2005 PRESEASON NON-CONFERENCE
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

Who plays the toughest non-conference schedule?
1. MAC 42.31
2. WAC 40.41
3. Sun Belt 33.75
4. Pac Ten 32.73
5. Mountain West 28.41
6. Conference USA 27.58
7. SEC 24.25
8. Big East 22.84
9. ACC 21.22
10. Big Ten 19.06
11. Big XII 15.58

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
The nation's worst non-conference schedules...
Since its beginning, non-conference schedules in the Big XII have been at a borderline I-AA level, which makes sense given the difficulty of the league plus the fact this was one of the first leagues to initiate a conference championship game. Even though the North Division has recently taken a major step back (not one squad in the preseason AP Top 25), the Big XII continues to finish dead last by a good margin when rating its competitive edge with everyone else’s. Texas Tech wins the cupcake award with the nation's worst non-conference schedule (FIU, Sam Houston State, Indiana State). Washington State (Pac Ten) is right on their heels with the nation's second worst schedule (Idaho, Nevada, Grambling).

The SEC...anytime, anywhere.
No one can knock the big boys from the SEC. The nation's toughest conference also continues to schedule the second toughest non-conference schedule when compared to their other BCS partners.

The Pac Ten doesn't need a Conference Championship Game?
OK, so the Pac Ten is void of a championship game. But they do make up for it by competing against the nation's toughest non-conference schedule (when comparing BCS-aligned conferences). Three of this league’s better cross-conference games highlight the road to the national championship, and all in the first half of September: Arizona State at LSU, Oregon State at Louisville, Oklahoma at UCLA.

No one is dodging the MAC.
Putting a quality Mid-American foe on your schedule is rarely a good idea, but it never scared the Big Ten. MAC teams will win on any Saturday when a BCS team does not bring its "A" game. It's a no-win situation...a victory yields nothing but a "you're supposed to win against them", and a defeat results in "what's going on?” speculations. However, the MAC continues to grab big name opponents as they sit atop these rankings, thanks in a big part to the Big Ten. And why should the Big Ten have any fear? After all, they were 11-0 versus MAC competition in 2004.

Ball State - Best In The Nation
The Cardinals should not be short this year when it comes to balancing the football athletic budget. Paychecks for road visits to Iowa, Auburn and Boston College should be a nice bonus...well not when all are eventually found in the loss column. But they do get recognition here for scheduling what they have control over...putting together the nation's toughest opponents.

 

Rank
Team
Pts.
1. Ball State 102.33
2. Arkansas 100.33
3. Rice 97.00
4. Ohio State 89.00
5. Fresno State 86.75
6. Tulsa 81.33
7. Hawai'i 78.75
8. Arizona State 78.33
9. Georgia Tech 76.00
10. UAB 70.00
11. Ohio 69.33
12. Louisiana-Lafayette 66.25
13. Oregon State 65.33
14. San Diego State 64.33
15. TCU 62.67
16. North Texas 61.75
17. Northern Illinois 58.33
18. Eastern Michigan 57.33
19. North Carolina 57.00
20. UCLA 56.67
21. Miami OH 53.33
22. Texas 52.00
23. Florida Atlantic 51.75
24. Georgia 47.33
25. Bowling Green 47.00
26. Colorado 46.67
27. Syracuse 45.75
28. South Florida 45.00
29. Boise State 44.50
30. Colorado State 44.00
31. Arizona 43.67
32. Louisiana Tech 43.33
33. Louisiana-Monroe 42.50
34. Wyoming 41.00
35. Florida State 40.33
36. Florida 38.67
37. New Mexico State 37.50
38. West Virginia 35.75
39. Iowa State 35.67
40. Toledo 33.33
41. SMU 32.33
42. Kentucky 31.00
43. Akron 30.00
43. Clemson 30.00
45. Southern California 29.75
46. Illinois 29.00
47. Oregon 27.67
48. Northwestern 27.33
49. Western Michigan 26.00
50. Utah State 24.75
51. Brigham Young 24.00
52. Louisiana State 22.67
53. Nebraska 21.33
54. Miami FL 20.33
55. Southern Miss 20.00
56. Cincinnati 20.00
57. Florida International 17.25
58. Wisconsin 16.50
59. Central Michigan 16.00
60. Connecticut 13.25
61. Auburn 13.00
62. Mississippi 12.67
63. Arkansas State 12.00
64. Middle Tennessee 11.75
65. Oklahoma 11.33
66. Iowa 10.67
66. East Carolina 9.33
68. Purdue 9.33
69. Michigan State 9.00
70. Tennessee 9.00
71. Buffalo 9.00
72. Louisville 8.50
73. Utah 7.67
74. Idaho 7.67
75. Texas A&M 7.33
76. Pittsburgh 7.25
77. Troy 6.75
78. New Mexico 6.67
79. Michigan 6.67
80. Nevada 6.33
81. Washington 6.33
82. Stanford 6.33
83. UCF 6.00
84. Virginia Tech 6.00
85. Kent State 5.67
86. Vanderbilt 5.00
86. Virginia 5.00
88. Houston 5.00
89. Wake Forest 5.00
90. South Carolina 5.00
91. Boston College 4.67
92. Maryland 4.33
92. Alabama 4.33
94. North Carolina State 4.33
95. San Jose State 4.00
96. Air Force 3.67
97. Kansas State 3.67
98. Minnesota 3.00
99. Tulane 2.67
100. UTEP 2.67
101. Marshall 2.67
102. Missouri 2.67
102. Rutgers 2.25
104. Memphis 2.00
105. Oklahoma State 2.00
106. Mississippi State 2.00
107. California 2.00
108. Indiana 2.00
109. Kansas 1.67
110. Penn State 1.67
111. Baylor 1.67
112. Duke 1.67
113. UNLV 1.67
113. Washington State 1.33
115. Texas Tech 1.00
BREAKDOWN BY CONFERENCE
 
