Toughest ACC non-conference schedule: GT of course

[forensicbuzz]

Saban was once criticized for Alabama‘s ranking given that FSU had tanked that year.

“Can you really say Bama should be No. 1 given how bad FSU has turned out?”

Saban retorted, “They were No 1 when we scheduled them 5 years ago.”

This year, SEC has 7 teams in the Top 25. That’s a pretty good slate to have to play week in and week out. Same for the B1G.

But I’ll be sure to follow Youngstown State to see how OSU fares.

Right. And these 7 teams deserve to be ranked in the Top25? Right.

That’s the farce. It’s the never ending cycle of starting ranked so every loss is a “good loss” and “we beat each other up, so we don’t have to play anyone tough outside our conference” argument. It’s weak sauce that the SEC has been peddling for years. The media is drunk off that Kool-aid, seems others are too.

Being an SEC apologist on a GT board is not a good look.

Alabama didn’t schedule Texas 5 years ago. I think Texas was scheduled right after their 5-7 season.

That was true 20 years ago, it's not anymore.
SEC Significant OOC Games:
Fla – Utah & FSU
UGA – GT
UK – Louisville
Mizzu – K State
USC-E – Clemson,
Tenn - UVA
Vandy – Wake
Auburn – California
Alabama – Texas
Arkansas – BYU
LSU – FSU
MSU - Arizona
Ole Miss – GT
Texas A&M - Miami

I don’t have time for a deep dive, but there’s 4 rivalry games to start.

So, let’s start with the obvious…Ole Miss and uga vs. GT. Do you think that’s top of conference going against top of conference?

Louisville, Kansas State, UVa, Cal, BYU, Arizona, Miami. None of these teams were a top performer in their conference in the last 5 years.

FSU sucked when LSU scheduled them.

These games are the equivalent of tOSU scheduling Vandy or Clemson playing Missouri. I’m not impressed with the SEC OOC P5 opponents.

I’d like the showcase games at the beginning of the year to be a rematch of the semifinal games of the previous year’s playoff. Let’s see the big boys actually play some big boys during the season.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

FSU sucked when LSU scheduled them.

The games were scheduled in Feb 2020. FSU had just come off of a 6-7 season with a bowl loss and its second losing season since 1976. Granted they were three years departed from their stretch of seasons from 2010-2016 where they won 10 or more games in all but one of those seasons, but saying they sucked when LSU scheduled them is a tad hyperbolic.

 

[Vespidae]

Right. And these 7 teams deserve to be ranked in the Top25? Right.

That’s the farce. It’s the never ending cycle of starting ranked so every loss is a “good loss” and “we beat each other up, so we don’t have to play anyone tough outside our conference” argument. It’s weak sauce that the SEC has been peddling for years. The media is drunk off that Kool-aid, seems others are too.

Being an SEC apologist on a GT board is not a good look.

Alabama didn’t schedule Texas 5 years ago. I think Texas was scheduled right after their 5-7 season.

I don’t have time for a deep dive, but there’s 4 rivalry games to start.

So, let’s start with the obvious…Ole Miss and uga vs. GT. Do you think that’s top of conference going against top of conference?

Louisville, Kansas State, UVa, Cal, BYU, Arizona, Miami. None of these teams were a top performer in their conference in the last 5 years.

FSU sucked when LSU scheduled them.

These games are the equivalent of tOSU scheduling Vandy or Clemson playing Missouri. I’m not impressed with the SEC OOC P5 opponents.

I’d like the showcase games at the beginning of the year to be a rematch of the semifinal games of the previous year’s playoff. Let’s see the big boys actually play some big boys during the season.

I'm not an SEC apologist. I enjoy the product they put on the field.

Outside of the top 35, it's a dog's breakfast of bad teams. It seems important to you that the SEC be charged with playing worse bad teams than others. I disagree.

Have a cookie. You'll feel better.

 

[RonJohn]

I'm not an SEC apologist. I enjoy the product they put on the field.

