Strength of Schedule: Time To Take a Stance

Strength of Schedule, commonly known as SOS, is a key argument among College Football fans.  It is easily one of the biggest battle cries when people start comparing conferences, and lends itself to some heated and often times childish responses.

"Well, we beat so-and-so, and so-and-so beat that team, and blah...blah...blah."

I'm sure most of us, if not all, have been caught up in one of these arguments in some form or fashion, or at the very least used it as a proof positive to prove our own position.  I know I have, and I likely will again in the future.

But in reality, every BCS conference is guilty to some extent.

Now, before I go into much depth, I need to let you know that yes, I am a die-hard Husker fan, through and through.  Born, bred, and bled with the Big Red. 

But even with my thick homer glasses on, I am simply appalled at the schedule my Huskers have put in front of me for the past two seasons—Out of Conference (OOC) that is. 

And I'll be the first to say that our non-conference schedule simply sucks this year: Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, @ Virginia Tech, and Louisiana-Lafayette. 

The @ Virginia Tech is solid, but the rest is complete crap.  And nobody can come close to arguing that fact. 

Unless we are looking to make a run at being Sun Belt Champions, there is absolutely no reason for scheduling three home games against Sun Belt schools.  (I guess I can at least say we don't play any FCS schools if that is any consolation, right?)

Now for the meat of my entry.

There is absolutely no reason for any BCS school not to do the following:

1. Schedule a road game in OOC play every season.
2. Play two quality opponents in OOC every season.
3. Limit yourself to one "cream-puff" each OOC season.
4. Play a legitimate Non-BCS school every other season.

Heckle me all the "We need to build our athletic budget with home games" crap you want, but in reality that is just an excuse for schools to keep doing what they are doing. 

Heck, the BCS has pretty much rewarded teams for doing as much.  A school would make more money by scheduling a Home and Away with any other top end BCS school due to TV revenue and guaranteed sellouts. 

Sure, there are schools like my own in Nebraska that will sellout games regardless.  And sadly, my Huskers made even more cash on crappy home games due to pay-per-view sales since no logical TV station would cover a Nebraska vs. New Mexico State contest. 

What really needs to happen is teams to be eliminated from BCS consideration if their OOC schedule isn't up to snuff.  Hell with a playoff, have these teams play each other during the regular season and put more importance upon it than we already have. 

College football already has the greatest regular season of any sport.  This would only make it better, and further separate itself as being the greatest sport in the entire country.   

Now, I will break down this year's offenders, and give credence to those that have actually gone out and scheduled somebody.  Don't be surprised to see your school on the offenders list, because there will be many.

Offenders

Not necessarily in any particular order but here they are:

• Penn State: Akron, Syracuse, Temple, Eastern Illinois
• Nebraska: Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, @ Virginia Tech, UL-Laffy
• Alabama: Virginia Tech, Florida International, North Texas, UT-Chattanooga
• Arkansas: Missouri State, Texas A&M, E. Michigan, Troy
• Auburn: La. Tech, W. Virginia, Ball State, Furman
• LSU: @Washington, UL-Laffy, Tulane, La. Tech
• Ole Miss: @ Memphis, Southeastern-La., UAB, No. Arizona
• Florida: Charleston Southern, Troy, Florida International, Florida State
• Tennessee: W. Kentucky, UCLA, Ohio, Memphis
• Vanderbilt: W. Carolina, @ Rice, @ Army, Ga. Tech
• Rutgers: Howard, Florida International, @ Maryland, @ Army, OPEN
• Duke: Richmond, @ Army, @ Kansas, NC Central
• North Carolina: Citadel, @ UCONN, East Carolina, Ga. Southern
• Boston College: Northeastern, Kent State, @ Notre Dame, C. Michigan
• Indiana: E. Kentucky, W. Michigan, @ Akron, @ Virginia
• Michigan: W. Michigan, Notre Dame, E. Michigan, Delaware St.
• Michigan St: Montana St., C. Michigan, @ Notre Dame, W. Michigan
• Northwestern: Miami-OH, Towson, @ Syracuse, E. Michigan
• Ohio State: Navy, USC, @ Toledo, New Mexico State
• Wisconsin: N. Illinois, Fresno State, Wofford, @ Hawaii
• Iowa State: North Dakota State, Iowa, @ Kent State, Army
• Kansas: No. Colorado, @ UTEP, Duke, Southern Miss
• Kansas State: UMass, @ La-Laffy, @ UCLA, Tennessee Tech
• Texas: La-Monroe, @ Wyoming, UTEP, UCF
• Texas A&M: New Mexico, Utah St, UAB, Arkansas
• Texas Tech: North Dakota, Rice, @ Houston, New Mexico  
• Arizona: C. Michigan, N. Arizona, @ Iowa
• Arizona State: Idaho State, La-Monroe, @ Georgia

