College Football 2011: 10 College Teams with the Toughest Road Schedules
Can you smell it in the air?
Well, probably not, it is winter out. But it is never too early to begin preparing for the fall season and college football.
We all know how important home field advantage can be in college football. It can make or break a team's bowl chances, but those teams that have the skill to win on the road are the ones that have a realistic chance to be crowned BCS Champs.
Bryant Denny Stadium, the Swamp, Death Valley—no team looks forward to going into those places to play.
Let's look ahead to the college football season and take an inside look at what 10 college teams have the toughest road schedules in 2011.
Let the games begin.
10. Cal
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Cal 2011 Road Opponents: Colorado, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Stanford, Arizona State
The Golden Bears' road schedule starts out against two mediocre teams in Colorado and Washington, but then they have to face possibly the three best teams in the Pac-10 in Oregon, Stanford and Arizona State, all on the road.
Cal is one of those teams that no one really knows how good they will be in 2011. They will have a lot of new faces, and those new guys will be tested in a big way this season with some extremely difficult road tests.
If the Golden Bears can go 3-3 on the road, they should be able to make a respectable bowl game due to an easier home schedule this season.
9. Alabama
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Alabama 2011 Road Opponents: Penn State, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Auburn
When you have a reputation for being the best, chances are that you are going to play against the best. At least, that is the case with Alabama in 2011.
The Crimson Tide have to travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State in the second week of the season. Despite blowing out the Nittany Lions is Tuscaloosa last season, Penn State should be better this season and Alabama has a lot of talent to replace, especially on the offensive end.
The Tide will play four away SEC games, three of which are against preseason top 25 teams. If that end-of-the-season game against Auburn is anywhere as good as this past year's game, fans are in for a real treat with that one.
Alabama is expected to be one of the nation's top teams in 2011. If they can get through this brutal road schedule without a loss, then they should be looking at the SEC Championship game at the end of the regular season.
8. Tennessee
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Tennessee 2011 Road Opponents: Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky
The only reason that Tennessee is not higher up on this list is because they only have four total road games, which is pretty favorable. But, when you consider the fact that the Volunteers have to take on Florida, Alabama and Arkansas on the road, it really doesn't get much more difficult than that.
Three of Tennessee's four road games are against ranked opponents and two of them, Alabama and Arkansas, are top 10 teams.
The Volunteers were so close in a number of losses this season and maybe all those home games will help them improve that record in 2011. But in reality, don't expect Tennessee to get out of that four game road schedule with more than one win.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Michigan State
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Michigan State 2011 Road Opponents: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern
The Spartans had a fantastic year in 2010, closing out the regular season with a win over Penn State and earning a share of their first Big Ten title in 20 years.
Now that they have built up their resume, they will have to be prepared to take on one of the most difficult road schedules in the country in 2011.
Four of their five road opponents will likely be ranked in the top 25 heading into next season. All we can really say here for Spartan fans is, be thankful that Wisconsin isn't on that road schedule as well.
6. Florida
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Florida 2011 Road Opponents: Kentucky, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina
What is the deal with these good SEC programs only having four away games on the year? Well, whatever the deal is, those are four very difficult games, especially those final three.
LSU, Auburn and South Carolina are all top 15 teams next season. The Gators have the luxury of skipping Arkansas and playing Alabama at home. But still, that doesn't take away from this being one of the most challenging schedules in the land.
Welcome to the SEC, Will Muschamp.
5. Washington
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Washington 2011 Road Opponents: Nebraska, Utah, Stanford, USC, Oregon State
Washington is another one of those teams that is a bit of an unknown coming into the 2011 season. With the loss of quarterback Jake Locker, the Huskies will have a huge hole to fill on the offensive side of the ball.
With that said, it certainly doesn't help the Huskies' chances that they have one of the most difficult road schedules in the country next season.
As if playing Nebraska on the road in a non-conference matchup wasn't tough enough, Washington will have to play Utah, Stanford and USC, all three of which should be ranked in top 25 midway through the season. Add the fact that they have to play Oregon and Arizona during the stretch as well and things might not look so pretty for Washington football in 2011.
4. Indiana
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Indiana 2011 Road Opponents: Ball State, North Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State
Indiana football? How in the world does a team this bad have such a strong schedule?
Well, just take a look at where the Hoosiers have to travel in 2011.
Indiana opens the year with two piece-of-cake road games (for most teams), but then they have to take on four of the five best teams in the Big Ten, all on the road. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State are all top 15 teams, and Iowa very well could be in that mix when it is all said and done.
Hopefully fans were not thinking that this is the year that Indiana made a push for a bowl game. With that type of road schedule, it's really not all that likely. Sorry, Hoosier fans.
3. Colorado
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Colorado 2011 Road Opponents: Hawaii, Ohio State, Stanford, Washington, Arizona State, UCLA, Utah
Wow, welcome to the Pac-10, Colorado. Your welcome present is seven road games, four of which are against top 25 teams.
The Buffaloes play both Hawaii and Ohio State in non-conference road games, and then have to open up their Pac-10 road schedule in Palo Alto against Stanford. If it wasn't for how dominant the SEC is, this really could have been the most difficult road schedule in all the land.
Most teams on this list have had four, five, maybe six road games. But none of them had seven. Especially of this caliber.
2. Auburn
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Auburn 2011 Road Opponents: Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia
Apparently, when you win the National Championship, your gift in return is to play the second hardest schedule in the country the following season. No, just kidding, but really, look at how hard this schedule is for the defending National Champs.
The Tigers have to travel to Clemson for their first non-league road game, and then have to play four top 25 teams in conference play.
If Auburn can win three of those five road games, it will be an impressive feat for this club. If they can somehow win all five of those road games, then the magic might be coming back to Auburn in 2011. Repeat National Champs?
1. LSU
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LSU 2011 Road Opponents: Oregon, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss
LSU might be a top five team in the country next season, but they also have to play two other top five teams on the road in 2011.
The Tigers have six road games this coming year, and five of them should be against ranked teams. They open the year with a game against Oregon in Dallas. The winner of that game could very well be the top ranked team in the country from there on out.
If LSU is going to make a run at another National Championship in 2011, they certainly have their work cut out for them. Most people believe that one loss could get a team in the National Championship this season. With only one loss while facing this type of gruesome schedule, that would be quite the feat for the Tigers.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
