Purdue And Notre Dame May Play At Lucas Oil Stadium In 2014

A rumor going around the internet is that Purdue and Notre Dame may move their 2014 game, the final one officially on contract even though they have an agreement through 2021, to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Well, the rumor definitely has legs:

A Notre Dame spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that the schools were "close but not yet done."

Once the agreement is finalized, the game would be played Sept. 13 and likely serve as part of Notre Dame's Shamrock Series - a home game for the Irish at a neutral location. Notre Dame, though, still has 13 games scheduled in 2014 and has to eliminate one.

This would be the first time Purdue and Notre Dame have played a neutral site game in 30 years, as the two played the first ever football game at the Hoosier Dome in 1984, a 23-21 Purdue victory. It would also assure that all four FBS programs in Indiana will have played in the home of the Colts, as Indiana played Ball State at Lucas Oil in 2011.

The better news is that it may allow the Purdue-Notre Dame series, which has continued unabated since 1946, to keep going while Purdue is able to play seven home games each season. As it stands right now, Notre Dame is scheduled to come to West Lafayette in the years that Purdue has five Big Ten home games once the league schedule expands. Assuming Purdue schedules home non-conference games in its other two spots, it would mean eight home games in odd-numbers years and six in even-numbered years, with little room to play with the schedule.

Assuming the 2014 game is at Lucas Oil, the 2015 game would likely shift to South Bend and 2016 to Purdue. With the Indiana series shift it would also assure Purdue would get at least one of its top two rivals at home every year as opposed to both in the same year and none the next.

Assuming the 2015 game shifts to ND and that shifts the home and home series, here is how the future schedules would look as they stand now:

2015:

Sept. 5 - at Marshall
Sept. 12 - INDIANA STATE
Sept. 19 - at Notre Dame
Sept. 26 - BOWLING GREEN
Oct. 3 - at Michigan State
Oct. 10 - MINNESOTA
Oct. 17 - at Wisconsin
Oct. 31 - NEBRASKA
Nov. 7 - ILLINOIS
Nov. 14 - at Northwestern
Nov. 21 - at Iowa
Nov. 28 - INDIANA

This would be a 6 home, 6 road schedule because of the return game we have with Marshall, thought that could be shifted out, much like the 2011 Rice game, where we first played the in West Lafayette in 1998 and the return date was moved at least once.

2016

Sept. 3 - CINCINNATI
Sept. 17 - NOTRE DAME
Sept. 24 - NEVADA
Oct. 1 - at Maryland
Oct. 8 - at Illinois
Oct. 15 - IOWA
Oct. 22 - at Nebraska
Oct. 29 - PENN STATE
Nov. 5 - at Minnesota
Nov. 12 - NORTHWESTERN
Nov. 19 - WISCONSIN
Nov. 26 - at Indiana

Now that is a non-conference home schedule with some chest hair! Hopefully coach Hazell has the program humming by then. This is the first year of the nine-game Big Ten schedule

2017

Sept. 9 - EASTERN KENTUCKY
TBA - at Notre Dame
TBA - MISSOURI
Sept. 23 - MICHIGAN
Oct. 7 - MINNESOTA
Oct. 14 - at Wisconsin
Oct. 21 - at Rutgers
Oct. 28 - NEBRASKA
Nov. 4 - ILLINOIS
Nov. 11 - at Northwestern
Nov. 18 - at Iowa
Nov. 25 - INDIANA

The Missouri series is tentatively in 2017 and 2018, and if Purdue is going to ND I can see us hosting Mizzou first. This also marks the first season in which Purdue would have five Big Ten home games. It also marks the final FCS game we have on contract, though it could always be cancelled.

2018

Sept. 1 - NORTHWESTERN
TBA at Missouri
Sept. 22 - NOTRE DAME
Sept. 29 - at Nebraska
Oct. 13 - at Illinois
Oct. 20 - OHIO STATE
Oct. 27 - at Michigan State
Nov. 3 - IOWA
Nov. 10 - at Minnesota
Nov. 17 - WISCONSIN
Nov. 24 - at Indiana

There would still be an open date here, likely filled by a MAC du jour opponent.

2019

Aug. 31 - at Nevada
Sept. 21 - NOTRE DAME
Sept. 28 - MINNESOTA
Oct. 5 - at Penn State
Oct. 12 - MARYLAND
Oct. 19 - at Iowa
Oct. 26 - ILLINOIS
Nov. 2 - NEBRASKA
Nov. 9 - at Northwestern
Nov. 23 - at Wisconsin
Nov. 30 - INDIANA

This is final season where we have a full Big Ten schedule out and it also has one open date, likely to be filled by a MAC opponent, mostly because that is what Big Ten teams do.