12-04-2018, 06:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-04-2018, 08:45 PM by CardinalSagehen.)
Some comments:
1) Are we the only team in the country whose entire schedule includes nothing but Power 5 conference games and currently ranked non-conference opponents? I'm guessing the answer is yes and that there are very few teams even playing 10 or 11 such games. For reference, Alabama's non-conference schedule includes Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Miss and Western Carolina. So their number is 8 vs. our 12. (I'm not comparing Stanford to Alabama, or the Pac 12 to the SEC. But c'mon ya big bullies, go pick on someone your own size!)
2) UCF has only two Power-5 games on their schedule next season, Stanford and Pitt. One way or another, they'll be playing the 2018 Sun Bowl champion.
3) Here is UCF's schedule for 2019: https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/ucf/. They face opponents with such colorful names as the "Rattlers", the "Green Wave", the "Golden Hurricane", and not one but two teams that call themselves "Owls", which is a great name for a quidditch team but not one that connotes football power. UCF is a very serious opponent, but I breathed a little easier after reminding myself of the type of schedule they play. I feel like an 8-4 Power 5 team (and certainly one that played SDSU and ND) could have a very reasonable shot of going 12-0 against their kind of schedule.
4) I like that the ND game, probably the toughest on our schedule, comes at the end of the season. If we've had a rough year, it will give us one last shot at redemption on a very big stage. And if we're lucky enough to have a shot at the Pac 12 CCG, it won't affect our status one way or the other.
5) I agree that replacing Utah and ASU with Colorado and Arizona is a big help. But it doesn't come close to making up for replacing SDSU and UCD with UCF and Northwestern!
This is not a schedule for a CFP contender, but we aren't likely to be one anyway. The bright side is that there will be many opportunities for quality wins - that's for sure!
1) Are we the only team in the country whose entire schedule includes nothing but Power 5 conference games and currently ranked non-conference opponents? I'm guessing the answer is yes and that there are very few teams even playing 10 or 11 such games. For reference, Alabama's non-conference schedule includes Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Miss and Western Carolina. So their number is 8 vs. our 12. (I'm not comparing Stanford to Alabama, or the Pac 12 to the SEC. But c'mon ya big bullies, go pick on someone your own size!)
2) UCF has only two Power-5 games on their schedule next season, Stanford and Pitt. One way or another, they'll be playing the 2018 Sun Bowl champion.
3) Here is UCF's schedule for 2019: https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/ucf/. They face opponents with such colorful names as the "Rattlers", the "Green Wave", the "Golden Hurricane", and not one but two teams that call themselves "Owls", which is a great name for a quidditch team but not one that connotes football power. UCF is a very serious opponent, but I breathed a little easier after reminding myself of the type of schedule they play. I feel like an 8-4 Power 5 team (and certainly one that played SDSU and ND) could have a very reasonable shot of going 12-0 against their kind of schedule.
4) I like that the ND game, probably the toughest on our schedule, comes at the end of the season. If we've had a rough year, it will give us one last shot at redemption on a very big stage. And if we're lucky enough to have a shot at the Pac 12 CCG, it won't affect our status one way or the other.
5) I agree that replacing Utah and ASU with Colorado and Arizona is a big help. But it doesn't come close to making up for replacing SDSU and UCD with UCF and Northwestern!
This is not a schedule for a CFP contender, but we aren't likely to be one anyway. The bright side is that there will be many opportunities for quality wins - that's for sure!