I'm tired of hearing this garbage. Their biggest argument that the Pac 12 should be rated higher is because they play more conference games and schedule out of conference better.
What they don't factor in schedule wise, and where they're wrong:
1. Several teams in the SEC have out of conference rivals in the ACC. They play these teams every. single. year.
South Carolina always plays Clemson
Florida always plays Florida State
Kentucky always plays Louisville
Georgia always plays Georgia Tech
2. Next up, let's look at out of conference scheduling outside of that for the last 3 years. This is a list of power 5 schools these teams have played:
Alabama: West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Michigan
Arkansas: Texas Tech, Rutgers x2
Auburn: K-State, Washington State, Clemson
LSU: Wisconsin, TCU, Washington
Mizzou: Indiana x2, Arizona State, Syracuse
Vandy: Wake Forest x2, Northwestern
Tennessee: Oklahoma, Oregon, NC State
Schedules that are lacking a little:
Ole Miss: Texas x2
Mississippi State: Okie State
Texas A&M: None
So while you can certainly say there are a few schools not scheduling out of conference well, it's hard to say the traditional top teams aren't (minus A&M if you feel they are a top team). Also, 2 teams played 4 power 5(P5) schools in the last 3 years. I'll get to *why* Ole Miss and State aren't scheduling super difficult but more on that in a minute. But in State's defense, State has also traveled *to* some smaller schools to play them every single year. This year we went to South Alabama and in 2012 we went to Troy. In 2013 we already had a neutral site game against Okie State. I don't know if we've ever done an 8 home game year. Does it make that road game any harder? Sure it does. Is it still a cupcake? Sure it is.
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Now let's look at the glorious Pac-12 and their noncon. I mean, they play top 5 teams every week right? Teams that have won national titles in the last 5 years 3 weeks in a row right? FCS schools are cupcakes so they never play them.
Oregon. Not a bad schedule by any means. 1 P5 each year. But, they've also scheduled an FCS school every year.
2014: Mich State, Wyoming, South Dakota(FCS). 2013: Nichols State(FCS), Virginia, Tennessee. 2012: Arkansas State, Fresno State, Tennessee Tech (FCS)
Washington. 1 P5 each year. Same as Oregon.
2014: Hawaii, East Washington(FCS), Illinois. 2013: Boise, Illinois, Idaho State(FCS). 2012: SDSU, LSU, Portland State(FCS)
Stanford & USC. These 2 teams play Notre Dame every year. I'll let you decide if that's a good out of conference game or not, but to be honest before CBK got there it was a very up and down team. Technically though, Notre Dame is not a Power 5 school. The rest? Between the 2 of them theres 3 P5 teams in 3 years.
2014: UC Davis(FCS), Army; Fresno, Boston College
2013: SJSU, Army; Utah State, Hawaii
2012: SJSU, Duke; Hawaii, Syracuse
UCLA. 4 P5s in 3 years.
2014: Virginia, Memphis, Texas
2013: Nevada, Nebraska, NM St
2013: Rice, Nebraska, Houston
Cal. 4 power 5 in 3 years.
2014: Northwestern, Sac State(FCS), BYU
2013: Northwestern, Portland State(FCS), Ohio State
2012: Nevada, Southern Utah(FCS), Ohio State
Arizona State. Technically 2 power 5 in 3 years, but they have Notre Dame twice. Once again you make the call there.
2014: Weber State(FCS), New Mexico, Notre Dame
2013: Sac State(FCS), Wisconsin, Notre Dame
2012: N Arizona(FCS), Illinois, Mizzou
************Here's where we start to drop off a bit.
Washington State. 2 power 5 in 3 years. And BYU.
2014: Rutgers, Nevada, Portland State(FCS)
2013: Auburn, Southern Utah(FCS), Idaho
2012: BYU, E Washington(FCS), UNLV
Utah. ONE Power 5 in 3 years. BYU twice.
2014: Idaho State(FCS), Fresno State, Michigan
2013: Utah State, Weber State(FCS), BYU
2012: N Colorado(FCS), Utah State, BYU
Oregon State. ONE power 5 team in 3 years. And BYU.
2014: Portland State(FCS), Hawaii, SDSU
2013: E Washington(FCS), Hawaii, Utah
2012: Nichols State(FCS), BYU, Wisconsin
Arizona. ONE power 5 team in 3 years.