  ACC pts.
1. Georgia Tech 228
2. North Carolina 171
3. Florida State 121
4. Clemson 90
5. Miami FL 61
6. Virginia Tech 18
7. Wake Forest 15
7. Virginia 15
9. Boston College 14
10. Maryland 13
10. North Carolina State 13
12. Duke 5
AVG: 21.22
 
  BIG EAST pts.
1. Syracuse 183
2. South Florida 180
3. West Virginia 143
4. Cincinnati 80
5. Louisville 54
6. Connecticut 53
7. Pittsburgh 29
8. Rutgers 9
AVG: 22.85
 
  BIG TEN pts.
1. Ohio State 267
2. Illinois 87
3. Northwestern 82
4. Wisconsin 66
5. Iowa 32
6. Purdue 28
7. Michigan State 27
8. Michigan 20
9. Minnesota 9
10. Indiana 6
11. Penn State 5
AVG: 19.06
 
  BIG XII pts.
1. Texas 156
2. Colorado 140
3. Iowa State 107
4. Nebraska 64
5. Oklahoma 34
6. Texas A&M 22
7. Kansas State 11
8. Missouri 8
9. Oklahoma State 6
10. Baylor 5
10. Kansas 5
12. Texas Tech 3
AVG: 15.58
 
  CONFERENCE USA pts.
1. Rice 291
2. Tulsa 244
3. UAB 210
4. SMU 97
5. Southern Miss 60
6. East Carolina 28
7. UCF 18
8. Houston 15
9. UTEP 8
9. Tulane 8
9. Marshall 8
12. Memphis 6
AVG: 27.58
 
  MAC pts.
1. Ball State 307
2. Ohio 208
3. Northern Illinois 175
4. Eastern Michigan 172
5. Miami OH 160
6. Bowling Green 141
7. Toledo 100
8. Akron 90
9. Western Michigan 78
10. Central Michigan 48
11. Buffalo 27
12. Kent State 17
AVG: 42.31
 
  MOUNTAIN WEST pts.
1. San Diego State 193
2. TCU 188
3. Colorado State 132
4. Wyoming 123
5. Brigham Young 72
6. Utah 23
7. New Mexico 20
8. Air Force 11
9. UNLV 5
AVG: 28.41
 
  PAC TEN pts.
1. Arizona State 235
2. Oregon State 196
3. UCLA 170
4. Arizona 131
5. Southern California 119
6. Oregon 83
7. Stanford 19
7. Washington 19
9. California 6
10. Washington State 4
AVG: 32.73
 
  SEC pts.
1. Arkansas 301
2. Georgia 142
3. Florida 116
4. Kentucky 93
5. Louisiana State 68
6. Auburn 39
7. Mississippi 38
8. Tennessee 27
9. Vanderbilt 15
9. South Carolina 15
11. Alabama 13
12. Mississippi State 6
AVG: 24.25
 
  SUN BELT pts.
1. Louisiana-Lafayette 265
2. North Texas 247
3. Florida Atlantic 207
4. Louisiana-Monroe 170
5. Florida International 69
6. Arkansas State 48
7. Middle Tennessee 47
8. Troy 27
AVG: 33.75
 
  WAC pts.
1. Fresno State 347
2. Hawai'i 315
3. Boise State 178
4. New Mexico State 150
5. Louisiana Tech 130
6. Utah State 99
7. Idaho 23
8. Nevada 19
9. San Jose State 12
AVG: 40.41