understood, for whatever reason ND gets a pass on that shit. ***** them. I don't want to see any of those stupid leprechauns any more. Beating their smug asses isn't worth it.

Football AND men's basketball

[winflop]

The idea that Stanford would benefit by removing Notre Dame from its schedule is crazy to me.  You know how many programs would KILL to get Notre Dame once or twice, let alone, annually?  Don't eliminate a good opponent and opportunity for rivalry.  Change the system that makes having the game a liability.

Around 80% of my dislike of that game is the consistent fellation ND gets from the media, the fact that they are literally always overranked, and that they try to act like the two institutions are equals when they are our inferior in everything except football games that I'm not even old enough to remember.

A lot of our fanbase flat-out hates USC, but for me ND is far far worse. At least USC's flaws (endless cheating/scandals/incompetence) are widely understood, for whatever reason ND gets a pass on that shit. ***** them. I don't want to see any of those stupid leprechauns any more. Beating their smug asses isn't worth it.

Football AND men's basketball

[CTcard]

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

This is a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless.

Depending upon exactly what you mean, Stanford has already been in the national playoff picture, if not in the national playoff. And in the years this was so, beating und helped Stanford's profile (but other losses doomed us).

In 2015 Stanford was talked about for the playoff. They were the highest regarded two loss team, sixth in the final CFP ranking. I think there is good reason to think Stanford would have been third had they managed to beat either Northwestern or Oregon (the game where they fumbled, and lost, the snap twice late and still came within a missed 2 pt conversion).
Stanford was also in the picture, though not the playoff, in 2010 (4th), 2011 (4th), and 2013 (5th), in each year beating und helped our position.

It's true that playing und means a loss is more likely, and a loss that would take us out of the playoff. However, beating und is the kind of win that could potentially get Stanford in over a rival with the same number of losses.

[CTcard]

If you think we will ever be in the national playoff picture, you don't want the Notre Dame game. If you think it is unrealistic that Stanford will be competing with Alabama and Clemson, then it is a great traditional game to have on the schedule.

This is a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless.

Depending upon exactly what you mean, Stanford has already been in the national playoff picture, if not in the national playoff. And in the years this was so, beating und helped Stanford's profile (but other losses doomed us).

In 2015 Stanford was talked about for the playoff. They were the highest regarded two loss team, sixth in the final CFP ranking. I think there is good reason to think Stanford would have been third had they managed to beat either Northwestern or Oregon (the game where they fumbled, and lost, the snap twice late and still came within a missed 2 pt conversion).
Stanford was also in the picture, though not the playoff, in 2010 (4th), 2011 (4th), and 2013 (5th), in each year beating und helped our position.

It's true that playing und means a loss is more likely, and a loss that would take us out of the playoff. However, beating und is the kind of win that could potentially get Stanford in over a rival with the same number of losses.

[BostonCard]

Right.  Especially if the Pac-12 continues to have a down reputation, and we stumble somewhere, a 1-loss team from the Pac-12 with a win over ND has a better case for the playoff than 1-loss teams from other conferences.  Of course, you have to balance that against the possibility that the game against ND gives us a second loss that we wouldn't have had playing a more benign schedule.

That being said, I think despite the team's continued excellence, I think the teams of 2010 - 2015 (excepting 2014) might have been a bit of an anomaly that may be hard to replicate again in the near future.  I am hoping I am wrong, but I am not seeing a lot of 10+ win teams (particularly 12 or 13 win teams) over the next decade.

BC

[BostonCard]

Right.  Especially if the Pac-12 continues to have a down reputation, and we stumble somewhere, a 1-loss team from the Pac-12 with a win over ND has a better case for the playoff than 1-loss teams from other conferences.  Of course, you have to balance that against the possibility that the game against ND gives us a second loss that we wouldn't have had playing a more benign schedule.

That being said, I think despite the team's continued excellence, I think the teams of 2010 - 2015 (excepting 2014) might have been a bit of an anomaly that may be hard to replicate again in the near future.  I am hoping I am wrong, but I am not seeing a lot of 10+ win teams (particularly 12 or 13 win teams) over the next decade.

BC

[82lsju]

Right.  Especially if the Pac-12 continues to have a down reputation, and we stumble somewhere, a 1-loss team from the Pac-12 with a win over ND has a better case for the playoff than 1-loss teams from other conferences.  Of course, you have to balance that against the possibility that the game against ND gives us a second loss that we wouldn't have had playing a more benign schedule.

That being said, I think despite the team's continued excellence, I think the teams of 2010 - 2015 (excepting 2014) might have been a bit of an anomaly that may be hard to replicate again in the near future.  I am hoping I am wrong, but I am not seeing a lot of 10+ win teams (particularly 12 or 13 win teams) over the next decade.

BC

when I graduated in 1982 I thought if we get to just one Rose Bowl in my lifetime that would be great, we have (so far) been to four......so my expectations have been exceeded!!!!!   Now if we can get a few more in my lifetime.........

[82lsju]

Right.  Especially if the Pac-12 continues to have a down reputation, and we stumble somewhere, a 1-loss team from the Pac-12 with a win over ND has a better case for the playoff than 1-loss teams from other conferences.  Of course, you have to balance that against the possibility that the game against ND gives us a second loss that we wouldn't have had playing a more benign schedule.

That being said, I think despite the team's continued excellence, I think the teams of 2010 - 2015 (excepting 2014) might have been a bit of an anomaly that may be hard to replicate again in the near future.  I am hoping I am wrong, but I am not seeing a lot of 10+ win teams (particularly 12 or 13 win teams) over the next decade.

BC

when I graduated in 1982 I thought if we get to just one Rose Bowl in my lifetime that would be great, we have (so far) been to four......so my expectations have been exceeded!!!!!   Now if we can get a few more in my lifetime.........