Throw out the records from last year. Forget the hype that surrounds up and coming programs. Don’t count your chickens quite yet. Not so fast my friend…it is OldSkewler’s Big 12 North Preseason Prognostications. If you see something you don’t like just remember that I’m just some schmuck with nothing better to do than to recycle stats and make lame-brained predictions that are correct about 50% of the time. At least I use lots of pictures.
From as far North as the Niobrara river to as far South as Rio Grande, and West of the Mississippi to East of the Colorado the schools of the Big 12 are gearing up for what has been anticipated as one of the best seasons this young conference has experienced. The Big 12 enjoyed a stellar season last year with 3 top-5 teams throughout the year. Instant credibility is what Missouri and Kansas gave to the underperforming Northern Division. Kansas State and Colorado had a big win over a top 10 and top 5 teams respectively. The Wildcats beat up on number 7 Texas in Austin while the Buffaloes edged number 3 Oklahoma in Boulder. Texas Tech stunned us all with an amazing win over the unstoppable Sooners ranked number 4. Two years removed from the National Championship game over USC, Texas reminded us that they still have the PAC-10’s number when they beat up on Arizona State 52-34. OU came out on top in the Big 12 with a huge win over number 1 Missouri in the Big 12 Championship. That is all fine stuff, but it is yesterday’s news. The Big 12 has much to live up to this year. I have listed the teams in the order they finished last year in the Big 12 North. At the end of the post I give my predictions on where they will finish.
Missouri is the hands down team to beat this year in the North. Last year's Heisman finalist, Chase Daniel, is back for his senior season. The defenses of the Big 12 are preparing. Make no bones about it, Daniel is the QB everyone loves have on their team and everyone hates to play against. Another big-time returning starter is sophomore WR Jeremy Maclin. This kid is quick and fast. He can run tight routes and catch just about anything that gets near him. Good news for the Tigers, bad news for everyone else.
Missouri seems to have had some big losses at TE and RB, but the reserves are no slouches and should fill in nicely. The phenom Martin Rucker is gone at TE. Who is going to replace one of the biggest, strongest weapons the Tigers had? How about 6-foot 6-inch 245 pounder Chase Coffman. At the svelte weight of 245, chasing Chase may prove to be a difficult task. At 6-6, getting around that stiff-arm and bringing him down is a completely different problem. Cotton Bowl record holder at 281 yards rushing RB Tony Temple is also going to be missed. It seems to be a 2-horse-race between Jimmy Jackson and Derrick Washington.
The biggest obstacle Missouri has to overcome on offense is the loss of C Adam Speiker and LT Tyler Luellen. It seems that through graduation and early departures to the NFL Missouri has been left with a gaping hole at those two positions. Much of the success Missouri enjoyed on the ground was due to outstanding O-line play. If Missouri does not control the line of scrimmage, then it may be possible to rattle the unflappable Chase Daniel. Sophomore C Tim Barnes and Junior LT Dain Wise will try to shore up the holes.
Missouri’s defense is returning 10 starters. After a slow start last year, the Tiger defense came into its own during the middle of the season and played very well to the end. It should be much more difficult to score on the Tigers this year. The only loss the Tigers had was at NT. Lorenzo Williams was a disruptive force on the line of scrimmage. I believe that he will be missed. To replace him is the 300-pounder Jaron Baston. With 3 seniors on the D-line, they will be ok.
Interception receiver William Moore is back and ready to see if he can beat his own school record of 8 interceptions. He will have many chances in the pass-happy Big 12. The rest of the secondary is very solid. Their tackle totals are misleadingly low from last year. I attribute that to the outstanding D-line and LB play which will only get better this year.
Kansas is the biggest question mark in the Big 12 North. The only improvement on last season that the Jayhawks can have is an undefeated season. If the Jayhawks go undefeated this year, there will be no detractors saying that they had too easy of a schedule to be considered in the BCS. After the convincing win over Virginia Tech, I’m not sure how many detractors are still mouthing off.
Todd Reesing is back at QB for the Jayhawks. This mobile, accurate passer is a nightmare to cover and contain. Like Chase Daniel is for the Tigers, Reesing is the unchallenged leader of the Jayhawk offense. Try these numbers on for size as a sophomore: Passing yards – 3486, TDs – 33, INTs – 7, QB rating – 148.81. Not too shabby.
Kansas has to perceiver through some very key losses on the offense starting with the stand-out RB Brandon McAnderson. He will be tough to replace, but Jocques Crawford is ready to give it a go at RB. Crawford should do well to compliment the elevated passing acumen of Reesing.
The receivers should be fine. Dezmon Briscoe performed well at times, but he was inconsistent. He will be a good compliment to Dexton Fields. Losing Marcus Henry will have an effect on the big-play making abilities of the receiving corps as a whole.
The O-line is big, mean, and senior-laden. They played well last year and should continue. Three starters return on the line including standout senior center Ryan Cantrell. The tackle positions are the two that need to have new starters this year. The ever important LT position should go to senior Matt Darton. It is up in the air as to how he will do as the starter at LT.
The defense returns 6 starters, but none of them are named Aqib Talib. As far as I’m concerned, KU will have to prove themselves in the secondary in order to get over losing Talib. I don’t see them having as good a year overall considering the slew of returning passers in the Big 12 North. They will need to get lots of help from their D-line which as a gaping hole from losing James McClinton. D-line play was the weakest part of KU’s defense last year. It needs to make massive improvements this year if the Jayhawks plan to make a run for the Big 12 North again. If there is one bright spot in the defense, then it would have to be at the LB position. Linebackers Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera should put up astronomical numbers this year.
If KU is the biggest question mark in the Big 12 North, then Colorado has to be a close second. Showing flashes of brilliance against Oklahoma and Texas Tech last year, the Buffaloes could be on the verge of a breakout season and may be the Tiger’s biggest competition in the North.
Coming back as the starting QB is Cody Hawkins. Hawkins is a smart player with a great deal of accuracy. His biggest knock is his arm strength. His other attributes more than make up for the lack of arm strength. Hawkins understands his role in the offense and he executes well. Cody needs to work on being more consistent. He has his top two receivers returning from last year in Scotty McKnight and Josh Smith to help him out with his consistency. Big things are expected from the 6-foot 2-inch redshirt freshman Markques Simas.
RB and the O-line are the biggest question marks on the offense. The O-line is young and unproven. Losing their 1,000 yard rusher in Hugh Charles will cause some problems for the Buffs. Colorado seems to be putting much of their faith in true freshman Darrell Scott. This kid may light it up, or he may flop. It has been my experience that when a team is exclusively counting on a true freshman to produce, they are actually screaming for help at that position. There are exceptions like Bernie Kosar and Maurice Clarett, but those are few and far between. Please don’t get me wrong here. A team can expect a contribution from true freshmen, but to start a true freshman seems a bit desperate.
