10 teams who could benefit from easy schedules

[GoSooners]

Okie Lite definitely has the best schedule in the Big 12. I would probably pencil them in for an over in total wins. They'll upset somebody in Stoolwater...Notice that Baylor isn't on the list...




College Football 2015: 10 Teams That Could Benefit From Easy Schedules



By Ty Duffy May 20, 2015 1:20 pm ET









Earlier, we looked at teams that may struggle compared to their peers with harder schedules. Here, we take a look at teams that may benefit from easier ones relative to their conference opponents.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
There’s not a lot between Ohio State and the playoff. We can’t write off Virginia Tech, after last year. But, that’s it non-conference. The Buckeyes get Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State and Maryland in Columbus. Ohio State’s toughest conference road games are Michigan and Rutgers. It’s possible they reach the B1G title game with one Top 25 win. [Full Schedule]
KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
No Auburn this year out of conference, just South Dakota, UTSA and Louisiana Tech. TCU, Oklahoma, Baylor and West Virginia come to Manhattan. That’s about as nice a setup as Bill Snyder could ask for from the Big 12. [Full Schedule]
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
The Cowboys have a murderous non-conference lineup of Central Michigan, Central Arkansas and UTSA. They face Oklahoma, Baylor, TCU and Kansas State at home in Stillwater. Toughest road game after early October is…Texas Tech. [Full Schedule]
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Beyond Bama, Wisconsin hosts Miami (Ohio), Troy and Hawaii outside the Big Ten. Inside, they duck Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan from the B1G East. The Badgers’ toughest game after the opener is either at Nebraska or at Minnesota. Both are winnable. Given competence, this team should have no trouble getting to 10 wins. [Full Schedule]
DUKE BLUE DEVILS
The Blue Devils have four winnable non-conference games: Tulane, North Carolina Central, Northwestern and Army. No Florida State, Clemson or Louisville from the cross-division draw. They face Georgia Tech and Miami in Durham. [Full Schedule]

TEXAS A&M AGGIES
The Aggies leave Texas once in their first 10 games. Beyond the ASU “neutral site” game, they play Ball State, Nevada and Western Carolina outside the SEC. Their road trip from the East is at Vanderbilt. Texas A&M also gets Bama and Auburn at home. Sumlin could benefit from a soft slate, in a pivotal fourth season. [Full Schedule]
MISSOURI TIGERS
The BYU game is a de facto home game. Missouri’s other three non-conference games are Southeast Missouri, Arkansas State and UConn. Mississippi State and Arkansas is about as kind of a draw as one could ask for from the SEC West. They face Georgia in Athens. But, they get Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina at home. Two of their four conference road games are Vanderbilt and Kentucky. [Full Schedule]
IOWA HAWKEYES
Pitt, with a new coach at home, is by far Iowa’s hardest non-conference game. The Hawkeyes play in the softer West division. They get Maryland and Indiana (away) from the East. Ferentz could (and probably will) pull a “Ferentz” and underwhelm, but don’t blame the schedule. [Full Schedule]
VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES
The Hokies should be set up for a 3-1 non-conference run, with Furman, Purdue and East Carolina joining Ohio State. After that, there’s a lot of mediocrity. VaTech misses Florida State, Clemson and Louisville in the ACC. The schedule should get them into the 8-9 win range easily, if they can mount something resembling an offense. [Full Schedule]
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State does not leave Pennsylvania the first half of the season, facing Temple, Buffalo, San Diego State and Army non-conference. They drew Illinois and a road trip to Northwestern from the West. Sure, the Nittany Lions go on the road to Ohio State and to Michigan State. But, that means two more games they’d be expected to compete in are at home. [Full Schedule]

 

[cloverleaf]

Duke's David Cutcliffe has done a nice job winning 19 games the past two seasons. While it would be surprising to see Duke contend for a third straight year in the ACC's Coastal Division, the chance of winning 6-8 games and going to a fourth straight bowl look very good. Not playing Florida State, Clemson and Louisville provide a good break with their schedule. Finding a quarterback, couple of wide receivers and improving the defense will be key to another good year.

 

[cloverleaf]

Penn State needs for Christian Hackenburg to have a huge year. Big kid the pros like but he needs to cut down on the interceptions if the Lions are going anyplace this season.

He threw 12 touchdowns and then 15 completions to the other team...ain't going to work for Penn State to be considered a contender in the Big Ten.

 

[RunLeeRun]

Couldnt schedules as easily hurt a team, for playoff contention anyways?

 

[BigdaddyQH]

Notice that two of those 10 teams are in the Big 12 and that did not even include Baylor? Does that tell you something about why the Big 12 gets such little respect?

 

[rolltide]

WISCONSIN BADGERS
Beyond Bama, Wisconsin hosts Miami (Ohio), Troy and Hawaii outside the Big Ten. Inside, they duck Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan from the B1G East. The Badgers’ toughest game after the opener is either at Nebraska or at Minnesota. Both are winnable. Given competence, this team should have no trouble getting to 10 wins.

given their head coach and new staff that should be their primary concern

 

[TyBounce]

Couldnt schedules as easily hurt a team, for playoff contention anyways?