Outside of the top 35, it's a dog's breakfast of bad teams. It seems important to you that the SEC be charged with playing worse bad teams than others. I disagree.

Have a cookie. You'll feel better.

I wish that the reasoning behind the SEC is better than everyone else would at least be consistent.

In 2008 WF beat Ole Miss, and the narrative was that Ole Miss was a bottom feeding SEC team, so it said nothing about the relative strength of ACC vs SEC. Later that year Ole Miss beat #4 UF, and it was said that it was proof that the SEC was super strong and deep. Nobody went back and said anything about the WF-Ole Miss game earlier in the year, it was still chalked up as a bottom feeder vs a halfway decent ACC team. The narratives are about whatever looks best for the SEC -- at that moment --. A few weeks later, the narrative can be the exact opposite of what it was as long as it make the SEC look the best -- at that moment --.

With respect to draft picks, I think having very good players in the SEC is more the reason that they have more drafted than the SEC being the best place to get drafted. NFL teams spend more money and resources scouting players than colleges do. They have a much smaller pool of players to look at, even when you include FCS and DII colleges. I believe it is much more likely that a player with the mensurables and the talent to be drafted will get drafted from an FCS school than it is that a marginal player who goes to an SEC team will be able to overcome their size/talent limitations and get drafted. Alabama doesn't get 10 players drafted because they develop better than anywhere else. (even though they do develop as well or better than anywhere else. They get 10 players drafted because they are able to get the best players to go to Alabama.

 

[Root4GT]

Right. And these 7 teams deserve to be ranked in the Top25? Right.

That’s the farce. It’s the never ending cycle of starting ranked so every loss is a “good loss” and “we beat each other up, so we don’t have to play anyone tough outside our conference” argument. It’s weak sauce that the SEC has been peddling for years. The media is drunk off that Kool-aid, seems others are too.

Being an SEC apologist on a GT board is not a good look.

Alabama didn’t schedule Texas 5 years ago. I think Texas was scheduled right after their 5-7 season.

I don’t have time for a deep dive, but there’s 4 rivalry games to start.

So, let’s start with the obvious…Ole Miss and uga vs. GT. Do you think that’s top of conference going against top of conference?

Louisville, Kansas State, UVa, Cal, BYU, Arizona, Miami. None of these teams were a top performer in their conference in the last 5 years.

FSU sucked when LSU scheduled them.

These games are the equivalent of tOSU scheduling Vandy or Clemson playing Missouri. I’m not impressed with the SEC OOC P5 opponents.

I’d like the showcase games at the beginning of the year to be a rematch of the semifinal games of the previous year’s playoff. Let’s see the big boys actually play some big boys during the season.

You clearly have SEC Disorder Syndrome.

The GT - Ole Miss series was scheduled well over a 15 years ago originally for 2017-18 but rescheduled a in 2015. GT was playing excellent football when the series was scheduled.

Texas - Bama was scheduled in 2018 when Texas was 10-4 under Herman who was 31-18 as their HC.

The FSU-LSU series was scheduled in Aug 2018. FSU was 77-18 in their prior 7 years.

Might want to check some facts before you spout off BS.

Until other conference teams beat SEC teams there is no reason to change the narrative. The BCS and CFP have shown the SEC to be the dominant conference by far. Fla, Auburn, LSU, Bama and UGA all have won NCs. That’s more teams then all other conferences combined. FSU, ISU and Clemson are the only non SEC TEAMS to win an NC during this era.

The truth hurts. We, GT and the ACC need to start winning our games if the narrative is to change. Don’t count on the ACC stepping up.

 

[Root4GT]

I wish that the reasoning behind the SEC is better than everyone else would at least be consistent.