Colorado enjoys having their best D-line in years and a battle tested secondary. The only loss on the line was DE Alonzo Barrett. True freshman Curtis Cunningham should make an impact along. NT Brandon Nicolas, DT George Hypolite and DE Maurice Lucas should be dominant in most games. Terrance Wheatley is gone and will be missed, but CB Gardner McKay will step up. DJ #### and Ryan Walters will start at strong and free safety respectively. By far, the biggest loss on the D-side will be LB Jordan Dizon. There is no one person in the country that could fill his shoes. Despite losing Dizon and Wheatley, this CU defense should be very good.
Kansas State was a bit of an enigma last year. KSU gave away an early win to Auburn, smoked Texas in Austin, and dominated Colorado all last year. Then, they dropped 4 straight to the likes of Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, and Fresno State. Huh? Taking a page right out of Bill Snyder’s “Quick Fix” book in the recruiting chapter, Ron Prince has brought on 19 JUCO transfers. WOW! Employing this kind of graduate school for junior colleges technique has worked well for Coach Snyder in the past. Personally, I don’t think you usually get a full year’s production from first-year starting JUCOs. Either it takes them a while to get adjusted to the level of play, or they don’t have the proper conditioning to last the entire year. But hey! What do I know?
The very highly touted QB Josh Freeman is back. Without a doubt, he will be much improved this year. After getting thrown to the wolves during his freshman season and starting his entire sophomore season, this season he should break out and become the dominant, game-changing QB KSU needs. The Wildcats have a somewhat proven RB in junior Leon Patton. He will be helped by JUCO RB Daniel Thomas. WR Jordy Nelson will be missed tremendously, but big things are expected from JUCOs Aubrey Quarles, Attrail Snipes, and Brandon Banks, and Adrian Hilburn. Returning at TE is junior Jeron Mastrud. At 6-foot 6-inches and nearly 260 pounds, he is quite an obstacle to get through for a DE. LG Logan Robinson is gone and will be missed. He is being replaced by JUCO Wade Weibert. Weibert is expected to be very good and probably the best JUCO of the bunch.
Prince has brought in 11 JUCOs on defense to help shore up his secondary and D-line. There is some consistency at LB though. Reggie Walker, Olu Hall, and Antwon Moore are all very good. With the addition of the JUCO wonder Grant Valentine, the Linebacker position seems to be stocked and ready to go. The secondary needs some help. Second-Team All Big 12 CB Justin McKinney is gone along with CB Byron Garvin, CB Bryan Baldwin, and FS Marcus Watts. JUCO defensive backs Blair Irvin and Dustin The D-line is much the same story as the secondary. Many guys gone and lots of JUCOs like DL Daniel Calvin and DL Josh Berard.
Bo Pelini is seen by many as the savior of the Husker tradition that was thrown away by his predecessor, Bill Callahan. Many in the Husker Nation consider this to be a step in the right direction. So far, Coach Pelini has said all the right things to win the hearts and minds of Cornhusker fans across the country. All he has to do now is win, right? That may be harder than expected with a schedule that puts Nebraska up against Texas Tech and Oklahoma on the road. Not to mention Virginia Tech and Missouri at home. By the way, Missouri has not won in Lincoln since 1978. Nebraska doesn’t return many starters on either side of the ball. That is probably good news for the defense, but it is definitely bad news for the offense.
One bright spot on offense is that Joe Ganz will be starting at QB. His three starts for the Huskers last year were nothing short of outstanding. As a matter of fact, he enjoyed the most prolific day passing the ball for Nebraska ever. His 510 yard, 7 TD, and 0 INT performance against Kansas State last year was good enough to put him in the Nebraska record books. With the retention of the offensive coordinator from Callahan’s regime, Shawn Watson, Nebraska doesn’t expect to lose much in the way of a new coaching staff. Nebraska will be hardest hit at the receiver position with the loss of Terrance Nunn and Maurice Purify. WR Nate Swift is back and has proved himsel####ood possession receiver. WR Niles Paul has shown some promise as a deep threat, but that overall package that Purify provided is gone. RB Marlon Lucky will probably be the biggest impact player on the offensive side of the ball. Lucky is an all-around threat with the ball. He can catch. He can run. Watch Lucky run much more this year than last. He will be running behind one of the better O-lines in the Big 12 North. Senior LT Lydon Murtha, Senior LG Matt Slauson, and Junior C Jacob Hickman are all outstanding and have ample experience. Sophomore RT Jaivorio Burkes started 3 games last year; Senior RG Mike Huff has waited patiently.
On the D-line, everyone is back. Logic would dictate that there should be a dramatic increase in production from the D-line this year. Ndamukong Suh and Ty Steinkuhler are the tackles while Barry Turner and Zach Potter are the ends. And somewhere between the O-line and D-line is Baker Steinkuhler, the much heralded 5-star recruit. His role is still undecided, but it would seem that he could play either side of the ball effectively. There are no starting linebackers back from last year which may or may not be a bad thing. RB turned weak-side LB, Cody Glenn, has seemed to impress the coaches. Walk-on, Tyler Wortman (6-3, 235) also made an impression this spring. One can expect significant playing time from each of these two surprises. In the secondary, sophomore CB Prince Amukamara could develop into the lock-down corner Nebraska so desperately needs. Very solid play is expected from Armando Murillo at CB and Larry Asante at SS. Another notable is junior FS Major Culbert who will likely be sharing time with Rickey Thenarse. Overall, the secondary looks to be improved from last year.
Gene Chizik’s crew had a couple of great wins late in the season last year against Colorado and Kansas State. They also played OU to the wire only to fall flat late in the fourth losing 17-7. There seems to be some promise in this team this year. McCarney was able to get some decent talent when he was there. Chizik has this group headed in the right direction.
First and foremost, Iowa State is the only team in the Big 12 North that is breaking in a new Quarterback. QB Austen Arnaud got some very valuable playing time last year despite being 4-year starter Bret Meyer’s back-up. Arnaud is bigger and stronger than Meyer. There will be a learning curve to be sure, but Arnaud seems to be poised for a decent season. He is throwing to 2 of last year’s top receivers. WR RJ Sumrall and WR Marquis Hamilton are back, but the crew will miss last year’s number one WR Todd Blythe. There is some experience on this squad despite losing Blythe. Arnaud gets to hand the ball off to RB JJ Scales. He was suspended for the spring, but should have the starting job in the fall. ISU seems to be relatively deep at RB with Alexander Robinson and Jason Scales waiting in the wings. The offensive line may be the strength of the offense this year. They have a ton of experience coming back and they did well late last season despite learning a new system. The line is returning all but the RG. Senior Joe Blaes seems to be the choice to start at RG. There is not much depth behind him with 2 redshirt freshmen, so the Clones need to get the most out of Blaes as they can.
ISU has a decent D-line coming back. The new starting NG has some considerable playing time. Junior Nate Frere will fill in nicely for the departed NG Athyba Rubin. The biggest question on the line will be Sophomore DT Bailey Johnson. We will find out if he is indeed ready for the fire. Linebacker is where ISU was hit the worst on defense. Two of the top three tacklers from last year are now gone. Senior LB Michael Bibbs and Junior LB Josh Raven need to replace two of the best players on the ISU defense in linebackers Alvin Bowen and Jon Banks. Good luck. The secondary is returning just about everyone and should be much improved this year. They have a lot of room for improvement from last year for sure.