Maybe but out of the 10 teams on that list ohio st is the only one with a reasonable chance of cracking the top 4 , but wether they make it or not is going to depend on winning their ccg more than sos.

I guess sos could matter for the buckeyes if they went 12-0 and then lost the ccg and were trying to get in as a 12-1 non champ.

I do see some good possible 9 win teams on that list (maybe even a 10 win team) , but dont think any of them will be high enough to be in the sos evaluation process.

 

[8ate]

Maybe but out of the 10 teams on that list ohio st is the only one with a reasonable chance of cracking the top 4 , but wether they make it or not is going to depend on winning their ccg more than sos.

I guess sos could matter for the buckeyes if they went 12-0 and then lost the ccg and were trying to get in as a 12-1 non champ.

I do see some good possible 9 win teams on that list (maybe even a 10 win team) , but dont think any of them will be high enough to be in the sos evaluation process.

..

Not as many people blasting the Big TEN after Buckeyes win CFB champ; and bowls won by Big Ten; and OHIO su never has an ez game in the Big House in :that state up north."

 

[RunLeeRun]

..

Not as many people blasting the Big TEN after Buckeyes win CFB champ; and bowls won by Big Ten; and OHIO su never has an ez game in the Big House in :that state up north."

They will be a few weeks into the season. MSU/Oregon.. Nebraska/BYU.. Nebraska/Miami.. Minnesota/TCU.. Michigan/Utah.. Michigan/BYU.. Illinois/No. Carolina.. Rutger/ Wash St.. Iowa/Iowa St.. Iowa/Pitt...hell Iowa could lose to Illinois St, they were in the FCS title game. That's ten games. I'm sure OSU will beat Vtech, but how many other sure wins do you see here? I see a couple 50/50's and mostly uphill battles. I'm trying to be honest. I think this thing gets off to a very rocky start.

 

[TyBounce]

..

Not as many people blasting the Big TEN after Buckeyes win CFB champ; and bowls won by Big Ten; and OHIO su never has an ez game in the Big House in :that state up north."

So true. Going in to last year public oppinion was that big-10 was 5th of 5 as far as best conference , now they are pretty well locked in to 3rd ahead of big-12 and acc. .... What a difference a year makes.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

They will be a few weeks into the season. MSU/Oregon.. Nebraska/BYU.. Nebraska/Miami.. Minnesota/TCU.. Michigan/Utah.. Michigan/BYU.. Illinois/No. Carolina.. Rutger/ Wash St.. Iowa/Iowa St.. Iowa/Pitt...hell Iowa could lose to Illinois St, they were in the FCS title game. That's ten games. I'm sure OSU will beat Vtech, but how many other sure wins do you see here? I see a couple 50/50's and mostly uphill battles. I'm trying to be honest. I think this thing gets off to a very rocky start.

I really do not see any reason why MSU loses to Oregon unless they simply do not have a team at all. This is a huge revenge game for them. Let's look at the rest of the schedule. Winners: Nebraska vs BYU. Iowa @ Iowa State, Iowa vs Pitt, Rutgers vs Wazzu. Losers: Minnesota vs TCU, Nebraska @ Miami, Illinois @ UNC. I do not see any major problems for the Big 10 conference as a whole here.

 

[RunLeeRun]

I really do not see any reason why MSU loses to Oregon unless they simply do not have a team at all..

Don't forget that MSU loses it's top 2 RB's, Langford being a 4th round pick. MSU lost it's top 2 Wr's, both were 5th round picks. Tony Lippett loss is HUGE, that guy made Cook a better QB. They have unproven talent right now at the skill position. They have the QB and Oline back, which is a huge plus, however MSU hasn't been a team that just does auto-reload every year. This might be a 2012 type season while they figure out who steps up, not 7-6 mind you, but I can see them slipping this year 3-4 losses. And I haven't even mentioned that Dantonio loses his DC of 12 years and the first CB selected in the NFL draft. CB might be the most important position on that defense. I haven't chalked it up a loss, but I favor Oregon.

 

[RunLeeRun]

Winners: Nebraska vs BYU. Iowa @ Iowa State, Iowa vs Pitt, Rutgers vs Wazzu. Losers: Minnesota vs TCU, Nebraska @ Miami, Illinois @ UNC. I do not see any major problems for the Big 10 conference as a whole here.

I'm weary of Nebraska. BYU doesn't allow teams to run the ball. NU QB is in year 3, but he needs some serious coaching up. Takes lots of risks. You saw the Holiday Bowl.

Don't know much about Iowa St, but they've taken 3 of the last 4 from Iowa. Hawkeyes aren't getting better as a program. Quite the opposite and the game is in Ames. Pitt is an unknown as of now.