In 2008 WF beat Ole Miss, and the narrative was that Ole Miss was a bottom feeding SEC team, so it said nothing about the relative strength of ACC vs SEC. Later that year Ole Miss beat #4 UF, and it was said that it was proof that the SEC was super strong and deep. Nobody went back and said anything about the WF-Ole Miss game earlier in the year, it was still chalked up as a bottom feeder vs a halfway decent ACC team. The narratives are about whatever looks best for the SEC -- at that moment --. A few weeks later, the narrative can be the exact opposite of what it was as long as it make the SEC look the best -- at that moment --.

With respect to draft picks, I think having very good players in the SEC is more the reason that they have more drafted than the SEC being the best place to get drafted. NFL teams spend more money and resources scouting players than colleges do. They have a much smaller pool of players to look at, even when you include FCS and DII colleges. I believe it is much more likely that a player with the mensurables and the talent to be drafted will get drafted from an FCS school than it is that a marginal player who goes to an SEC team will be able to overcome their size/talent limitations and get drafted. Alabama doesn't get 10 players drafted because they develop better than anywhere else. (even though they do develop as well or better than anywhere else. They get 10 players drafted because they are able to get the best players to go to Alabama.

Your argument is nonsensical. The SEC wins NCs like it’s their birth right. Until they start losing it is what it is. They get the most players drafted because they have the most NFL caliber players. Why, NFL caliber players want to go to colleges with track records of producing NFL players. That unfortunately is the SEC.

I don’t like it but it’s a fact they have been the best conference for about 15 years. .

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Saban was once criticized for Alabama‘s ranking given that FSU had tanked that year.

“Can you really say Bama should be No. 1 given how bad FSU has turned out?”

Saban retorted, “They were No 1 when we scheduled them 5 years ago.”

This year, SEC has 7 teams in the Top 25. That’s a pretty good slate to have to play week in and week out. Same for the B1G.

But I’ll be sure to follow Youngstown State to see how OSU fares.

But, once again, we established a long time ago on this site that the biggest boost to any team’s postseason hopes is being ranked high in the preseason polls. How many times did we see an SEC team ranked in the top ten preseason, lose an early game, and stay in the top ten because it was considered a “good loss?” The bias for the SEC, justified or not, and a tendency to play weak OOC, helps perpetuate the cycle.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Toughest and weakest nonconference schedules entering the 2023 college football season

Our bowls expert looks at the standout nonconference slates this year

www.cbssports.com

So the upshot is that the ACC consistently has the hardest schedules and tends to lead every year in away games. How does the SEC manage to play 75% of their difficult games at home? How do they even get the math to work out that way? I’m in awe.

 

[Vespidae]

So the upshot is that the ACC consistently has the hardest schedules and tends to lead every year in away games. How does the SEC manage to play 75% of their difficult games at home? How do they even get the math to work out that way? I’m in awe.

It stands to reason that if you are FCS or a weak FBS program, you will likely play tough opponents if only for the paycheck.

My contention is that the SEC schedules OOC pretty similar to others. OSU plays Western KY, Indiana and Youngstown State. Not exactly USC is it?

 

[Northeast Stinger]

So back to the original thread discussion. Tech is playing the most difficult schedule imaginable and will either rise to the occasion or have an understandable collapse. Tech may be able to control their destiny but, if past is prologue, they will not be able to control the narrative. Here’s hoping Tech not only plays better than predicted but that the ACC gives them an appropriate PR boost if they do, and sports writers move away from their pre-fab story lines and allow themselves to digest some new data.

 

[Root4GT]

So the upshot is that the ACC consistently has the hardest schedules and tends to lead every year in away games. How does the SEC manage to play 75% of their difficult games at home? How do they even get the math to work out that way? I’m in awe.

