Texas has the hardest schedule in the country according to Bill Connelly

[LovingBuckeye]

15 hours ago, HalfmileHorn said:

Don't care about any of the optics, optimizing, prognosticating what the selection committee is looking for, irdgas. I would play Ohio State year-in, year-out & let the chips fall where they may. It's been like a dream come true to see us play Ohio State & Michigan the last 20 years. 

100%

I wish Ohio State played 3 powerhouses in their OOC schedule every year. As a consumer, I want to be entertained and get my money's worth 

[LovingBuckeye]

15 hours ago, Here for the Wins said:

You’re looking at it from an Ohio State perspective.  Teams that you expect to fall in the 10-25 range may lose out with an extra loss.

 

For this year, it’s a decent chance that UTSA and/or Texas State are solid opponents.  At least relative to SHSU, UTEP, etc.

I would wager many strength of schedules give too much weight to the bottom quartile of the schedule.

I like to think that I am looking at it from a "blue blood" perspective, of which Texas is included. No true blueblood looks for an excuse to schedule weak opponents. I understand why Indiana, and Ole Miss, and Texas Tech would do it. There is no excuse for Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, or Alabama to do it. Even if the playoff committee gives you an easy out. 

[genevalonghorn]

3 minutes ago, LovingBuckeye said:

I like to think that I am looking at it from a "blue blood" perspective, of which Texas is included. No true blueblood looks for an excuse to schedule weak opponents. I understand why Indiana, and Ole Miss, and Texas Tech would do it. There is no excuse for Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, or Alabama to do it. Even if the playoff committee gives you an easy out. 

Wanting to maximize an opportunity to play for a national championship is not an "excuse."  The notion is that you schedule a softer OOC slate so you can schedule an Ohio State or whoever in the playoff.  

[LovingBuckeye]

3 minutes ago, genevalonghorn said:

Wanting to maximize an opportunity to play for a national championship is not an "excuse."  The notion is that you schedule a softer OOC slate so you can schedule an Ohio State or whoever in the playoff.  

It's a 12 team playoff brother, how much help do you need to make the playoff lol

[genevalonghorn]

5 minutes ago, LovingBuckeye said:

It's a 12 team playoff brother, how much help do you need to make the playoff lol

It is not "help" when you have the league schedule we do, which consists of three rivalry games every year on top of the mix of the SEC.  What is "help" is having the luxury of playing an Iowa, a Northwestern, a Purdue, etc. on a regular basis.

[LovingBuckeye]

5 minutes ago, genevalonghorn said:

It is not "help" when you have the league schedule we do, which consists of three rivalry games every year on top of the mix of the SEC.  What is "help" is having the luxury of playing an Iowa, a Northwestern, a Purdue, etc. on a regular basis.

I'm not trying to alienate myself, you guys have all been very kind to me, and I can't wait to make it down there in a few months. However, despite what BC said, I don't think this schedule is very tough at all, outside of the one B1G team that you play. 

[genevalonghorn]

2 minutes ago, LovingBuckeye said:

I'm not trying to alienate myself, you guys have all been very kind to me, and I can't wait to make it down there in a few months. However, despite what BC said, I don't think this schedule is very tough at all, outside of the one B1G team that you play. 

If you want to play three rivalry games, play Michigan three times.

[LovingBuckeye]

2 minutes ago, genevalonghorn said:

If you want to play three rivalry games, play Michigan three times.

You don't need to worry about Ohio State's schedule

@ Texas (#6)
@ Indiana (#5)
vs Illinois (#33)
@ USC (#13)
vs Oregon (#2)
@ Nebraska (#37)
@ Iowa (#22)
vs Michigan (#14)

This is about fans wanting their programs (there are Ohio State fans like this as well) to schedule Ball State, Texas State, & UTSA as their OOC opponents to make it as easy as possible because they can't make a freaking 12 team playoff without it being hand fed to them. 
 

[Here for the Wins]

3 hours ago, LovingBuckeye said:

I like to think that I am looking at it from a "blue blood" perspective, of which Texas is included. No true blueblood looks for an excuse to schedule weak opponents. I understand why Indiana, and Ole Miss, and Texas Tech would do it. There is no excuse for Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, or Alabama to do it. Even if the playoff committee gives you an easy out. 

How many blue bloods are there - 6, 8?  And almost all those reside in two conferences, correct?  College football isn’t just about my team so those teams from 10 to 25 scheduling each other in non-conference is important.

I prefer home and home games in non-conference with smaller playoff pools.  In this environment I don’t care for rematches in college football.  The finality makes for more personal, intense games.

2 hours ago, LovingBuckeye said:

You don't need to worry about Ohio State's schedule

@ Texas (#6)
@ Indiana (#5)
vs Illinois (#33)
@ USC (#13)
vs Oregon (#2)
@ Nebraska (#37)
@ Iowa (#22)
vs Michigan (#14)

This is about fans wanting their programs (there are Ohio State fans like this as well) to schedule Ball State, Texas State, & UTSA as their OOC opponents to make it as easy as possible because they can't make a freaking 12 team playoff without it being hand fed to them. 
 

