Case is made that there's never been a better time for Notre Dame to join the SEC

One Foot Down's Matt Boomer made an interesting case for Notre Dame to join the SEC: shunning tradition and joining the conference at its weakest make this the perfect time for the Fighting Irish to join the "It Just Means More" conference.

"...apart from a rough CFP outing against probably the greatest team in the greatest dynasty in college football history in 2020, Irish teams have shown out better than one might think against the SEC in recent years; with the conference hegemon now entering a questionable transitional period, it could the best time ever to jump into the fray," Boomer wrote.

With Nick Saban retired from Alabama, Brian Kelly potentially on the hotseat at LSU if he continues to verbally fumble off the field, and Kirby Smart having disciplinary issues left and right at Georgia, there could very well be an opening at the top of the conference's totem pole. Texas looks like a candidate to fill it with Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning under center, but something always seems to derail the Longhorns on their way to glory.

It could be a good time for the Fighting Irish to join the SEC, on paper. But in actuality?

Notre Dame a much better fit for the Big Ten than the SEC

It'd just be too awkward to have Notre Dame play in the SEC when the Big Ten has never been a better fit than it is right now. Historical rival USC is now in the conference as well as basketball rival UCLA. Two of the Fighting Irish's in-state counterparts (Indiana, Purdue) dwell in the B1G, and with Michigan being a power again, there's no better time to reignite that rivalry as well.

Sure, the SEC has been stretching the definition of the "southeast" with Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas, and Oklahoma, but a school that's an hour and a half away from Chicago is a bridge too far.

Notre Dame belongs in the Big Ten, even if the Fighting Irish in the SEC is a dream scenario for college football diehards.