Finally, my predictions for the Big 12 North are as follows.
Missouri – They are the team to beat with Daniel and Maclin back to wreck any defensive coordinator’s Saturday afternoon. The defense comes back confident with the way they finished the year. Missouri is possibly taking over the Big 12 North for some time to come. Finally, Missouri kids from St Louis and Kansas City are staying in Missouri to play. Pinkel will be coaching the Tigers against OU, TX, or TxTech in the Big 12 Championship game this year.
Kansas – I don’t like putting Kansas here at the number 2 spot, but until Colorado can show some consistency on both sides of the ball, I have to give the slight edge to KU. I think that Orange Bowl win over Virginia Tech really stated that the Fighting Manginos are for real. I think their offense will be productive and consistent. I think their defense will be improved, except for the secondary. The loss of Talib will affect them more than people think. KU’s biggest problem is that this year everyone will see them coming.
Colorado – The more I think about it, the more I believe that CU may be the Mizzou’s biggest threat for Big 12 North supremacy. Hawkins will have this team as ready as they can be. Consistency is the key. I think the offense is potent and the defense can be dominant, but unless they are both playing well on the same day there will be some bad losses. I think the defense will carry CU through a couple games, but it won’t be able to carry them through the season. The running game has to get going from the start of the season unlike last year.
Nebraska – Bo Pelini’s first year as the head coach (not interim) has been much anticipated by many depressed and humbled Husker fans. The return of some position coaches has been a breath of fresh air. Blah, Blah, Blah. The fact of the matter is that it is Pelini’s first year as a head coach. Period. There will be mistakes. There will be disappointments. Nebraska will have to earn every one of the 6 wins needed for a bowl game. Virginia Tech, Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Colorado do not make for a very easy schedule this year. I see Nebraska hanging tough with these teams, tougher than last year at least. Maybe there is an upset in there somewhere, but I am having a hard time finding one.
Kansas State – Prince has put all his eggs in the basket of JUCO players this year. Maybe it will work out, maybe not. It has worked for Snyder in the past, but I don’t know if 19 JUCOs is sane. Freeman will give them credibility on offense and probably make his receivers better than they are. If the running game can get going and they get some consistency and longevity out of the defense, then maybe they got another upset or two in the works this year.
Iowa State – Chizik will see improvement in his squad on the defensive side of the ball for sure. The question lies with how quickly QB Austen Arnaud can get up to speed as the only new starting QB in the Big 12 North. I think it will be a battle between Kansas State and Iowa State for the bottom of the division. How fitting that KSU is the last game on the schedule for Iowa State this year.
My fellow Huskers, be not afraid of the season upon us. Be relieved, and be assured that our future is bright. The last few years have been hard. We have sacrificed and suffered much under the tyrannical rule of our past leader. We have sacrificed many records and streaks that will take decades to rebuild. We have suffered defeat at the hands of those whom we have defeated many, many times over. We have suffered that defeat in a most embarrassing manner. I need not tell you that we have suffered and sacrificed much over the last few years. I need not tell you this because you know it to be true.
We were told that we would have to endure some pains caused by our philosophical change in our attack. We accepted that. We were told that in order to successfully make the transition to our new “air attack” we would need to bleed. We accepted that. For four long years we were told that we were improving in all areas. We accepted that. We are acceptant of change. We are tolerant of mistakes made. We have already proven this. I need not tell you this because you know it to be true.
I am, however, here to embrace our past in order to succeed in the future. I am here to reassure you that the longstanding traditions of old will be remembered and honored. I am here to tell you that we are on the right track. We are on the track to prosperity and success. We are on the track to regain our honor on the field. We are on the track to becoming the feared and respected opponent we once were. We are on the track and not in danger of getting hit by a train. We are on a train to becoming a great power that we once were. We are on the train to success. This train will need to be fed with the fuel that is hard work and respect for the game and others. Parts on this train will need to be replaced from time to time, and this will cause us to slow our progress. Let me assure you that our progress will be constant and improving. Let me assure you that our progress will be slow at times but will never stop or go backward.
Bravely, my fellow Huskers, into the future we will fearlessly know that the light that is Husker football is being held by a trusted and competent steward by the name of Bo Pelini. Bo knows the importance of our beloved program. Bo knows the reasons we, as Nebraska fans, love our team so dearly. Bo knows how important our traditions are to us. Bo knows how to win and succeed. Bo knows that it will take time, but the end result is inevitable. Bo knows. Let me assure you of that fact. Bo knows.
I need not remind the most knowledgeable and respectful fans in college football that our next few years will be filled with joys and disappointments. In our future there will be highs and lows. I will tell you that there will be times where it may seem that we are not improving. Let me assure you that those times will be followed closely by times of great improvement. To get better, we will need to bleed. We have bled much already, but it is inevitable that we will need to bleed to get better.
What doesn’t kill us will make us stronger. We have weathered a storm that has peaked. We have survived an earthquake of catastrophic proportions and we will have some aftershocks to deal with, but the worst seems to be over. We have survived the F-5 tornado that was Bill Callahan, and now we need to rebuild like our good neighbors are doing in Greensville, Kansas. We have survived to fight another day.
Go forth, my fellow Huskers, with a guarded optimism regarding our future in the college football world. Go forth and know we will be secure and safe. Our past is well documented and will be remembered and honored, but our future has yet to be written. Our future is what is important, and we are in good hands.
Since the ACC and Big East had their mix and match party, the ACC has underachieved and disappointed as a whole. Save for a few good Virginia Tech teams and a good Wake Forest team, there hasn’t been much to crow about in the ACC. Is it because expectations were too high? It is about time this super-conference steps it up a notch.
In case you missed my other grades here are the links: Big XII, Big 10(+1), SEC, Pac-10, and Big East. The criteria I am taking into consideration are as follows: The expected level of play of the ACC team, the expected level of play of the opponent, FBS (Div-1A) opponents, FCS (Div-1AA) opponents. I do not take into account how good a scheduled team was when the game was contracted. Conversely, I will give credit for recently improved teams like Rutgers and South Florida. Let’s take a look at the last BCS conference’s out-of-conference (OOC) schedules for me to grade.
