10 Harshest November College Football Schedules

Though we spend a bunch of time during the offseason discussing returning starters, recruiting rankings and last year’s performance, in reality a great deal of an upcoming season’s outcome will be based on the schedule.

Yes, all that other stuff is relevant and necessary, but since all schedules aren’t created equally, some squads who are well stocked with talent will have an advantage over others just based on who they will have to play, and where they will play them.

The following slideshow pinpoints 10 of the nastiest November schedules in college football for the 2012 season.

Home to weeks 10 through 13 of the season, November is often the hinge on which the door leading to a glorious season swings.

This means that the following programs will have to finish strong and play to the final whistle of the season to avoid having access to the gate of glory flatly denied.

Duke

Though Duke isn’t likely to be a huge factor in the ACC Coastal race, they do return 16 starters in 2012 which may give them at least a small dose of hope in regards to achieving their first bowl bid since 1995.

The Blue Devils are the only team on our list to have a bye week in November, but this needs to be viewed in with the perspective that Duke may well be looking for wins five and six in the final weeks of the season.

Yes, finding a win or two in November may be the difference in the Blue Devils bowl quest.

Nov. 3 - vs. Clemson

Nov. 10 - Bye week                                                                                                                                                     Nov. 17 - at Georgia Tech                                                                                                                                                        Nov. 24 - vs. Miami (Fla.)

Maryland

The Terrapins will likely need all the firepower they can muster in 2012 to begin to forget the ugliness that was their 2-10 finish in 2011.

Maryland returns 17 starters to campus this season, but any fantasies of a first ever ACC Atlantic title will mean surviving a minefield type November.

Nov. 3 - vs. Georgia Tech

Nov. 10 - vs. Clemson                                                                                                                                                       

Nov. 17 - vs. Florida State                                                                                                              

Nov. 24 - at North Carolina

Iowa State

In his three years at the helm at Iowa State Paul Rhoads seems to have the Cyclones on the verge of something historic, only a nasty slate of Big 12 foes always seems to get in the way.

Iowa State serves as proof that guiding a program to a football revival is made markedly more difficult by playing in one of the toughest conferences in the land.

Rhoads and company return just 13 starters from their 6-7 product that knocked off Oklahoma State last season and the schedule, once again, is no picnic.

Nov. 3 - vs. Oklahoma                                                                                                                                      

Nov. 10 - at Texas                                                                                                                             

Nov. 17 - at Kansas                                                                                                                                    

Nov. 24 - vs. West Virginia

Oklahoma State

The 2011 Cowboys, with a firm grasp on a first ever Big 12 title and Fiesta Bowl trophy, will be an almost impossible act to follow in 2012.

Gone are QB Brandon Weeden, WR Justin Blackmon and all but six offensive starters, and though eight guys are back on the OSU defense, this is still a unit that ranked No. 90 against the run and No. 107 against the pass in 2011.

Even if the Cowboys can manage to survive the early part of their schedule which includes a Week 2 visit to new look Arizona and home stands with Texas and then TCU, OSU will have one heck of a November standing between them and a return to glory.

Nov. 3 - at Kansas State                                                                                                                        

Nov. 10 - vs. West Virginia                                                                                                                                       

Nov. 17 - vs. Texas Tech                                                                                                                                    

Nov. 24 - at Oklahoma

Minnesota

Though the Gopher’s second year head coach Jerry Kill has done some amazing things at each of his previous four coaching stops, he’s got his work cut out for him at Minnesota.

The difficulties are similar to those for teams such as Iowa State, Kentucky, Washington State and Vanderbilt who must try to build a consistent, winning program while playing top tier teams from a relentless conference slate.

The Golden Gophers return only 13 starters in 2012, and though the earlier portion of their schedule is no picnic, November is as nasty as it gets.

Nov. 3 - vs. Michigan                                                                                                                                     

Nov. 10 - at Illinois                                                                                                                                       

Nov. 17 - at Nebraska                                                                                                                                 

Nov. 24 - vs. Michigan State

Oregon

By November we’ll certainly know if the NCAA has decided to drop the boom on Oregon for alleged infractions, but for now we do know that if the Ducks are still in the hunt by the final full month of the season, it will be exciting.

Oregon may be short on returning starters (13) in 2012, but they are deep and wide in terms of talent, which makes them a player each and every season, and a team to watch when November rolls around.

Any way you slice it, it won’t be easy.

Nov. 3 - at USC                                                                                                                                    

Nov. 10 - at Cal                                                                                                                                                                        

Nov. 17 - vs. Stanford                                                                                                                                 

Nov. 24 - at Oregon State

Mississippi State

There are only a few SEC teams in 2012 that don’t have the somewhat traditional “gimme” game in November against a non-conference foe from a lower tier; Mississippi State is one of those teams.

The Bulldogs are at the bottom of the conference in returning starters coming into this season with a paltry 13, but they’ll have the advantage of a schedule that starts slowly (with the exception of a Week 2 visit from Auburn) and then finishes with a flourish.

It’s also important to keep in mind that Mississippi State’s final game in October is a road trip to Alabama which provides a compelling lead-in into November.

Nov. 3 - vs. Texas A&M                                                                                                                        

Nov. 10 - at LSU                                                                                                                                

Nov. 17 - vs. Arkansas                                                                                                                                     

Nov. 24 - at Ole Miss

LSU

Another SEC team without a non-conference “breather” in November, LSU will have to win out against four tough divisional foes to try and make another run at the crystal pigskin that alluded them in 2012.

This run of opponents might look somewhat “doable” on the surface, but the Tigers will be under the gun to run the tables, and at the end of the day each of these squads will have the firepower (and motivation) to play spoiler (and perhaps catapult themselves to the SEC championship game in the bargain).

Nov. 3 - vs. Alabama                                                                                                                                   

Nov. 10 - vs. Mississippi State                                                                                                                 

Nov. 17 - vs. Ole Miss                                                                                                                                     

Nov. 24 - at Arkansas

Ole Miss

Hugh Freeze will have a cupboard bearing 17 returning starters in his first season in Oxford, but he’ll still have to face a nasty slate of opponents to try and improve on the Rebels ugly 2-10 performance in 2011.

Ole Miss’s November run may not look catastrophic at first glance, but this is a team that will be trying to add wins to a schedule that will have already included games against Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, Auburn and Arkansas.

Yes, when you’re trying to pick up a couple of extra wins at the end of the season, this four team combination punch doesn’t look favorable.

Especially when each of these teams will look at the Rebels 2-10 record from 2011 and count their game with Ole Miss as “winnable.”

Nov. 3 - at Georgia                                                                                                                                

Nov. 10 - vs. Vanderbilt                                                                                                                                      

Nov. 17 - at LSU                                                                                                                                   

Nov. 24 - vs. Mississippi State

Oregon State

After enjoying only eight wins combined over the last two seasons, Oregon State will be working as hard as any team in the nation to wash a very bad taste out of their mouths.

With only 14 returning starters, it won’t be easy, and early games against Wisconsin and BYU followed by a nasty November won’t help either.

Nov. 3 - vs. Arizona State                                                                                                                     

Nov. 10 - at Stanford                                                                                                                                     

Nov. 17 - vs. Cal                                                                                                                                                

Nov. 24 - vs. Oregon