Don't overthink Michigan vs. Notre Dame, just enjoy that it's happening again.

News broke today that Michigan and Notre Dame will be renewing their excellent college football rivalry and already the pundits are going into full-on, over-analyze mode.

To whit:

Michigan Blog "Maize n' Brew" is worried about the cost.

For the Wolverines, they give up a home game to Arkansas and pay $2 million to buy out of that match-up in 2018 to head to South Bend. Not only will they play ND on the road, but they will also play Michigan State and Ohio State on the road in that same season, leaving them without a tentpole(sic) rivalry game on their home schedule.

This makes no sense for the following reasons:

1. $2 Million to buy out Arkansas is chump change compared to what the game will draw.

2. Arkansas???  While a home and home with an SEC team sounds grand, the Razorbacks didn't really move the needle.

3. They didn't have a "tent pole" rivalry on their home schedule before this. They still don't for 2018.

Even worse than this however was the usual blather from CBS who decided to go full-on listicle with their analysis.

Whatever the case is for these two star-crossed lovers in the long-term, here's what you should know about both of them while waiting for the 2018 reunion.

1. It's hard to see this as anything other than a good thing for college football fans:

2. This isn't the first time these schools have broken up and reunited:  

3. Which is good, because it is likely in both school's best benefit not to make it an annual game:  

 4. Michigan is dropping games against Arkansas to fit Notre Dame in:

None of these are "things fans should know" but instead are things the author is either amped, or bummed about.

Yes, it is a good thing for fans of college football and yes, this is not the first hiatus in the series and yes, it should not be an annual game.  Again, the game against Arkansas had zero buzz around it, except in the minds of bored-as-hell sports writers who envisioned some coach-fight happening between Harbaugh and Bielema.

None of that matters.

In the spirit of CBS' sub-par writing here's a listicle outlining what DOES MATTER:

1. Notre Dame and Michigan are going to play one another in College Football. 

2. 3. & 4. See point number one.

That's it. That's all that matters.  These are two schools with a long rivalry that need to play each other as much as is reasonably possible.  As much as they hate to admit it, both sides need each other because Notre Dame vs. the ACC doesn't move the needle as much as Notre Dame vs. the B1G.

So bring on the game in 2018 and Hail to the Victors.



But please just stop overthinking it.  This is one of the things that makes the older generation of sports writers, guys like Peter King, Rick Reilly and others, so tedious and unreadable.