Toughest
and Easiest Schedule by BCS conference
ACC
Toughest
- Virginia
Kudos
to the Virginia administration for
getting powerhouse Southern California
to visit Charlottesville. The problem
is that USC is the opener for Al
Groh and the new faces at QB. Hopefully
the Cavs get bowl eligible early
as the final two games are against
the ACC's best, Clemson and Virginia
Tech.
Easiest
- Virginia Tech
Three
of the Hokies non-conference opponents
are East Carolina, Furman and Western
Kentucky. The ACC schedule also
does not include the only two ranked
teams from the Atlantic Division,
Clemson and Wake Forest. The schedule
sets up well, despite the player
turnover, for VT to at least get
back to the ACC title game.
Big
East
Toughest
- Cincinnati
A
final road trip to the islands to
tackle Hawai'i gives the Bearcats
a nasty 13-game schedule. Other
road trips to Norman, OK and Morgantown,
WV should make for interesting upset
possibilities.
Easiest
– Connecticut
The
Huskies defense held ten opponents
under 20 points last season and
return eight starters on that side
of the ball. The first four opponents
include Hofstra, Temple and Baylor.
Don't look for this stingy trend
to change through the first part
of September.
Big
Ten
Toughest
- Michigan State
For
the second year in a row, the Spartans
win this award for having the Big
Ten's toughest schedule. An underrated
Michigan State may surprise some
teams in this league. But they will
have to close the season versus
four ranked teams - Ohio State,
Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State…ouch!
Easiest
– Northwestern
Do
not be surprised if the Wildcats
enter the month of October undefeated
as they are likely to be favored
in their first four games against
lighter foes.
Big
12
Toughest
– Baylor
The
Big 12 South is one of the better
divisions in college football and
Baylor's schedule reflects as much.
The non-conference games against
Wake Forest and UConn could make
first year head coach Art Briles'
debut one to forget.
Easiest
- Texas Tech
Last
season Kansas won this dubious honor
and wound up winning a BCS bowl
game. This time around, Texas Tech
is loaded with talent primed to
repeat the same successes. While
the South Division road doesn't
make things easy, we guarantee the
Red Raiders go undefeated through
September with a non-conference
schedule that is the division’s
easiest.
Pac
Ten
Toughest
– UCLA
Ouch!
First year coach Rick Neuheisel
has his hands full. Not only did
he lose both starting QBs for 2008
due to injury, but also his plate
has been loaded with Tennessee,
Brigham Young, Arizona and a ranked
Fresno State in the first four games.
Easiest
– Arizona
Coach
Mike Stoops needs to start showing
improvement in the win column. The
good news is that his Wildcats will
be favored to win the first six
games against inferior competition.
The Cats might get bowl eligible
before mid-October.
SEC
Toughest
– Georgia
The
nation's No. 1 ranked team gets
honored by having to play the nation's
hardest schedule. That does not
even include a possible SEC Championship
Game.
Easiest
- Mississippi State
While
no team in the SEC can be considered
to have an easy schedule, at least
the Bulldogs non-conference opponents
(Louisiana Tech, SE Louisiana and
Middle Tennessee) make sure coach
Sylvester Croom gets another shot
at winning a bowl game. No Georgia
or Florida, either. |