Virginia – USC, Richmond, Connecticut, Eastern Carolina. USC is a total monster to have on a OOC schedule. Period. End of story. I will gladly overlook the lousy Richmond game because of the cajones it took to put USC on the schedule. The other two game are not bad either. UCONN, nine game winners last year, should put up a good fight for Virginia. The Cavaliers dropped an easy game last year against Wyoming. Could ECU be this years Wyoming? Maybe. I love this schedule, and I have to give credit for having USC up there. Grade: A
Miami – Charleston Southern, Florida, Texas A&M, Central Florida. This could have been one of the best, if not the best, OOC schedule, if it were not for that Charleston Southern game. That game really takes away from what they are trying to do in Miami. All that I am saying is schedule an FBS team like Arizona, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, or Baylor. Why do you have to go out of the FBS? Anyway, the Florida game will be a monster for Miami. It should show us where Miami will be this year. The A&M game is important because Miami should win, but the Aggies are always formidable. The UCF game will be really good. I assure you that the players from Miami do not want to lose that game. I will also assure you that the UCF players are gunning for the Canes. Grade: A-
Duke – James Madison, Northwestern, Navy, Wake Forest. As far as I know, Duke has never been confused with being good at football. I may be wrong, but Duke is usually really bad. I’m confused because last year didn’t Notre Dame celebrate wildly after a last minute win over Duke? Maybe that was a dream. Dream or no dream, this is a pretty good schedule overall for Duke. James Madison is an FCS team, but I can overlook that due to the fact that it is Duke. Wake Forest is certainly a formidable foe. The Navy and Northwestern games should be challenging for the Blue Devils. Overall, not bad. Grade: A-
North Carolina State – South Carolina, William and Mary, Eastern Carolina, South Florida. This one could have been an “A” if it weren’t for that danged W&M on the schedule. Wow, this is still pretty good. South Florida should still be good this year with Leavitt there to incite that violent defense. Darth Visor and the Gamecocks are formidable for NC State and most other teams. ECU is a quality team that will make you earn a win over them. Then, there is that W&M staring you in the face like a wounded puppy-dog. Why? Why did they have to ruin a perfectly good OOC schedule? Grade: B+
North Carolina – McNeese State, Rutgers, Connecticut, Notre Dame. Three years ago you would have looked at this schedule and scoffed at the lack of competition outside of Notre Dame. What a difference three years makes, huh? Rutgers is here to stay with Schiano at the helm. UCONN had a very good season last year and shouldn’t lose too much. Notre Dame is a big question mark. Will they be bad or really bad? It would have been nice to see a Baylor or New Mexico State on the schedule instead of McNeese State, but that seems to be a trend here in the ACC. Grade: C+
Maryland – Delaware, Middle Tennessee State, California, Eastern Michigan. This is not too, too bad. Cal is certainly a great game to have as the most challenging game on the OOC-schedule. Middle Tennessee State and Eastern Michigan are ok games. They are moderately good teams that lack the depth to really beat you in the fourth quarter. They will challenge you throughout the game, but you are in no real danger of losing if you are reasonably deep. Actually, Delaware isn’t too bad. Sure they lost their hot-shot QB, but if you are going to go out of the FBS you could do much worse than Delaware. Grade: C
Wake Forest – Baylor, Mississippi, Navy, Vanderbilt. I like this schedule because all the teams are from the FBS. I don’t like this schedule because none of the teams are really good. When Navy may be the hardest team on your schedule, then you have a weak schedule. Vandy and Baylor are perennial cellar-dwellers. That leaves Ole Miss. They were probably the worst team in the SEC last year. Granted, the SEC is a tough conference, but when your only wins are against Memphis, LA Tech, and Northwestern State, you may have problems. The only thing good about this schedule is what I have already mentioned. Grade: C-
Boston College – Kent State, Central Florida, Rhode Island, Notre Dame. This really stinks up the place here. UCF is a pretty good team and will challenge BC, but in no way should it be the most challenging game on the schedule. Notre Dame may put up a fight at the end of the year against BC, but it is unlikely. Kent State should have been the weakest game on the schedule, but BC needed to schedule Rhode Island. Really? Rhode Island? This is very disappointing coming from a team that won ten games last year. Grade: D
Florida State – Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Colorado, Florida. This is another disappointing OOC schedule that had promise. Having Colorado and Florida on the schedule is phenomenal. That is gutsy and I give a lot of credit for that. The problem is that FSU went outside the FBS for their patsies. Again, what is wrong with an Ohio, Baylor, Western Michigan, Vandy, or Iowa State on the schedule? Why do they have to go so far down the food chain? It doesn’t do any good for FSU except to all but guarantee a win. Isn’t that win all but guaranteed with a Buffalo or a New Mexico State? Deplorable. Grade: D
Clemson – Alabama, Citadel, South Carolina State, South Carolina. Here is an example of a OOC schedule that had potential, but ultimately failed. Alabama to start the season is a very bold and tough game. The rivalry game with Darth Visor and South Carolina at the end of the year is very, very respectable. What is up with the ####-stain in the middle? Citadel and South Carolina State? I’m sorry, but one of those two would have been bad enough. Clemson is a good team, and should try to do a better job challenging themselves. It is really tough for me to give a bad grade to Clemson because of the Alabama game, but fair is fair. Grade: D-
Georgia Tech – Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia. The game with Georgia is a monster and I give credit for being a rivalry game. The Mississippi State game is respectable, and MSU should be pretty good this year. The rest of the schedule is trash. This is very disappointing. I think they could have done a much better job. I think they should have done a much better job. There is no excuse for two non-FBS teams to be on the OOC schedule. Grade: D-
Virginia Tech – Eastern Carolina, Furman, Nebraska, Western Kentucky. Ok, I get it. To be in the ACC you must beat up on Div-1AA teams. It must be a requirement because just about every ACC team has one on the schedule and four teams have two. Not cool. If this year’s Nebraska was the Nebraska of old, then I may have been inclined to overlook one of the two patsies on the list. Such is not the case. Nebraska may be the most challenging team on the schedule, but that is not saying very much at all. ECU is fine if they are not the “big game” on the OOC schedule. This may be the case. Western Kentucky recently came up from Div-1AA. Ok. This is VT here not Duke. Grade: F
The more that I think about what I believe to be the lack of progress towards changing the current way the NCAA names its FBS (Div-1A) football champion, the more depressed I feel. It is a daunting task to get a group of people to change the way they do things when they have had success at doing it their way. I don’t understand why only the SEC and ACC commissioners are vying for a change. I wonder if there is something else there.
What is the ultimate goal of the commissioners of the BCS conferences? Is it to make the most money for their respective conferences? Is it to try to widen the fan-base for NCAA football? Is it to try to excel and achieve to become the paragon of athletics for the NCAA? I can’t speak to the motives of these people, but it seems very evident that they are in no hurry to appease a very disgruntled fan-base. Why is that?
It doesn’t seem to make any business sense to not try to please your customers. That is unless your customers have no choice but to go to you for the product. That seems to be the case here, doesn’t it? Why should they care if we are happy? What can we do to change the way things are run? We are going to still show up for games. We are still going to buy the gear. There is really no reason for them to be concerned with us. Right? That fact makes me depressed.
Where is the congressional committee for us here? Is this not an election year? Can we write our representative on the hill in DC and let them know how displeased we are with the monopoly that the NCAA has on our souls in autumn? No. I know that I won't do that on my own. It sucks being depressed.
Want more college football talk? Check out my out-of-conference game schedule grades for all the teams in all the BCS conferences. ACC, Big East, Big XII, Big 10, Pac-10, and SEC.
I like what the Big East has been doing since they were “robbed” of all their football powers by the ACC. To me, this is a very exciting conference. There are some good offenses and good defenses. As far as I can tell, I don’t see a clear-cut dominant team in the conference. I love that fact. The level of competition is very respectable across the board.
