SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Wait, didn’t preseason camp start?

Then why are we talking about apparel contracts, announcing teams and conference realignment in August? Oh, right. Because college football is a sport where no one is in charge. Most of the time, that’s a hilarious feature. Right now it feels more like a maddening bug.

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But hey, you’ve got questions about Under Armour, NBC and if this really might be the time for Notre Dame to make a conference move. We try to answer them. There’s some football talk too, because for the love of Sam Hartman, opening kickoff is barely three weeks away. And Notre Dame is moving toward a high-stakes season.

Let’s go.

With the Big Ten adding Oregon and Washington, could this be the realignment round that finally puts Notre Dame in a conference? How does Notre Dame take a “now or never” approach from the Big Ten? Does it gamble on independence again? – Joe B.

For starters, I can’t believe college football is doing this as preseason camps open across the country. Then again, the college football powers that be do unbelievable stuff every year. They can’t help themselves. The sport is a snake eating its own tail.

Also, when’s the last time a major college football program joined a conference against its own will? Teams move because they want to, not because they’re forced to. Colorado, Oregon, Washington, USC, Florida State, UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas … none of these teams moved (or might move) while wanting to stay put. Same holds for Penn State and Nebraska from previous rounds of realignment. My point is, if Notre Dame joins the Big Ten, it will be because it wants to join the league, not because it has to. And there’s no now-or-never play for that conference because they’re not going to put a deadline on making money.

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How close has Notre Dame come to joining the Big Ten? ‘There was no deal to be had’

If Notre Dame joined next year? The Big Ten would love it. If Notre Dame joined in 10 years? That’s fine too.

I’m much more interested in what’s happening at Florida State, which Sportico reported is consulting with JP Morgan Chase about private equity as a means of bolting the ACC. It all feels like Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy, which makes it hilarious but doesn’t make it unserious. If Florida State is determined to pull the ACC apart, it will have ramifications for Notre Dame, even if it’s too soon to understand them. Can the league survive as a landing spot for Notre Dame basketball, soccer and lacrosse, etc.? Could the Irish rejoin the Big East in those sports? If Florida State leaves alongside Clemson and Miami, if there enough football inventory for scheduling purposes? It’s hard to answer these questions.

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Whatever the result is of this latest round of college presidents and television executives behaving badly, Notre Dame still needs a committed (i.e. paying) broadcast partner, access to the College Football Playoff and home for its Olympic sports. If the NBC deal gets done at new market rates, all these boxes should continue to be checked.

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Can Notre Dame still afford independence? Don't bet against the NBC marriage

Let’s put aside the nepotism claim and say Under Armour made a better cash offer than Nike. How much of a gap between Nike and Under Armour would there need to be to make Under Armour a sensible choice, given: 1) Players prefer Nike (obviously), 2) Fans prefer Nike (per your own poll), 3) Style aside, there are concerns over quality of Under Armour shoes, 4) Nike marketing and exposure dwarfs Under Armour, 5) Given Nike’s company size and exposure to top college football teams, it presumably is better equipped to handle “apparel supported NIL.”

I’d argue the gap would need to be sizable. Like the premium needed to shift home games from NBC to VH1. If the upfront money was close, Nike seems like a much better 10-year partner. And if the money wasn’t close, why? – Anthony B.

My hunch is the money wasn’t close, because if it was, Notre Dame would have been in position to make an apparel move. Under Armour had to keep Notre Dame much more than Nike had to land the Irish. At Nike, Notre Dame is another brand. It’s not a preferred program, which is what you’d expect when you’re competing for attention with Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia. My hunch is Notre Dame fans vastly overestimate the money Nike would have been willing to pay to take Notre Dame away from Under Armour and probably underestimate the money Under Armour was willing to pay to keep the Irish in their portfolio.

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Notre Dame re-signs with Under Armour on 10-year deal

For Under Armour, Notre Dame is an essential partner.

For Nike, Notre Dame is a vanity client.

Do players, fans (and probably coaches) prefer Nike? Of course. But clearly, those parties don’t have a vote, no matter how much they have an opinion. As much as this is a football-themed mailbag, the opinion of Notre Dame’s basketball coaches probably come with more recruiting impact than Marcus Freeman.

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In terms of marketing and NIL, I think you have this reversed. Nike doesn’t have to promote Notre Dame or work with the school on NIL. It’s Nike. It has entire professional leagues to promote. A singular college won’t get that attention. Under Armour would at least be willing to have those conversations. In fact, Under Armour’s announcement on Friday referenced “supporting student-athletes both on and off the field.”