Kudos, Props, Well Done

Ultimately, more time should be spent applauding these schools for actually going out and scheduling somebody.  Some of them are actually hitting the road a couple of times:

• Georgia: @ Okie State, Arizona State, Tennessee Tech, @ Georgia Tech
• South Carolina: @ NC State, Florida International, SC State, Clemson
• Cincinnati: SE Missouri State, @ Oregon State, Fresno State, @ Miami-OH, Illinois
• UConn: @ Ohio, North Carolina, @ Baylor, Rhode Island, @ Notre Dame
• Syracuse: Minnesota, @ Penn State, Northwestern, Maine, Akron
• West Virginia: Liberty, East Carolina, @ Auburn, Colorado, Marshall
• Ga. Tech: Jacksonville State, @ Miss State, @ Vanderbilt, Georgia
• Miami: Oklahoma, Florida A&M, @ UCF, @ USF
• Virginia Tech: Alabama, Marshall, Nebraska, @ East Carolina
• Florida State: Jacksonville St, @ BYU, USF, @ Florida
• Illinois: Missouri, Illinois State, Fresno State, @ Cincinnati
• Minnesota: @ Syracuse, Air Force, California, South Dakota State
• Purdue: Toledo, @ Oregon, N. Illinois, Notre Dame
• Oklahoma: BYU, Idaho State, Tulsa, @ Miami-FL
• California: Maryland, E. Washington, @ Minnesota
• Oregon: @ Boise State, Purdue, Utah
• Stanford: @ Wake Forest, San Jose State, Notre Dame
• UCLA: San Diego State, @ Tennessee, Kansas State
• USC: San Jose State, @ Ohio State, @ Notre Dame
• Washington: LSU, Idaho, @ Notre Dame

If you find your school missing, it merely means you have a decent schedule.  Likely I've missed a few schools or a few games here or there.  I apologize up front. 

But in the end, what I am seeing from BCS schools is 27 in the "bad" and 20 in the "good."  Now, I don't want to get into conference bashing, but you can pretty well spot the frequent offenders, and those that actually schedule. 

Now, I also realize that there are some schools that just can't simply afford to schedule tough OOC games.  Teams like Iowa State and Vanderbilt have to schedule "soft" in the OOC season to give themselves any chance at making a bowl game. 

But power schools like Penn State, Texas, Florida, LSU, and Ohio State have no reason to schedule such weak overall OOC slates.

In the end, teams like Oregon, Georgia, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, USC, and Washington should be commended for scheduling solid OOC schedules.  And as painful as it is to say, the Pac 10 should be given a lot of recommendation for their overall scheduling that their conference takes part in. 

Especially when they only have three chances at OOC games.  And special props should be given to Oregon for scheduling BCS busters in Boise State and Utah in the same season.  There is likely not another school in the country willing to take on such a task.

In closing, I'd simply like to ask that you demand your school schedule stronger and more competitive OOC schedules.  I have personally written my AD and AD Department to do so. 

Whether you like or dislike the BCS system as it is, the best way currently to correct the end of season squabbles is to force teams to schedule tougher and more competitive schedules.  Personally, I'd have no problem if my Huskers were eliminated before the season started from consideration in the BCS Championship game. 

Because I know for certain I don't want my team to "back-in" to a National Title.  And neither should you.