This is the fifth installment of my grades for out-of-conference (OOC) schedules. Links to the other four are here: ACC, Big XII, Big 10(+1), PAC-10, SEC. There are eight teams in the Big East and they all play each other every year. That leaves five open dates for OOC games. Right off the bat, I am going to cut them a little slack because they have to schedule an extra game. The criteria I am basing my grades upon are as follows: FCS teams (Div=1AA), BCS conference teams, current successes of scheduled teams, and the recent success of the Big East team.
West Virginia – Villanova, East Carolina, Colorado, Marshall, Auburn. This is a very good schedule. With the exception of Villanova, all of these teams are pretty good. Going to Colorado is never taken lightly. The ball bounces really funny in Boulder. You are taking your fate in your own hands when you go out there. The Auburn game is late in the season and will be a marquee match-up. I don’t think there are but a handful of teams that would be so bold as to have both these teams on the OOC schedule. The ECU game is on the road. What I have noticed about ECU is that when they have a national audience, they give as good a fight as anyone. The Marshall game is a bit of a rivalry game and those are always scary. Grade: A+ (I’m going to ignore the Villanova game)
Connecticut – Hofstra, Temple, Virginia, Baylor, North Carolina. I really like this schedule for UCONN. Sure Hofstra is a stinker, but the rest is very respectable. They have a tune-up game with Temple. In years past, this may have been a hard fought game, but unless Temple has vastly improved from last year, this is a tune-up for UCONN. The rest are all BCS conference teams. The Virginia game will be tough for UCONN, but they have a probable win with Baylor. By far, going to North Carolina will be the toughest OOC test for the Huskies. They have the chance to play the spoiler to a Tar Heel team that many think will have a break-out year. For UCONN, this is a very respectable schedule. Grade: A (I’m going to ignore the Hofstra game)
Cincinnati – Eastern Kentucky, Oklahoma, Miami (OH), Akron, Marshall. Cincy has the honor of scheduling a BCS giant in Oklahoma. There is no team in the land that would schedule Oklahoma in Norman and think that they have a better than 50% chance in winning. In years past, Cincy may have had less than a 5% chance in winning. Recently, Cincys stock has been rising. They have a quality team that has handled some decent teams recently. I am giving the Bearcats a chance, not a big one, but they do have a chance to be in a position to win that game late. Cincy had no problem at all with Marshall or Miami (OH) last year, so there is no reason to think differently this year. The Akron game is a tune-up. Grade: A (I’m ignoring the Eastern Kentucky game)
Syracuse – Northwestern, Akron, Penn State, Northeastern, Notre Dame. Syracuse has not been the same since McNabb. So, they get a little slack on the OOC schedule. They don’t really need any though. Penn State is a monster who will be dining on Orange dudes that day. Northwestern is another BCS conference team. I like that game as well as the Akron game. It really is too bad that Notre Dame is doing so badly. It is not the fault of the teams that have them scheduled, and usually the Domers will be pretty good. I didn’t even know Northeastern had a football team. Grade: B+
Rutgers – Fresno State, North Carolina, Navy, Morgan State, Army. Ok, I give them credit for the North Carolina and Fresno State games. Those are two quality OOC games. If you listen to the pundits, they will tell you the both those teams are ready to explode. As for the rest of the schedule, you can’t get on Rutgers too much because they always play Army and Navy. It’s a rivalry thing. I can’t be too harsh on those. So, that leaves Morgan State. I’m not paying any attention to that one. Grade: B
South Florida – Tennessee-Martin, Central Florida, Kansas, Florida International, North Carolina State. South Florida is not going to sneak up on anyone this year. The biggest test on the OOC schedule is going to be Kansas. Was KU a one year wonder? This game will probably tell us volumes on each of these two teams. NC State is a good scheduled game for the Bulls. CFU and FIU are a couple in-state rivalries. (if that is even possible with such a young team.) CFU may put up a fight, but FIU is bad. I’m ignoring the TN-Martin game. Grade: B-
Pittsburgh – Bowling Green, Buffalo, Iowa, Navy, Notre Dame. There is one redeeming quality from this OOC schedule…All FBS (Div-1) teams. This is the only team in the Big East that has done this. For that, I cannot fail them. The FBS teams that are scheduled are the bottom of the barrel. Iowa and Notre Dame are the toughest teams on the schedule. Navy and Bowling Green have a small chance in beating Pittsburgh this year. That leaves Buffalo. With the way Pittsburgh has played recently, except for the WVU game last year, I am going to give them a break. Grade C+
Louisville – Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State. How disappointing was Louisville last year? Very. My first thought of this schedule was that it was very disappointing from Louisville. Then, I remembered that Louisville was just as disappointing. According to my grading criteria, I must take that into account. The Kentucky game is an in-state rivalry. That may be a good game if Kentucky can keep up the level of play from last year. The Kansas State game may be a good test for this Louisville team. KSU has a ton of JUCO transfers coming in. By the time the Wildcats play Louisville, those JUCOs should have their feet under them. Memphis is a decent team and will certainly put up a fight. Who can forget that Louisville/Middle Tennessee State game from last year? What a defensive coordinator’s nightmare. Should get good. Grade: C
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I like the match-ups and the years of bad-blood between rivals in college football. I enjoy a good game no matter the national implications. Give me a 3OT game between a couple of Sun Belt teams over a 40 point blowout between a couple top 25 teams anytime. I consider myself to be a fan of the game. I will be as respectful to visitors on my blog as they are to me. Go Huskers! Go Navy! Go Jags! Go Cubbies!
From as far North as the Niobrara river to as far South as Rio Grande, and West of the Mississippi to East of the Colorado the schools of the Big 12 are gearing up for what has been anticipated as one of the best seasons this young conference has experienced. The Big 12 enjoyed a stellar season last year with 3 top-5 teams throughout the year. Instant credibility is what Missouri and Kansas gave to the underperforming Northern Division. Kansas State and Colorado had a big win over a top 10 and top 5 teams respectively. The Wildcats beat up on number 7 Texas in Austin while the Buffaloes edged number 3 Oklahoma in Boulder. Texas Tech stunned us all with an amazing win over the unstoppable Sooners ranked number 4. Two years removed from the National Championship game over USC, Texas reminded us that they still have the PAC-10’s number when they beat up on Arizona State 52-34. OU came out on top in the Big 12 with a huge win over number 1 Missouri in the Big 12 Championship. That is all fine stuff, but it is yesterday’s news. The Big 12 has much to live up to this year. I have listed the teams in the order they finished last year in the Big 12 North. At the end of the post I give my predictions on where they will finish.
Missouri is the hands down team to beat this year in the North. Last year's Heisman finalist, Chase Daniel, is back for his senior season. The defenses of the Big 12 are preparing. Make no bones about it, Daniel is the QB everyone loves have on their team and everyone hates to play against. Another big-time returning starter is sophomore WR Jeremy Maclin. This kid is quick and fast. He can run tight routes and catch just about anything that gets near him. Good news for the Tigers, bad news for everyone else. 