2014: UNLV, UTSA, Nevada
2013: N Arizona(FCS), UNLV, UTSA
2012: Toledo, Okie State, S Carolina State(FCS)
Colorado. Quick rant. Man I wish we had a yearly "rival" in a ****** conference(Colorado State). Still, the Rams are 7-9 in the last 16 meetings and won 2 of the last 3. Can you imagine if Southern Miss had that kind of record vs us or Ole Miss? What if UAB had that vs Auburn or Bama? Or LSU had that kind of record vs ULL/ULM? Arkansas State or Central Arkansas vs Arkansas with that record? I would imagine people would be dying, not just getting fired. Anyway, Colorado has not scheduled a single power 5 team in the last 3 years.
2014: Umass, Hawaii
2013: Central Arkansas, Fresno State
2012: Sac State(FCS), Fresno State
So as you can see, while the Pac-12 has some teams that schedule tough, they have probably MORE teams that schedule like ****. And the SEC has more teams than they do. Also, they almost all schedule an FCS school every year. Sure, most SEC schools do this too, but we aren't the ones all high and mighty about our schedule.
Next, let's talk about *why* it's smart to schedule easy out of conference. The biggest reason?
Bowl games.
Say what you want about there being too many of them, there's a HUGE advantage to playing in one every season.
-It's another game that you get to have to produce revenue.
-It's another game you get to hype up the team for your fans.
-Another game for you to try out new players for the next season, and give seniors a nice parting gift(especially those who won't be playing on Sundays).
-Another couple weeks of practice for new players and lettermen coming back next season; it also allows December grads to get in on practice.
I give you, THE TALE OF 2(4) TEAMS.
First up, the 2013 and 2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs. In 2013, MSU scheduled a tough out of conference opponent, Oklahoma State. We lost this game handily. We also got our starting QB(Tyler Russell) hurt who had broken multiple passing records the season before, and our starting safety(Jay Hughes) taken out for the season. Because of this, did we have to start Dak before he was really ready? 2 games later we played an Auburn team that played for the national title that year; they had to drive the field and score on their last possession to win the game on their field. If we have Tyler and/or Hughes do we put the game out of hand earlier? Do we cover better on the game winning TD?
Move forward to the last game of the regular season. MSU, sitting at 5 wins, has to beat a pretty damn good Ole Miss team to get to a bowl. Keep in mind, that since Tyler Russell got hurt and we had to play Dak Prescott, Dak ended up getting hurt playing. Also, Tyler ended up getting hurt *again*, so we had to burn a redshirt off of our 3rd string quarterback Damian Williams. After keeping the game close for over 3 quarters, we ended up putting in Dak which also risked a bigger injury to him in order to win the game. If we schedule an easier game instead of Okie State, things are probably easier and maybe even win more ballgames in the regular season.
Because State won this game though, it got invited to the Liberty Bowl which was huge. It's where Dak played amazing football, developed synergy with his teammates, and emerged as the leader of the team before the offseason even began. It also allowed us to get Nick Fitzgerald involved in practice since he was a December grad.
Without this bowl game, none of this happens.
Next up, the 2009 and 2010 Mississippi State Bulldogs. In 2009, MSU had one of the toughest schedules in FBS in the last 20 years. Of the 12 we played, 10 went to bowl games. One of them won the national title. Another was last year's national title winner and won the SEC East. One of the out of conference teams won the ACC. The other 2 won 10 football games and one of those 2 had a darkhorse Heisman candidate. This team would go on to finish 5-7 and not go to a bowl game.
What if...instead of Georgia Tech, MSU schedules a Western Kentucky or ULL? What if instead of Houston we play Tulane or Memphis? (or the official makes the right call on Tyson Lee's legal forward pass). Assuming we'd win those easier games, that would've made MSU 7-5, and bowl eligible. If we get our 7th win by beating Ole Miss with Cam Newton ringing a cowbell in the stands, does he actually verbally commit and close his recruitment?
And if that happens, is MSU in a shot for the national title the next year? In 2010, State lost 4 games to Auburn, LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas. Auburn, without Cam and having him on our team probably flips that and we beat them pretty handily. Arkansas was a 7 point loss in overtime...does that flip? At Bama? At LSU? Who knows. At worst it's probably a better season. Not that it was a *bad* season in any way; in fact it was pretty incredible. We were simply missing pieces in certain areas or could've been better. I loved some Chris Relf, but Newton is a better player and would've jumped to the NFL after 2010 no matter what probably. Maybe *then* we have a better 2011 season.