Rutgers will not have a good offense. Aside from Caroo, they have no QB and need to replace 3 olinemen. Wazzu might not be great but they are returning more experienced players.

 

[GoSooners]

I'm weary of Nebraska. BYU doesn't allow teams to run the ball. NU QB is in year 3, but he needs some serious coaching up. Takes lots of risks. You saw the Holiday Bowl.

Don't know much about Iowa St, but they've taken 3 of the last 4 from Iowa. Hawkeyes aren't getting better as a program. Quite the opposite and the game is in Ames. Pitt is an unknown as of now.

Rutgers will not have a good offense. Aside from Caroo, they have no QB and need to replace 3 olinemen. Wazzu might not be great but they are returning more experienced players.

Iowa State usually doesn't beat Iowa 2 years in a row. Iowa also seems to have more luck beating the Clones in Ames than they do at home. So they'll probably be a little more focued for payback this year. But does it really matter what the Big 10 does out of conference? Last year Michigan got killed by ND, MSU by Oregon, Iowa by ISU, Maryland by WV, tOSU to VT, etc. With this Final Four format it really doesn't matter that much what happens early in the season or what kind of opinion people have of a conference. It's what happens late in the season that counts the most. It's not a good idea to lose late in the regular season, or is it a good idea to lose your conference championship game.

 

[RunLeeRun]

Iowa State usually doesn't beat Iowa 2 years in a row. Iowa also seems to have more luck beating the Clones in Ames than they do at home. So they'll probably be a little more focued for payback this year. But does it really matter what the Big 10 does out of conference? Last year Michigan got killed by ND, MSU by Oregon, Iowa by ISU, Maryland by WV, tOSU to VT, etc. With this Final Four format it really doesn't matter that much what happens early in the season or what kind of opinion people have of a conference. It's what happens late in the season that counts the most. It's not a good idea to lose late in the regular season, or is it a good idea to lose your conference championship game.

I think it does matter. SOS and comparative outcomes of common opponents are two of the factors involved. SOS probably comes into play more than common opponents, but there will be a day when that flips it. Everybody claims the ACC and Big Ten are two of the weaker conferences. It's talked to death on tv, written in articles, blogs and forums. FSU was the only undefeated and sitting 4th in week 15. OSU was out. Conference champions are also a big factor. It just so turns out, Alvarez stated it last week, that not naming a conference champion (not championship game...disclaimer for junk) hurt the Big 12. Think about that. TCU was 3.....then 6th. If they had named TCU the champ, are they in? If they had named Baylor the champ, would they have got in? I'd tend to say Yes to TCU. The Big 12 tried to play both cards and I think it got political.

 

[GoSooners]

I think it does matter. SOS and comparative outcomes of common opponents are two of the factors involved. SOS probably comes into play more than common opponents, but there will be a day when that flips it. Everybody claims the ACC and Big Ten are two of the weaker conferences. It's talked to death on tv, written in articles, blogs and forums. FSU was the only undefeated and sitting 4th in week 15. OSU was out. Conference champions are also a big factor. It just so turns out, Alvarez stated it last week, that not naming a conference champion (not championship game...disclaimer for junk) hurt the Big 12. Think about that. TCU was 3.....then 6th. If they had named TCU the champ, are they in? If they had named Baylor the champ, would they have got in? I'd tend to say Yes to TCU. The Big 12 tried to play both cards and I think it got political.

Run, I'm not sure either way what the committee would have done if the Big 12 had named TCU the champ. But I lean towards tOSU still getting in. It's why I'm very hesitant to say SOS is the ultimate deciding factor. Say the Big 12 named TCU the champ and they still decided to give tOSU the 4th seed, who would tOSU have beaten in the Big 10 who didn't lose an out of conference game that warranted that 4th seed? Interesting question. Now cue BigDaddy to come in here and say the Big 12 would have named Baylor because they were the true Big 12 champions. But last year they named them both co-champions just like they did OU/KSU a couple of years ago. And TCU was obviously the best Big 12 team at the end of the season. So obviously they had their choice of picking a team to represent the conference if they so wished because there were no solid written in stone rules for the conference pertaining to the Final Four representative. Their mistake was they were a dollar short and a day late in changing this rule. Which is par for the course for this bunch. This is where the great Big 12 brass plan of 10 teams and "One True Champion" unraveled in a very embarrassing way. To me, as long as they have just a 4 team playoff, the Final Four isn't a whole lot different than the BCS was. There is still going to be a fair share of politics involved. Alvarez would have never made that statement if FSU, Bama or tOSU had lost their CG. His Wisconsin team got the shit kicked out of them so bad in the CG that we knew who Alvarez was going to vote for from the very beginning. That's why I don't really care for any committee members having strong conference affiliations. The bottom line is this is all about the have's vs the have not's. OSU was a blueblood, TCU wasn't. tOSU was going to generate much more money and television viewers for this first playoff than a TCU or Baylor. The committee was out to make sure this first playoff was a resounding success. And that's where the politics come into play.