Missouri seems to have had some big losses at TE and RB, but the reserves are no slouches and should fill in nicely. The phenom Martin Rucker is gone at TE. Who is going to replace one of the biggest, strongest weapons the Tigers had? How about 6-foot 6-inch 245 pounder Chase Coffman. At the svelte weight of 245, chasing Chase may prove to be a difficult task. At 6-6, getting around that stiff-arm and bringing him down is a completely different problem. Cotton Bowl record holder at 281 yards rushing RB Tony Temple is also going to be missed. It seems to be a 2-horse-race between Jimmy Jackson and Derrick Washington. 
Interception receiver William Moore is back and ready to see if he can beat his own school record of 8 interceptions. He will have many chances in the pass-happy Big 12. The rest of the secondary is very solid. Their tackle totals are misleadingly low from last year. I attribute that to the outstanding D-line and LB play which will only get better this year.
Todd Reesing is back at QB for the Jayhawks. This mobile, accurate passer is a nightmare to cover and contain. Like Chase Daniel is for the Tigers, Reesing is the unchallenged leader of the Jayhawk offense. Try these numbers on for size as a sophomore: Passing yards – 3486, TDs – 33, INTs – 7, QB rating – 148.81. Not too shabby. 
The receivers should be fine. Dezmon Briscoe performed well at times, but he was inconsistent. He will be a good compliment to Dexton Fields. Losing Marcus Henry will have an effect on the big-play making abilities of the receiving corps as a whole. 
The defense returns 6 starters, but none of them are named Aqib Talib. As far as I’m concerned, KU will have to prove themselves in the secondary in order to get over losing Talib. I don’t see them having as good a year overall considering the slew of returning passers in the Big 12 North. They will need to get lots of help from their D-line which as a gaping hole from losing James McClinton. D-line play was the weakest part of KU’s defense last year. It needs to make massive improvements this year if the Jayhawks plan to make a run for the Big 12 North again. If there is one bright spot in the defense, then it would have to be at the LB position. Linebackers Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera should put up astronomical numbers this year.
Coming back as the starting QB is Cody Hawkins. Hawkins is a smart player with a great deal of accuracy. His biggest knock is his arm strength. His other attributes more than make up for the lack of arm strength. Hawkins understands his role in the offense and he executes well. Cody needs to work on being more consistent. He has his top two receivers returning from last year in Scotty McKnight and Josh Smith to help him out with his consistency. Big things are expected from the 6-foot 2-inch redshirt freshman Markques Simas. 
It has been my experience that when a team is exclusively counting on a true freshman to produce, they are actually screaming for help at that position. There are exceptions like Bernie Kosar and Maurice Clarett, but those are few and far between. Please don’t get me wrong here. A team can expect a contribution from true freshmen, but to start a true freshman seems a bit desperate.
The only loss on the line was DE Alonzo Barrett. True freshman Curtis Cunningham should make an impact along. NT Brandon Nicolas, DT George Hypolite and DE Maurice Lucas should be dominant in most games. Terrance Wheatley is gone and will be missed, but CB Gardner McKay will step up. DJ 
The very highly touted QB Josh Freeman is back. Without a doubt, he will be much improved this year. After getting thrown to the wolves during his freshman season and starting his entire sophomore season, this season he should break out and become the dominant, game-changing QB KSU needs. The Wildcats have a somewhat proven RB in junior Leon Patton. He will be helped by JUCO RB Daniel Thomas. WR Jordy Nelson will be missed tremendously, but big things are expected from JUCOs Aubrey Quarles, Attrail Snipes, and Brandon Banks, and Adrian Hilburn. Returning at TE is junior Jeron Mastrud. At 6-foot 6-inches and nearly 260 pounds, he is quite an obstacle to get through for a DE. LG Logan Robinson is gone and will be missed. He is being replaced by JUCO Wade Weibert. Weibert is expected to be very good and probably the best JUCO of the bunch. 
Prince has brought in 11 JUCOs on defense to help shore up his secondary and D-line. There is some consistency at LB though. Reggie Walker, Olu Hall, and Antwon Moore are all very good. With the addition of the JUCO wonder Grant Valentine, the Linebacker position seems to be stocked and ready to go. The secondary needs some help. Second-Team All Big 12 CB Justin McKinney is gone along with CB Byron Garvin, CB Bryan Baldwin, and FS Marcus Watts. JUCO defensive backs Blair Irvin and Dustin The D-line is much the same story as the secondary. Many guys gone and lots of JUCOs like DL Daniel Calvin and DL Josh Berard.
All he has to do now is win, right? That may be harder than expected with a schedule that puts Nebraska up against Texas Tech and Oklahoma on the road. Not to mention Virginia Tech and Missouri at home. By the way, Missouri has not won in Lincoln since 1978. Nebraska doesn’t return many starters on either side of the ball. That is probably good news for the defense, but it is definitely bad news for the offense.
One bright spot on offense is that Joe Ganz will be starting at QB. His three starts for the Huskers last year were nothing short of outstanding. As a matter of fact, he enjoyed the most prolific day passing the ball for Nebraska ever. His 510 yard, 7 TD, and 0 INT performance against Kansas State last year was good enough to put him in the Nebraska record books. With the retention of the offensive coordinator from Callahan’s regime, Shawn Watson, Nebraska doesn’t expect to lose much in the way of a new coaching staff. Nebraska will be hardest hit at the receiver position with the loss of Terrance Nunn and Maurice Purify. WR Nate Swift is back and has proved himsel
On the D-line, everyone is back. Logic would dictate that there should be a dramatic increase in production from the D-line this year. Ndamukong Suh and Ty Steinkuhler are the tackles while Barry Turner and Zach Potter are the ends. And somewhere between the O-line and D-line is Baker Steinkuhler, the much heralded 5-star recruit. His role is still undecided, but it would seem that he could play either side of the ball effectively. There are no starting linebackers back from last year which may or may not be a bad thing. 
RB turned weak-side LB, Cody Glenn, has seemed to impress the coaches. Walk-on, Tyler Wortman (6-3, 235) also made an impression this spring. One can expect significant playing time from each of these two surprises. In the secondary, sophomore CB Prince Amukamara could develop into the lock-down corner Nebraska so desperately needs. Very solid play is expected from Armando Murillo at CB and Larry Asante at SS. Another notable is junior FS Major Culbert who will likely be sharing time with Rickey Thenarse. Overall, the secondary looks to be improved from last year.
