Compare these schedules

by Jeremy Mauss on Jun 29, 2007 10:21 AM PDT

I am going to list 2 teams schedule and I want as many comments out there on which is better. I will use a ranking of 1 to 6 with each point representing teams in order of ranking. So 1 would be teams ranked 1-20, 2 would be 21-40 and so on through the rest. I also will include the '06 record as well, bold means bowl participant. One of these schedules is said to be one of the toughest in the nation I disagree strongly, while I know that one is most likely better then the other I just don't think one is one of the top over schedules. You guys decide.

A
08/30 at Oregon St 2 (10-4 )
09/08 Air Force 5 (4-8)
09/15 UCLA 1 (7-6)
09/22 at UNLV 6 (2-10)
09/29 Utah St 6 (1-11)
10/05 at Louisville 1 (12-1)
10/13 SDSU 5 (4-8)
10/18 at TCU 1 (11-2)
10/27 at Colo St 5 (4-8)
11/10 Wyoming 4 (6-6)
11/17 New Mexico 5 (6-7)
11/24 at BYU 2 (11-2)

TOTAL 43 TOTAL W-L 78-73 .517
B
09/01 Ga Tech 2 (9-5)
09/08 at Penn State 2 (9-4)
09/15 at Michigan 1 (11-2)
09/22 Mich St 3 (4-8)
09/29 at Purdue 3 (8-6)
10/06 at UCLA 1 (7-6)
10/13 BC 2 (10-3)
10/20 USC 1 (11-2)
11/03 Navy 3 (9-4)
11/10 Air Force 5 (4-8)
11/17 Duke 6 (0-12)
11/24 at Stanford 5 (1-11)

TOTAL 31 points TOTAL W-L 83-71 .539

As you can see team A is not quite as good as B. Also for further comparison team A is playing 6 bowl teams and team B is playing 8. And team B people say is a brutal schedule and that is why they haven't won a national title since 1988, yes I am referring to Notre Dame as team B and University of Utah as team A, so at least in my opinion Notre Dame's schedule is only slightly more difficult then Utah. Those domer fans need to quit saying their schedule is so tough, they play Duke, the service academies, and mid to low end Big 10 teams. Their toughest games are Michigan and USC (EDITED FROM UCLA) and BC is a distant third but still good. Utah plays comparable teams in UCLA and Louisville, plus they mix in BYU, Oregon State, and TCU which should be top 25 teams throughout the year.

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I am not going to knock Utah’s schedule. Going outside the conference to play Louisville and UCLA shows more cajones than most SEC or Big XII schools show. So good on you, Utah.

But Utah’s schedule, while respectable, is not comparable to Notre Dame’s. You seem to have somehow overlooked our game against USC. The Trojans. perhaps yoou’ve heard of them? Our toughest two games are not Michigan and UCLA. They are USC and Michigan. Third toughest? Hard to say – is it UCLA? Penn State? Boston College? Georgia Tech? In-state rival Purdue?

Just a couple of points of reference for you. SI.com rates the Irish with the 13th toughest schedule this year. Utah is not in the Top 25. If you look at Lindyssports.com pre-season Top 25, the Irish play 4 teams in the Top 25: USC (1), Michigan (3), UCLA (22), and BC (24). Utah plays 3 Top 25 teams: Louisville (9), TCU (15), and UCLA (22).

Good for Utah to play tough out of conference games. To get respect from the polls, that’s what they have to do playing in that conference. But let’s not get crazy.

by OC Domer on Jun 29, 2007 12:47 PM PDT reply actions

I meant USC. I might be biased, but I just dont think the Domers schedule is worthy of that top 13 ranking. I know their sched is better then the Utes, but not the killer people make out that is all.

by gulfcoastpolo on Jun 29, 2007 1:23 PM PDT reply actions

I think Notre Dame’s schedule is tougher, but maybe not by the huge margin that everyone thinks. USC & Michigan definitely are the swing games that make the difference, though. Those two contests have a huge impact on the difficulty. The rest of their schedule is a wash compared to Utah.

Both Utah and Notre Dame play their tough games on the road. Well, Utah plays all of their tough games this year on the road, and Notre Dame gets USC at home. It’s tough to say for sure which schedule is tougher because some of the teams that are ranked high in the preseason might drop off and others might move into the rankings. You never know, except that USC is going to win the national championship this year.

by Josh on Jun 29, 2007 3:48 PM PDT reply actions