That is a respectable schedule, but Illinois and Nebraska aren’t terribly difficult and Iowa has limitations.  And Michigan the past two years has been rather pedestrian.

I’d wager if you removed everyone’s toughest non-conference game, the Tx State/UTSA schedule would rank top 10 in terms of difficulty.  They should not be threats but are better competition than we played last year.

[LovingBuckeye]

1 hour ago, Here for the Wins said:

How many blue bloods are there - 6, 8?  And almost all those reside in two conferences, correct?  College football isn’t just about my team so those teams from 10 to 25 scheduling each other in non-conference is important.

I prefer home and home games in non-conference with smaller playoff pools.  In this environment I don’t care for rematches in college football.  The finality makes for more personal, intense games.

That is a respectable schedule, but Illinois and Nebraska aren’t terribly difficult and Iowa has limitations.  And Michigan the past two years has been rather pedestrian.

I’d wager if you removed everyone’s toughest non-conference game, the Tx State/UTSA schedule would rank top 10 in terms of difficulty.  They should not be threats but are better competition than we played last year.

Bill Connelly has Michigan as the better team entering the season than Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida, & Missouri. SP+ has Iowa as one of the 25 best teams in college football, ahead of Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Utah, etc.

As for Texas State & UTSA - SP+ has Texas State as the 89th best team in the country, behind teams like Hawaii & Old Dominion. SP+ has UTSA as the #73 team in the country, just behind North Dakota State and San Diego State

If you take each other out of the others' schedule, this would be the ranking of teams that Ohio State & Texas play

#2 Oregon
#5 Indiana
#9 Texas A&M
#10 LSU
#12 Oklahoma
#13 USC
#14 Michigan
#15 Tennessee
#16 Ole Miss
#19 Florida
#20 Missouri
#22 Iowa
#33 Illinois
#37 Nebraska
#47 Arkansas
#49 Northwestern
#52 Mississippi State
#55 Maryland
#73 UTSA
#89 Texas State
#128 Kent State
#134 Ball State
 

[Pwood]

5 hours ago, LovingBuckeye said:

Bill Connelly has Michigan as the better team entering the season than Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida, & Missouri. SP+ has Iowa as one of the 25 best teams in college football, ahead of Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Utah, etc.

As for Texas State & UTSA - SP+ has Texas State as the 89th best team in the country, behind teams like Hawaii & Old Dominion. SP+ has UTSA as the #73 team in the country, just behind North Dakota State and San Diego State

If you take each other out of the others' schedule, this would be the ranking of teams that Ohio State & Texas play

#2 Oregon
#5 Indiana
#9 Texas A&M
#10 LSU
#12 Oklahoma
#13 USC
#14 Michigan
#15 Tennessee
#16 Ole Miss
#19 Florida
#20 Missouri
#22 Iowa
#33 Illinois
#37 Nebraska
#47 Arkansas
#49 Northwestern
#52 Mississippi State
#55 Maryland
#73 UTSA
#89 Texas State
#128 Kent State
#134 Ball State
 

Love the graphic - our schedules are more similar than I expected. 

[Here for the Wins]

9 hours ago, LovingBuckeye said:

Bill Connelly has Michigan as the better team entering the season than Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida, & Missouri. SP+ has Iowa as one of the 25 best teams in college football, ahead of Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Utah, etc.

As for Texas State & UTSA - SP+ has Texas State as the 89th best team in the country, behind teams like Hawaii & Old Dominion. SP+ has UTSA as the #73 team in the country, just behind North Dakota State and San Diego State

If you take each other out of the others' schedule, this would be the ranking of teams that Ohio State & Texas play

#2 Oregon
#5 Indiana
#9 Texas A&M
#10 LSU
#12 Oklahoma
#13 USC
#14 Michigan
#15 Tennessee
#16 Ole Miss
#19 Florida
#20 Missouri
#22 Iowa
#33 Illinois
#37 Nebraska
#47 Arkansas
#49 Northwestern
#52 Mississippi State
#55 Maryland
#73 UTSA
#89 Texas State
#128 Kent State
#134 Ball State
 

That’s a reasonable measuring point for the preseason.  It slightly highlights my point about UTSA/Texas St.  If this were to hold, they are vastly better than the two Ohio State non-conference opponents once you remove Texas and OSU.

The point about Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska is that they are likely to be similar to prior years.  Iowa will likely be solid defensively and at Oline but likely fall to more talented teams with 1 upset mixed in.  Similar for the other two.

Michigan has a good but aging coach and has struggled offensively the past two years so it’ll be prove it in my opinion.

I don’t believe our opponents are overwhelmingly talented, but they’re capable of presenting problems.  Our opponents present more of a grind to the season.