🤝 @NotreDame . 10 more years of partnering with the Fighting Irish ☘️ and supporting student-athletes both on AND off the field.

— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) August 4, 2023

Notre Dame sticking with Under Armour doesn’t surprise me in the least. If the money is better, the money is better. The surprise for me is the term. For an outgoing athletic director to sign a 10-year deal just as the incoming athletic director arrived felt like tethering Pete Bevacqua to a company he didn’t choose and may not prefer. It’s strange Bevacqua will have more freedom to hire a coach than choose what gear that coach wears.

Say NBC for whatever reason decided to cut ties with Jason Garrett and Jac Collinsworth, and you’ve been tasked with rebuilding the Notre Dame football broadcast booth from scratch. Who are your first calls? (And, more realistically, second calls?) – J.J.P.

The first part is simple.

The dream team: Mike Tirico and Brady Quinn.

That’s the best play-by-play man in sports, plus a former Notre Dame quarterback whose broadcasting chops are much more than where he played college football. Few things would be as universally approved by the fan base as this tandem.

I’ve stumped for Paul Burmeister as a potential play-by-play man and I still believe that he’d do a solid job in the booth. I’ve enjoyed Jason Benetti on play-by-play calls in the past. Same goes for Adam Amin. I don’t need a ton of personality as a play-by-play voice, just consistent energy that rises to the level of the moment. You’re not the show. The game is. Tirico was a master at threading that needle, among other things.

As for the analyst, I prefer more of the wonky personality who’s as much about educating as entertaining. And I think Jason Garrett does the educational part pretty well. The entertainment part, less so. I love the triple espresso approach of Dan Orlovsky and I think he’d be a riot to listen to week after week. Brock Huard isn’t as caffeinated as Orlovsky, but I’ve enjoyed his smooth approach that feels like he’s explaining the game as it happens.

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While the start of fall camp perpetually brings unbridled optimism, do you think everyone is overhyping the potential of the Notre Dame offense? Yes, Sam Hartman is a massive upgrade at the most important position. The line and running backs are talented and deep. But receiver lacks a true No. 1 target. A dominant offense needs great receivers and Notre Dame seems to be severely lacking compared to the other CFP contenders. – Tom N.

While I agree Notre Dame doesn’t have elite receiver play, the Irish made the College Football Playoff with Javon McKinley and Ben Skowronek as the team’s top wideouts, with Avery Davis making perhaps the biggest catch of the season. Notre Dame went undefeated with TJ Jones and DaVaris Daniels. You may need elite receivers to win a national title (or a defense loaded with NFL Draft picks), but teams with average receivers have made the CFP before.

My hunch is Hartman will be a force multiplier for the receiver room, throwing players open in a way Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne could not. Have there been a lot of practice observations to support this hunch? Not yet. But watching the throws Hartman attempted in Practice No. 1 to Chris Tyree — a long crossing route to Hartman’s left that Tyree nearly caught for a touchdown at the pylon — was an example of how the quarterback can make receivers better. Not only does Hartman get the ball where it needs to go, but he gets it there when it needs to arrive. It’s simply a different brand of quarterback play from what Notre Dame managed last fall.

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Notre Dame practice diary: What I saw and heard on Day 1 of 2023 preseason camp

Yes, getting ahead of ourselves on Tobias Merriweather (one career catch) is an issue. To watch him move around practice, he looks like he could be Notre Dame’s next great receiver. But we haven’t seen it actually happen. Yet. Jayden Thomas isn’t a burner, but he feels a lot like a stronger TJ Jones, reliable and tough with good hands. Could Tyree be as good as Theo Riddick in the slot (before he moved back to running back)? Perhaps. At a minimum, Tyree is an upgrade over Avery Davis before him. Beyond that, it’s hard to predict anything for Jaden Greathouse, Deion Colzie or Rico Flores. Two of the three need to hit. Which two doesn’t matter as much as just getting them into the rotation.

Look, I’m not predicting Notre Dame’s offense is going to look like Joe Burrow and LSU or C.J. Stroud at Ohio State. But it’s got a chance to be as high-scoring and pass-efficient as any Notre Dame offense since … well … I’m not entirely sure. It’s been a minute since Notre Dame could win games because of its quarterback play. This should be one of those seasons.

(Photo: Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)