College Football 2011: Power Ranking the Toughest Schedules in the Pac-12
Starting in the fall, the Pac-10 will be no more. There will only be a memory of an athletic conference that was.
We all know, however, that it's simply getting a new paint job and a couple new accessories. Utah and Colorado join to make it the Pac-12. It hopes to challenge the Southeastern Conference as the preeminent football league.
Give credit where credit is due, and, for the Pac-12, credit has to be given to the out-of-conference schedule makers. Only eight FCS opponents are on the collective schedules of the 12 Pac-12 members (Thanks to the Big Ten, it is necessary to note that the Pac-12 has 12 teams).
But who is going to have the toughest road both in and out of conference en route to a conference championship or a bowl game?
There's only one way to find out, of course: Power rankings!
Here are the Pac-12 schedules ranked in terms of schedule difficulty.
12. Washington State Cougars
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Do you blame Washington State for trying to play patty cake out of conference? They get things off to a riveting start when they host FCS opponent Idaho State and then UNLV, one of the worst teams in America in 2010.
But the Cougars have been near the bottom of the BCS team barrel for a few seasons. Wazzu could use a pick-me-up. It also takes on San Diego State.
The Cougs draw both Stanford and Oregon but avoid Southern Cal.
Toughest Game: Oct. 29 at Oregon
11. Arizona State Sun Devils
2 of 12
Kudos to the Pac-12. Washington State is the only team with a "bad" schedule. From Arizona State on, every slate of games is at least respectable.
For the Sun Devils, they play two BCS teams out of conference, hosting Missouri and visiting Illinois after giving UC Davis a swirly.
ASU dodges the Stanford bullet but get to visit Oregon and host USC.
Toughest Game: Oct. 15 at Oregon
10. Utah Utes
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It's going to be strange to watch Utah visit BYU on Sept. 17 after the Holy War rivalry has stood for so long as both teams' final regular season game. The fact that the team's no longer share a conference will not make the passion any less.
Utah somehow got a pass on both Stanford and Oregon in its inaugural BCS conference campaign. The do start that campaign off at Southern Cal. That could be a rough breaking in.
Utah visits Pittsburgh midseason and hosts FCS team Montana State to start.
Toughest Game: Sept. 10 at USC
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9. Stanford Cardinal
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Stanford went one-for-three in out-of-conference scheduling. Ending the regular season with Notre Dame should be a very intriguing matchup with potentially huge implications. Hosting San Jose State and visiting Duke to start the season, however, leaves something to be desired.
Get Vanderbilt and Northwestern on the schedule, and the Cardinal could play all the academics.
Stanford has to visit Southern Cal and will look for revenge at home against Oregon.
Toughest Game: Oct. 29 at USC
8. Oregon State Beavers
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Oregon State didn't need its season-opener with Sacramento State to make its schedule any easier.
The Beavers visit Wisconsin, Utah and Oregon. They also host BYU and Stanford.
The Beavers, however, draw five of the conferences worst teams, playing UCLA, Cal, Washington State, Washington and Arizona State. The only dud missing is Colorado.
Toughest Game: Sept. 10 at Wisconsin
7. Washington Huskies
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Washington welcomes stalwart (read: nerdy stepbrother) Eastern Washington to Seattle to start the season off with a nice game of touch football (read: savage beating).
Things get better when Hawaii visits and the upset alarm sounds. But who would be the one being upset? Then its off to Lincoln, Nebraska to play Nebraska.
As for the conference schedule, the Huskies land all of the Big Three: Stanford, Oregon and Southern Cal. But they also get home dates with Washington State and Colorado.
Toughest Game: Oct. 22 at Stanford
6. UCLA Bruins
7 of 12
Don't scoff at that season-opening to Houston. The Cougars could be a surprise threat to the BCS cartel. Do scoff at that home date with San Jose State. Texas also visits Los Angeles.
In conference, the Bruins have to visit Stanford, Oregon State, Utah and Southern Cal. Arizona, too. All of UCLA's Pac-12 home dates seem winnable, possibly paving the Bruins way to a bowl game.
Toughest Game: Oct. 1 at Stanford
5. Colorado Buffaloes
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Colorado rising up in the Pac-12 would be excellent for college football. It's a shame that the stadium, Ralphie's run and the altitude advantage have been wasted on a powder puff team the past few seasons.
Step one: Get back to a bowl game. It seems doable with a glance at the schedule. Home dates with Cal, Colorado State and Washington State are all winnable, as is the season-opening visit to Hawaii. There's four, Colorado. You've got to come up with the rest.
Scratch off those dates at Stanford and Ohio State and with Oregon and USC as your chances to fill out the six wins.Colorado could play each with a top 10 ranking.
Toughest Game: Sept. 24 @ Ohio State
4. California Golden Bears
9 of 12
Hey Cal, how would you like to take a couple of vacations this fall, one to Palo Alto, California and one to Eugene, Oregon? Sounds like a bunch of fun until the Golden Bears have to play football against Stanford and Oregon, respectively.
Throw in home games with Southern Cal, Utah and Oregon State, and it looks like Cal is in for another long haul in 2010. Even Fresno State's visit to Berkeley could go wrong.
At least the Golden Bears play Presbyterian.
Toughest Game: Oct. 6 at Oregon
3. Oregon Ducks
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Is there a better season-opener than the Cowboys Stadium matchup of Oregon and LSU Sept. 3? Both teams are looking for a title hopes-boosting win out of conference in front of the whole nation.
The Ducks better not get caught napping against Nevada the following week. The Wolfpack won't be expected to be at the same level they were this season, but that's one heck of a trap game.
Oregon visits Stanford and hosts Southern Cal in consecutive weeks in November.
Toughest Game: Sept. 3 vs. LSU in Fort Worth, Texas
2. Arizona Wildcats
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Arizona could put together a five-game losing streak before its bye week in mid-October. After giving Northern Arizona a 60-minute noogie, the Wildcats visit Oklahoma State, host Stanford and Oregon and then visit Southern Cal.
After that stretch of top 10 opponents, Arizona visits Oregon State before its bye week. Ouch.
Things will be decidedly easier after the break with a home game against Utah as the most threatening matchup left. Arizona just hopes its regular season finale with Louisiana-Lafayette isn't with a bowl game on the line.
Toughest Game: Sept. 10 at Oklahoma State
1. Southern Cal Trojans
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The USC Trojans have done something nearly unthinkable for a top BCS program in recent years: Not only have they not scheduled any FCS opponents, but they have scheduled all BCS conference opponents.
Their easiest out-of-conference game will be against Minnesota, which should be rejuvenated under a new coaching staff.
The Trojans host rising Syracuse and visit rival Notre Dame. In Pac-12 play, USC hosts Stanford and visits Oregon.
I guess if you can't play a bowl game, you may as well stack the schedule with as many premium games as possible.
Toughest Game: Nov. 19 at Oregon
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
