Speaking of smug self satisfaction, does this deal make Notre Dame joining the BIG mostly irrelevant? I mean, it'd still be nice, but the variety and TV money this deal brings in takes a lot of shine off the dome.
At first, I thought part of the reason for the move was to force ND to reconsider joining the Big Ten. Had the league stuck to plans for a 9-game slate in 2015, I think that would have jeopardized some long-standing rivalries. If Mich, MSU, and Purdue wanted to keep playing ND, that woud leave them with only 1 open date per year. Not sure you can guarantee the "magic" 7 home games under those circumstances. And if you draw the top half of the Pac 12, the non-con goes quickly from directional Michigan schools to ranked BCS teams.
It appears that Delaney has replaced the 9th conference game with the Pac 12 game. This allows the Big Ten schools to keep ND on the schedule and leave 2 open dates for home games vs. more "manageable" opponents. It also allows ND to stick with what appears to be a plan to play the play the bulk of their schedule vs. the ACC and Big Ten + Navy and USC.