What to do about our future Non-Con schedule?

[Redwood Forrest]

I applaud the two newest members of the SEC for not having a cupcake game. All twelve games are FBS opponents. Of course, it could be argued Texas needed one.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

There's no reward for playing tough teams.

Clear the schedule of the challenges and replace it with the cupcakes.

The end.

 

[bamamc1]

What can you do?

I'm not a guy who thinks everyone is out to get Bama, but it's clear that playing a really tough schedule doesn't pay, or if it does, it does so barely (see pretendiana at #1).

I'd schedule 8 (or 9 since Sankey is a freaking idiot) conference games and literally schedule cupcakes for the rest. Even that won't approximate the typical B1G schedule but it moves towards equalizing it rather than exacerbating it.

The CFP is a joke. Your best bet is getting as close to perfect as you can get within the absolutes dictated by the conference.

Thank you again for everyone clamoring for playoffs. Hope you're happy.

Sankey agreeing to the 9 game conference schedule should cost him his job. PERIOD

 

[selmaborntidefan]

No matter what anybody says, there is NO REWARD for scheduling tough.
There never has been and no matter what anyone says, there never will be.

1983
Auburn played one of the all-time tough schedules ever handed to a team. They beat 9-3 Tennessee in Knoxville, 8-4 FSU at home, and in three straight games beat (final) #6 Florida at home, #7 at the time and eventual ACC champion Maryland at home, and a Georgia team that had had gone 41-3-1 in their last 45 entering the game at Athens. They then beat eventual #15 Alabama in the Iron Bowl. But folks fixate on "couldn't score a TD against Michigan," even though they won. Miami, meanwhile, got blown off the field by 25 points by the same Florida team Auburn beat. Their schedule was littered with a bunch 3- and 4-win teams with the exceptions of 7-5 Notre Dame (who lost to AIR FORCE), 9-3 West Virginia, and a fluke 8-3 East Carolina. But since Auburn was obligated to the Sugar Bowl, Independent Miami got to host Nebraska and their one-point win when Tom Osborne could have played for the tie...they got voted national champions.

The schedules were so uneven it was ridiculous, but it didn't matter: Miami, with SEVEN WEEKS to prepare (their last game was November 12), won a HOME GAME against Nebraska and Auburn's tough schedule didn't matter.

1984
BYU didn't play anyone worth a damn. Granted, it wasn't entirely their fault (Pitt looked great when the game was scheduled but had an off year), but they had a zero next to their name and nobody else did, so they were champions.

2017
What everyone remembers is, "Well, Ohio State lost to Iowa by 31 points." The part everyone sorta forgets is that Ohio State was undone more by the fact they LOST TO OKLAHOMA, 31-16, at home, which gave them two losses. Let's be honest: if Ohio State had played NORTHERN ARIZONA and won - and only had one loss - then their conference championship win over unbeaten Wisconsin would probably have been enough to offset the ONE loss and get them selected over Alabama. It wouldn't have made them any better as a team - it just would have been rewarded as "you only lost one game and won your conference."



The only two times I can think of where one can suggest that the tougher schedule mattered are 1982 and 1993, and I don't think either actually has anything to do with the schedule at all.

In 1982, Penn State had a (deceiving) 21-point loss to Alabama and SMU had a tie with Arkansas. The story after the fact is "well, the voters considered that Penn State had a tougher schedule." But that wasn't really the reason why. SMU at the time was known to be flouting the rules, and Penn State moved into the #2 spot and Nebraska at #3 (now called a "buffer"), and SMU despite being undefeated was ranked NUMBER FOUR going into the bowl game. They then played an uninspiring game against the last team Penn State had beaten, Pitt, and won a snooze-fest, 7-3. But since the 1983 Sugar Bowl was #1 Georgia vs #2 Penn State, there wasn't nearly the controversy folks pretended existed. Penn State did have a loss - but they'd also knocked off #2 Nebraska (in controversial fashion), 8-4 Maryland, 9-3 WVA, unranked 8-3-1 Boston College, and 9-1 #5 Pitt (with Dan Marino). They had played a tougher schedule and the tie was treated as a loss for SMU along with their known probation riddle team.

In 1993, it was more of a media hypefest than anything to do with FSU's schedule.

 

[22Musso22]

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

Since we are playing nine conference games, the conference should just drop the P4 OOC requirement...

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

Why did the second bye week disappear? With a nine game conference schedule, we need it more than ever!

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Why did the second bye week disappear? With a nine game conference schedule, we need it more than ever!

I think it all depends on when the season starts. It will probably happen again in 2 or 3 years and then go away again then come back again.