2010 College Football Preview: 10 Teams Whose Schedules Could Kill Them
Having the stars align to win a college football national championship is hard enough. You have to have the talent, the chemistry, the coaching, and the schedule to pull it off.
Some teams have all four of those aspects, while others can claim two or three.
What kills a diehard fan of any contending team is when it has all of those aspects but one—especially when that one is a killer schedule.
The Georgia Bulldogs faced this very situation in 2008. Picked by many to play for a national championship, Georgia was scheduled to take on a harder-than-normal SEC gauntlet that included No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 LSU, and No. 8 Florida. It lost two of those games. By the time its annual grudge match with No. 22 Georgia Tech rolled around, Georgia was already out of the national title picture, but it lost that game too.
That Georgia team had the 2009 No. 1 overall NFL draft pick as its quarterback and the No. 12 overall pick as its running back.
So, as you can see, the schedule is probably the most important aspect of a great team's title potential.
This upcoming season there is no shortage of this phenomenon.
Here are 10 teams who could just miss a championship because that one aspect is a lot harder than many realize.
Ohio State
1 of 10
Ohio State begins this season highly touted and much-hyped as a potential national title contender.
The Buckeyes will have to put an end to Terrelle Pryor's struggles in big games, however, if they plan on living up to those expectations.
Ohio State must win a home game against a resurgent Miami team, before later going on the road to take on Iowa and Wisconsin, who are both going to be top-15 teams.
That's a tall order even for the best of teams. Ohio State certainly has the talent to get wins in all of those games, but playing huge road games, in the Big Ten, during October and November is an extremely tall task.
Arkansas
2 of 10
So, you want to be the flavor of the preseason in the SEC, huh?
All you have to do is have a Heisman candidate at quarterback, an offense that might smash every SEC record, and a navigable schedule. Well, two out of three aint bad.
The Razorbacks have their work cut out for them, as well. A September road game at Georgia is followed by a home game against the defending national champs, Alabama.
After that, the Hogs play Texas A&M in Dallas, and on the road at Auburn. In November, they will travel to Columbia, SC for a date with the much-hyped Gamecocks before finishing up the season with LSU in Little Rock.
If Arkansas wants BCS glory, its defense will have to win more than one big game in 2010.
Boise State
3 of 10
It has already been determined that the Broncos must go undefeated to shatter that glass ceiling into BCS National Championship territory.
It has gone undefeated a few times, but never have the Broncos faced the foes that they'll have to tackle in 2010.
In '06 when Boise State ran the regular season table, its toughest game was at home against Oregon State. In '08, it defeated No. 17 Oregon in Eugene. Last season, the Broncos defeated Oregon at Boise.
This season, it must win a season opener in Washington, D.C. against Virginia Tech, followed by a home game against Pac-10 title contender, Oregon State. Are those both winnable? Absolutely. Are they both just as losable? You better believe it.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
South Carolina
4 of 10
Steve Spurrier has his best collection of talent yet, in Columbia. Too bad the 'Cocks play the most difficult schedule in the country.
In addition to hosting a rejuvenated Georgia squad, Carolina has to play at Auburn, at Kentucky, at Florida, and at Clemson. If that road schedule wasn't enough, the 'Cocks host Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
Granted, they should be better than either Tennessee or Kentucky, but Spurrier has struggled mightily with both of those teams since coming to Columbia in '05.
Getting the three best SEC West teams in the same season is just cruel.
If the Gamecocks want to take that next step into SEC East contender territory, they'll have to earn it in 2010.
Miami
5 of 10
The 'Canes are set to become "the 'Canes" again very soon. Randy Shannon has slowly rebuilt this program into a formidible ACC contender.
Last season, many pundits looked at a schedule that featured Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma in the first four games and automatically listed Miami 1-3, at best. It went 3-1 in those games.
The 'Canes would lose three more games in '09, including the bowl game, but Miami was better for it.