What they don't factor in schedule wise, and where they're wrong:
1. Several teams in the SEC have out of conference rivals in the ACC. They play these teams every. single. year.
South Carolina always plays Clemson
Florida always plays Florida State
Kentucky always plays Louisville
Georgia always plays Georgia Tech
2. Next up, let's look at out of conference scheduling outside of that for the last 3 years. This is a list of power 5 schools these teams have played:
Alabama: West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Michigan
Arkansas: Texas Tech, Rutgers x2
Auburn: K-State, Washington State, Clemson
LSU: Wisconsin, TCU, Washington
Mizzou: Indiana x2, Arizona State, Syracuse
Vandy: Wake Forest x2, Northwestern
Tennessee: Oklahoma, Oregon, NC State
Schedules that are lacking a little:
Ole Miss: Texas x2
Mississippi State: Okie State
Texas A&M: None
So while you can certainly say there are a few schools not scheduling out of conference well, it's hard to say the traditional top teams aren't (minus A&M if you feel they are a top team). Also, 2 teams played 4 power 5(P5) schools in the last 3 years. I'll get to *why* Ole Miss and State aren't scheduling super difficult but more on that in a minute. But in State's defense, State has also traveled *to* some smaller schools to play them every single year. This year we went to South Alabama and in 2012 we went to Troy. In 2013 we already had a neutral site game against Okie State. I don't know if we've ever done an 8 home game year. Does it make that road game any harder? Sure it does. Is it still a cupcake? Sure it is.
********************
Now let's look at the glorious Pac-12 and their noncon. I mean, they play top 5 teams every week right? Teams that have won national titles in the last 5 years 3 weeks in a row right? FCS schools are cupcakes so they never play them.
Oregon. Not a bad schedule by any means. 1 P5 each year. But, they've also scheduled an FCS school every year.
2014: Mich State, Wyoming, South Dakota(FCS). 2013: Nichols State(FCS), Virginia, Tennessee. 2012: Arkansas State, Fresno State, Tennessee Tech (FCS)
Washington. 1 P5 each year. Same as Oregon.
2014: Hawaii, East Washington(FCS), Illinois. 2013: Boise, Illinois, Idaho State(FCS). 2012: SDSU, LSU, Portland State(FCS)
Stanford & USC. These 2 teams play Notre Dame every year. I'll let you decide if that's a good out of conference game or not, but to be honest before CBK got there it was a very up and down team. Technically though, Notre Dame is not a Power 5 school. The rest? Between the 2 of them theres 3 P5 teams in 3 years.
2014: UC Davis(FCS), Army; Fresno, Boston College
2013: SJSU, Army; Utah State, Hawaii
2012: SJSU, Duke; Hawaii, Syracuse
UCLA. 4 P5s in 3 years.
2014: Virginia, Memphis, Texas
2013: Nevada, Nebraska, NM St
2013: Rice, Nebraska, Houston
Cal. 4 power 5 in 3 years.
2014: Northwestern, Sac State(FCS), BYU
2013: Northwestern, Portland State(FCS), Ohio State
2012: Nevada, Southern Utah(FCS), Ohio State
Arizona State. Technically 2 power 5 in 3 years, but they have Notre Dame twice. Once again you make the call there.
2014: Weber State(FCS), New Mexico, Notre Dame
2013: Sac State(FCS), Wisconsin, Notre Dame
2012: N Arizona(FCS), Illinois, Mizzou
************Here's where we start to drop off a bit.
Washington State. 2 power 5 in 3 years. And BYU.
2014: Rutgers, Nevada, Portland State(FCS)
2013: Auburn, Southern Utah(FCS), Idaho
2012: BYU, E Washington(FCS), UNLV
Utah. ONE Power 5 in 3 years. BYU twice.
2014: Idaho State(FCS), Fresno State, Michigan
2013: Utah State, Weber State(FCS), BYU
2012: N Colorado(FCS), Utah State, BYU
Oregon State. ONE power 5 team in 3 years. And BYU.
2014: Portland State(FCS), Hawaii, SDSU
2013: E Washington(FCS), Hawaii, Utah
2012: Nichols State(FCS), BYU, Wisconsin
Arizona. ONE power 5 team in 3 years.