First and foremost, Iowa State is the only team in the Big 12 North that is breaking in a new Quarterback. QB Austen Arnaud got some very valuable playing time last year despite being 4-year starter Bret Meyer’s back-up. Arnaud is bigger and stronger than Meyer. There will be a learning curve to be sure, but Arnaud seems to be poised for a decent season. He is throwing to 2 of last year’s top receivers. WR RJ Sumrall and WR Marquis Hamilton are back, but the crew will miss last year’s number one WR Todd Blythe. There is some experience on this squad despite losing Blythe. Arnaud gets to hand the ball off to RB JJ Scales. He was suspended for the spring, but should have the starting job in the fall. ISU seems to be relatively deep at RB with Alexander Robinson and Jason Scales waiting in the wings. The offensive line may be the strength of the offense this year. They have a ton of experience coming back and they did well late last season despite learning a new system. The line is returning all but the RG. Senior Joe Blaes seems to be the choice to start at RG. There is not much depth behind him with 2 redshirt freshmen, so the Clones need to get the most out of Blaes as they can.
ISU has a decent D-line coming back. The new starting NG has some considerable playing time. Junior Nate Frere will fill in nicely for the departed NG Athyba Rubin. The biggest question on the line will be Sophomore DT Bailey Johnson. We will find out if he is indeed ready for the fire. Linebacker is where ISU was hit the worst on defense. Two of the top three tacklers from last year are now gone. Senior LB Michael Bibbs and Junior LB Josh Raven need to replace two of the best players on the ISU defense in linebackers Alvin Bowen and Jon Banks. Good luck. The secondary is returning just about everyone and should be much improved this year. They have a lot of room for improvement from last year for sure.
We have sacrificed and suffered much under the tyrannical rule of our past leader. We have sacrificed many records and streaks that will take decades to rebuild. We have suffered defeat at the hands of those whom we have defeated many, many times over. We have suffered that defeat in a most embarrassing manner. I need not tell you that we have suffered and sacrificed much over the last few years. I need not tell you this because you know it to be true. 
We were told that we would have to endure some pains caused by our philosophical change in our attack. We accepted that. We were told that in order to successfully make the transition to our new “air attack” we would need to bleed. We accepted that. For four long years we were told that we were improving in all areas. We accepted that. We are acceptant of change. We are tolerant of mistakes made. We have already proven this. I need not tell you this because you know it to be true.
remembered and honored. I am here to tell you that we are on the right track. We are on the track to prosperity and success. We are on the track to regain our honor on the field. We are on the track to becoming the feared and respected opponent we once were. We are on the track and not in danger of getting hit by a train. We are on a train to becoming a great power that we once were. We are on the train to success. This train will need to be fed with the fuel that is hard work and respect for the game and others. Parts on this train will need to be replaced from time to time, and this will cause us to slow our progress. Let me assure you that our progress will be constant and improving. Let me assure you that our progress will be slow at times but will never stop or go backward.
Bravely, my fellow Huskers, into the future we will fearlessly know that the light that is Husker football is being held by a trusted and competent steward by the name of Bo Pelini. Bo knows the importance of our beloved program. Bo knows the reasons we, as Nebraska fans, love our team so dearly. Bo knows how important our traditions are to us. Bo knows how to win and succeed. Bo knows that it will take time, but the end result is inevitable. Bo knows. Let me assure you of that fact. Bo knows.
Let me assure you that those times will be followed closely by times of great improvement. To get better, we will need to bleed. We have bled much already, but it is inevitable that we will need to bleed to get better.
Go forth, my fellow Huskers, with a guarded optimism regarding our future in the college football world. Go forth and know we will be secure and safe. Our past is well documented and will be remembered and honored, but our future has yet to be written. Our future is what is important, and we are in good hands.
Virginia – USC, Richmond, Connecticut, Eastern Carolina. USC is a total monster to have on a OOC schedule. Period. End of story. I will gladly overlook the lousy Richmond game because of the cajones it took to put USC on the schedule. The other two game are not bad either. UCONN, nine game winners last year, should put up a good fight for Virginia. The Cavaliers dropped an easy game last year against Wyoming. Could ECU be this years Wyoming? Maybe. I love this schedule, and I have to give credit for having USC up there. Grade: A
Miami – Charleston Southern, Florida, Texas A&M, Central Florida. This could have been one of the best, if not the best, OOC schedule, if it were not for that Charleston Southern game. That game really takes away from what they are trying to do in Miami. All that I am saying is schedule an FBS team like Arizona, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, or Baylor. Why do you have to go out of the FBS? Anyway, the Florida game will be a monster for Miami. It should show us where Miami will be this year. The A&M game is important because Miami should win, but the Aggies are always formidable. The UCF game will be really good. I assure you that the players from Miami do not want to lose that game. I will also assure you that the UCF players are gunning for the Canes. Grade: A-
Duke – James Madison, Northwestern, Navy, Wake Forest. As far as I know, Duke has never been confused with being good at football. I may be wrong, but Duke is usually really bad. I’m confused because last year didn’t Notre Dame celebrate wildly after a last minute win over Duke? Maybe that was a dream. Dream or no dream, this is a pretty good schedule overall for Duke. James Madison is an FCS team, but I can overlook that due to the fact that it is Duke. Wake Forest is certainly a formidable foe. The Navy and Northwestern games should be challenging for the Blue Devils. Overall, not bad. Grade: A-
North Carolina State – South Carolina, William and Mary, Eastern Carolina, South Florida. This one could have been an “A” if it weren’t for that danged W&M on the schedule. Wow, this is still pretty good. South Florida should still be good this year with Leavitt there to incite that violent defense. Darth Visor and the Gamecocks are formidable for NC State and most other teams. ECU is a quality team that will make you earn a win over them. Then, there is that W&M staring you in the face like a wounded puppy-dog. Why? Why did they have to ruin a perfectly good OOC schedule? Grade: B+
North Carolina – McNeese State, Rutgers, Connecticut, Notre Dame. Three years ago you would have looked at this schedule and scoffed at the lack of competition outside of Notre Dame. What a difference three years makes, huh? Rutgers is here to stay with Schiano at the helm. UCONN had a very good season last year and shouldn’t lose too much. Notre Dame is a big question mark. Will they be bad or really bad? It would have been nice to see a Baylor or New Mexico State on the schedule instead of McNeese State, but that seems to be a trend here in the ACC. Grade: C+
Maryland – Delaware, Middle Tennessee State, California, Eastern Michigan. This is not too, too bad. Cal is certainly a great game to have as the most challenging game on the OOC-schedule. Middle Tennessee State and Eastern Michigan are ok games. They are moderately good teams that lack the depth to really beat you in the fourth quarter. They will challenge you throughout the game, but you are in no real danger of losing if you are reasonably deep. Actually, Delaware isn’t too bad. Sure they lost their hot-shot QB, but if you are going to go out of the FBS you could do much worse than Delaware. Grade: C
Wake Forest – Baylor, Mississippi, Navy, Vanderbilt. I like this schedule because all the teams are from the FBS. I don’t like this schedule because none of the teams are really good. When Navy may be the hardest team on your schedule, then you have a weak schedule. Vandy and Baylor are perennial cellar-dwellers. That leaves Ole Miss. They were probably the worst team in the SEC last year. Granted, the SEC is a tough conference, but when your only wins are against Memphis, LA Tech, and Northwestern State, you may have problems. The only thing good about this schedule is what I have already mentioned. Grade: C-