In 2010, Miami will waltz by Florida A&M in week one before beginning a road gauntlet that will take it to Ohio State, Pittsburgh, and Clemson in consecutive weeks.
If Miami is truly all the way back in 2010, you'll know for sure by the evening of October 2.
Oregon State
6 of 10
With the fallout from USC's probation, the Pac-10 Conference is suddenly wide-open after Oregon. The Ducks look to be the best in conference, but a game here or there could open things up for at least three other teams.
Oregon State is one of those teams.
The Beavers have a lot of talent returning—especially the Rodgers brothers. RB Jacquizz and WR James have been the uber-talented athletes on the team for the last few seasons in Corvalis.
They'll have to be that much better in 2010. Oregon State opens up with TCU in Dallas before playing at Boise State two weeks later.
Two weeks after that, the Beavers play at Arizona, followed by road games at Washington and Stanford. In between all of that, they host California, USC, and end the season with Oregon.
If the Beavers are to win the Pac-10, they must basically win a round-robin tournament.
Florida State
7 of 10
After saying goodbye to the legend, Bobby Bowden, Florida State could very well be on the verge of becoming what it was for much of the great head coach's tenure—a perennial top-10 program.
An offensive line that returns every starter from a year ago, a Heisman candidate at quarterback, and the always speedy skill players make this a stout Florida State offense.
The only question marks are on the defense and in the schedule.
The 'Noles travel to Norman, Oklahoma on September 11 to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. The following week, Florida State hosts BYU. Later, the 'Noles travel to Miami before hosting Boston College, North Carolina, Clemson, and Florida to end the season.
Getting back to national prominence will not be easy for first year head coach, Jimbo Fisher.
West Virginia
8 of 10
West Virginia is debuting a new quarterback in 2010. While that's a tough task for most major college football teams, it may not be their toughest task.
That could be navigating a schedule that includes road games at LSU, UConn, and Pittsburgh.
The rest of the Mountaineers schedule is favorable. But winning on the road against two Big East favorites, Pitt and UConn will be difficult. The LSU game is, obviously, out of conference, but a win in all three of those games could land West Virginia squarely in the top 10—especially if it can defeat South Florida, Cincinnati, and Rutgers in Morgantown.
It's not a gauntlet like some of the previous teams featured will have to endure, but for a team with a new quarterback, it could very well cost the Mountaineers an otherwise promising 2010 season.
Virginia Tech
9 of 10
One of the most consistent teams in the nation is led by one of the most consistent coaches of our time. Frank Beamer took an indepdent Virginia Tech football program and has made it into a national power for much of the last two decades. His three Big East titles and one ACC championship are proof of that.
This season, Beamer has an espcially talented offense returning. Even though the Hokies suffered many losses on defense, they usually end up in the top 10 defenses regardless of personnel losses. And we all know about Beamer's special teams.
So, that leaves one major area for the Hokies to potentially trip-up—the schedule.
A Labor Day night matchup with Boise State in Washington D.C. will be tough—especially since that Boise State team is ready to shut up the chorus of doubters that constantly underestimate the Broncos.
That opener is not as tough as the schedule gets, however. Road games at Boston College, North Carolina, and Miami could do damage to the Hokies title dreams in 2010, as well.
Alabama
10 of 10
The defending champs have their work cut out for them.
As if losing nine starters off of the No. 2 overall defense in the country wasn't enough, this Tide team has to play a hyped-up Arkansas team and Heisman candidate Ryan Mallett on the road. If that doesn't catch your eye, maybe playing six teams who are coming off a bye week probably will.
Let's not forget a September 11 home game against Penn State among the potential pitfalls for the Tide. After that game, 'Bama's next game in the friendly confines of Bryant Denny Stadium will be against Florida, before heading back out on the road to take on Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks. The always entertaining rivalry game at Tennessee takes place on October 23, two weeks before the Tide travel to LSU.
At least they get Auburn at home on November 26.
'Bama will begin the season at No. 1, as they should, but staying there while playing that schedule will be a test that even the reigning national champs will struggle to pass.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