2014: UNLV, UTSA, Nevada
2013: N Arizona(FCS), UNLV, UTSA
2012: Toledo, Okie State, S Carolina State(FCS)
Colorado. Quick rant. Man I wish we had a yearly "rival" in a ****** conference(Colorado State). Still, the Rams are 7-9 in the last 16 meetings and won 2 of the last 3. Can you imagine if Southern Miss had that kind of record vs us or Ole Miss? What if UAB had that vs Auburn or Bama? Or LSU had that kind of record vs ULL/ULM? Arkansas State or Central Arkansas vs Arkansas with that record? I would imagine people would be dying, not just getting fired. Anyway, Colorado has not scheduled a single power 5 team in the last 3 years.
2014: Umass, Hawaii
2013: Central Arkansas, Fresno State
2012: Sac State(FCS), Fresno State
So as you can see, while the Pac-12 has some teams that schedule tough, they have probably MORE teams that schedule like ****. And the SEC has more teams than they do. Also, they almost all schedule an FCS school every year. Sure, most SEC schools do this too, but we aren't the ones all high and mighty about our schedule.
Next, let's talk about *why* it's smart to schedule easy out of conference. The biggest reason?
Bowl games.
Say what you want about there being too many of them, there's a HUGE advantage to playing in one every season.
-It's another game that you get to have to produce revenue.
-It's another game you get to hype up the team for your fans.
-Another game for you to try out new players for the next season, and give seniors a nice parting gift(especially those who won't be playing on Sundays).
-Another couple weeks of practice for new players and lettermen coming back next season; it also allows December grads to get in on practice.
I give you, THE TALE OF 2(4) TEAMS.
First up, the 2013 and 2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs. In 2013, MSU scheduled a tough out of conference opponent, Oklahoma State. We lost this game handily. We also got our starting QB(Tyler Russell) hurt who had broken multiple passing records the season before, and our starting safety(Jay Hughes) taken out for the season. Because of this, did we have to start Dak before he was really ready? 2 games later we played an Auburn team that played for the national title that year; they had to drive the field and score on their last possession to win the game on their field. If we have Tyler and/or Hughes do we put the game out of hand earlier? Do we cover better on the game winning TD?
Move forward to the last game of the regular season. MSU, sitting at 5 wins, has to beat a pretty damn good Ole Miss team to get to a bowl. Keep in mind, that since Tyler Russell got hurt and we had to play Dak Prescott, Dak ended up getting hurt playing. Also, Tyler ended up getting hurt *again*, so we had to burn a redshirt off of our 3rd string quarterback Damian Williams. After keeping the game close for over 3 quarters, we ended up putting in Dak which also risked a bigger injury to him in order to win the game. If we schedule an easier game instead of Okie State, things are probably easier and maybe even win more ballgames in the regular season.
Because State won this game though, it got invited to the Liberty Bowl which was huge. It's where Dak played amazing football, developed synergy with his teammates, and emerged as the leader of the team before the offseason even began. It also allowed us to get Nick Fitzgerald involved in practice since he was a December grad.
Without this bowl game, none of this happens.
Next up, the 2009 and 2010 Mississippi State Bulldogs. In 2009, MSU had one of the toughest schedules in FBS in the last 20 years. Of the 12 we played, 10 went to bowl games. One of them won the national title. Another was last year's national title winner and won the SEC East. One of the out of conference teams won the ACC. The other 2 won 10 football games and one of those 2 had a darkhorse Heisman candidate. This team would go on to finish 5-7 and not go to a bowl game.
What if...instead of Georgia Tech, MSU schedules a Western Kentucky or ULL? What if instead of Houston we play Tulane or Memphis? (or the official makes the right call on Tyson Lee's legal forward pass). Assuming we'd win those easier games, that would've made MSU 7-5, and bowl eligible. If we get our 7th win by beating Ole Miss with Cam Newton ringing a cowbell in the stands, does he actually verbally commit and close his recruitment?
And if that happens, is MSU in a shot for the national title the next year? In 2010, State lost 4 games to Auburn, LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas. Auburn, without Cam and having him on our team probably flips that and we beat them pretty handily. Arkansas was a 7 point loss in overtime...does that flip? At Bama? At LSU? Who knows. At worst it's probably a better season. Not that it was a *bad* season in any way; in fact it was pretty incredible. We were simply missing pieces in certain areas or could've been better. I loved some Chris Relf, but Newton is a better player and would've jumped to the NFL after 2010 no matter what probably. Maybe *then* we have a better 2011 season.
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