Boston College – Kent State, Central Florida, Rhode Island, Notre Dame. This really stinks up the place here. UCF is a pretty good team and will challenge BC, but in no way should it be the most challenging game on the schedule. Notre Dame may put up a fight at the end of the year against BC, but it is unlikely. Kent State should have been the weakest game on the schedule, but BC needed to schedule Rhode Island. Really? Rhode Island? This is very disappointing coming from a team that won ten games last year. Grade: D
Florida State – Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Colorado, Florida. This is another disappointing OOC schedule that had promise. Having Colorado and Florida on the schedule is phenomenal. That is gutsy and I give a lot of credit for that. The problem is that FSU went outside the FBS for their patsies. Again, what is wrong with an Ohio, Baylor, Western Michigan, Vandy, or Iowa State on the schedule? Why do they have to go so far down the food chain? It doesn’t do any good for FSU except to all but guarantee a win. Isn’t that win all but guaranteed with a Buffalo or a New Mexico State? Deplorable. Grade: D
Clemson – Alabama, Citadel, South Carolina State, South Carolina. Here is an example of a OOC schedule that had potential, but ultimately failed. Alabama to start the season is a very bold and tough game. The rivalry game with Darth Visor and South Carolina at the end of the year is very, very respectable. What is up with the 
Georgia Tech – Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia. The game with Georgia is a monster and I give credit for being a rivalry game. The Mississippi State game is respectable, and MSU should be pretty good this year. The rest of the schedule is trash. This is very disappointing. I think they could have done a much better job. I think they should have done a much better job. There is no excuse for two non-FBS teams to be on the OOC schedule. Grade: D-
Virginia Tech – Eastern Carolina, Furman, Nebraska, Western Kentucky. Ok, I get it. To be in the ACC you must beat up on Div-1AA teams. It must be a requirement because just about every ACC team has one on the schedule and four teams have two. Not cool. If this year’s Nebraska was the Nebraska of old, then I may have been inclined to overlook one of the two patsies on the list. Such is not the case. Nebraska may be the most challenging team on the schedule, but that is not saying very much at all. ECU is fine if they are not the “big game” on the OOC schedule. This may be the case. Western Kentucky recently came up from Div-1AA. Ok. This is VT here not Duke. Grade: F
The more that I think about what I believe to be the lack of progress towards changing the current way the NCAA names its FBS (Div-1A) football champion, the more depressed I feel. It is a daunting task to get a group of people to change the way they do things when they have had success at doing it their way. I don’t understand why only the SEC and ACC commissioners are vying for a change. I wonder if there is something else there. 
It doesn’t seem to make any business sense to not try to please your customers. That is unless your customers have no choice but to go to you for the product. That seems to be the case here, doesn’t it? Why should they care if we are happy? What can we do to change the way things are run? We are going to still show up for games. We are still going to buy the gear. There is really no reason for them to be concerned with us. Right? That fact makes me depressed. 
This is the fifth installment of my grades for out-of-conference (OOC) schedules. Links to the other four are here: 
West Virginia – Villanova, East Carolina, Colorado, Marshall, Auburn. This is a very good schedule. With the exception of Villanova, all of these teams are pretty good. Going to Colorado is never taken lightly. The ball bounces really funny in Boulder. You are taking your fate in your own hands when you go out there. The Auburn game is late in the season and will be a marquee match-up. I don’t think there are but a handful of teams that would be so bold as to have both these teams on the OOC schedule. The ECU game is on the road. What I have noticed about ECU is that when they have a national audience, they give as good a fight as anyone. The Marshall game is a bit of a rivalry game and those are always scary. Grade: A+ (I’m going to ignore the Villanova game)
Connecticut – Hofstra, Temple, Virginia, Baylor, North Carolina. I really like this schedule for UCONN. Sure Hofstra is a stinker, but the rest is very respectable. They have a tune-up game with Temple. In years past, this may have been a hard fought game, but unless Temple has vastly improved from last year, this is a tune-up for UCONN. The rest are all BCS conference teams. The Virginia game will be tough for UCONN, but they have a probable win with Baylor. By far, going to North Carolina will be the toughest OOC test for the Huskies. They have the chance to play the spoiler to a Tar Heel team that many think will have a break-out year. For UCONN, this is a very respectable schedule. Grade: A (I’m going to ignore the Hofstra game)
Cincinnati – Eastern Kentucky, Oklahoma, Miami (OH), Akron, Marshall. Cincy has the honor of scheduling a BCS giant in Oklahoma. There is no team in the land that would schedule Oklahoma in Norman and think that they have a better than 50% chance in winning. In years past, Cincy may have had less than a 5% chance in winning. Recently, Cincys stock has been rising. They have a quality team that has handled some decent teams recently. I am giving the Bearcats a chance, not a big one, but they do have a chance to be in a position to win that game late. Cincy had no problem at all with Marshall or Miami (OH) last year, so there is no reason to think differently this year. The Akron game is a tune-up. Grade: A (I’m ignoring the Eastern Kentucky game)
Syracuse – Northwestern, Akron, Penn State, Northeastern, Notre Dame. Syracuse has not been the same since McNabb. So, they get a little slack on the OOC schedule. They don’t really need any though. Penn State is a monster who will be dining on Orange dudes that day. Northwestern is another BCS conference team. I like that game as well as the Akron game. It really is too bad that Notre Dame is doing so badly. It is not the fault of the teams that have them scheduled, and usually the Domers will be pretty good. I didn’t even know Northeastern had a football team. Grade: B+
Rutgers – Fresno State, North Carolina, Navy, Morgan State, Army. Ok, I give them credit for the North Carolina and Fresno State games. Those are two quality OOC games. If you listen to the pundits, they will tell you the both those teams are ready to explode. As for the rest of the schedule, you can’t get on Rutgers too much because they always play Army and Navy. It’s a rivalry thing. I can’t be too harsh on those. So, that leaves Morgan State. I’m not paying any attention to that one. Grade: B
South Florida – Tennessee-Martin, Central Florida, Kansas, Florida International, North Carolina State. South Florida is not going to sneak up on anyone this year. The biggest test on the OOC schedule is going to be Kansas. Was KU a one year wonder? This game will probably tell us volumes on each of these two teams. NC State is a good scheduled game for the Bulls. CFU and FIU are a couple in-state rivalries. (if that is even possible with such a young team.) CFU may put up a fight, but FIU is bad. I’m ignoring the TN-Martin game. Grade: B-
Louisville – Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State. How disappointing was Louisville last year? Very. My first thought of this schedule was that it was very disappointing from Louisville. Then, I remembered that Louisville was just as disappointing. According to my grading criteria, I must take that into account. The Kentucky game is an in-state rivalry. That may be a good game if Kentucky can keep up the level of play from last year. The Kansas State game may be a good test for this Louisville team. KSU has a ton of JUCO transfers coming in. By the time the Wildcats play Louisville, those JUCOs should have their feet under them. Memphis is a decent team and will certainly put up a fight. Who can forget that Louisville/Middle Tennessee State game from last year? What a defensive coordinator’s nightmare. Should get good. Grade: C 