Good article. The detailed fact was the ACC has the most road games against P5 OOC teams is because of the five annual games against SEC Teams and the 6 games against ND. So 5 or 6 every year are road games against P5 teams regardless of any other game scheduled by ACC teams. Not rocket science here.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

If you want to know why the SEC gets a lot of credit in the narrative, look no further than recruiting. Routinely, SEC teams out-recruit every other conference, by a good margin. Now we can all agree that recruiting and football success are important to each other, and that while good recruiting does not guarantee success, poor recruiting almost always precludes it. Attached below is the chart with all teams in their current conference alignment and what that chart would look like with their future members in their conference. It's not a pretty picture for the ACC, but it's worse for the Big-XII.

	Current					Future
Year	SEC	B1G	ACC	PAC	Big XII	SEC	B1G	ACC	PAC	Big XII
2023​	10​	5​	3​	3​	3​	12​	7​	3​	0​	2​
2022​	10​	5​	4​	3​	2​	12​	7​	4​	0​	1​
2021​	9​	7​	4​	2​	2​	11​	9​	4​	0​	0​
2020​	9​	3​	4​	5​	3​	11​	6​	4​	1​	2​
2019​	11​	5​	2​	4​	2​	13​	8​	2​	1​	0​
2018​	8​	4​	5​	4​	3​	10​	8​	5​	0​	1​
2017​	9​	5​	3​	5​	2​	11​	9​	3​	1​	0​
2016​	10​	4​	3​	4​	3​	12​	6​	3​	1​	2​
2015​	12​	3​	2​	5​	2​	14​	6​	2​	1​	1​
2014​	10​	3​	3​	5​	3​	12​	6​	3​	1​	2​
2013​	11​	3​	4​	4​	2​	13​	7​	4​	0​	0​

 

[Northeast Stinger]

It stands to reason that if you are FCS or a weak FBS program, you will likely play tough opponents if only for the paycheck.

My contention is that the SEC schedules OOC pretty similar to others. OSU plays Western KY, Indiana and Youngstown State. Not exactly USC is it?

Yes, the article was clear that the B1G and the SEC both play the easy OOC game, with SEC barely eking out the lead in easy scheduling.

 

[forensicbuzz]

The games were scheduled in Feb 2020. FSU had just come off of a 6-7 season with a bowl loss and its second losing season since 1976. Granted they were three years departed from their stretch of seasons from 2010-2016 where they won 10 or more games in all but one of those seasons, but saying they sucked when LSU scheduled them is a tad hyperbolic.

They did in comparison to what they used to be and what they are now. That's the point. At the time of scheduling, they weren't a top of conference team even though they had name recognition.

 

[RonJohn]

Your argument is nonsensical. The SEC wins NCs like it’s their birth right. Until they start losing it is what it is. They get the most players drafted because they have the most NFL caliber players. Why, NFL caliber players want to go to colleges with track records of producing NFL players. That unfortunately is the SEC.

I don’t like it but it’s a fact they have been the best conference for about 15 years. .

Maybe you are simply upset that I said the SEC narrative changes frequently depending on what is best for the SEC, but you said exactly the same thing I said with respect to draft picks. Alabama doesn't have more draft picks simply because those players went to Alabama. Alabama gets more very good players, and they end up being drafted. NFL teams don't take mediocre players from Alabama just because it is Alabama.

The "best conference" for 15 years is hogwash. It is purely subjective, which is evidenced by the fact that the measurements used to quantify "best conference" changes. They usually have two or three very good teams, then the rest of the conference isn't that different from the rest of other conferences. LSU has very good years, and very mediocre years. Auburn has very good years and very mediocre years. Miss State has very good years and very bad years. Ole Miss has very good years and very bad years. Alabama is the only team that has been VERY good for the last 15 years throughout. The narrative definitely changes. Several years ago, the SEC won most of their bowl games, and it was touted as absolute proof that the SEC is the most dominate conference in the history of the world. The next year, the SEC only won 2 or three bowl games, and it was said that college teams don't pay attention to or really try in bowl games unless a championship is on the line. Which is it? Is a conference record in bowl games significant, or is it not. The SEC narrative says it is the end all, be all measure when they win, but then says it doesn't make any difference when they lose. The SEC crowd will always have some argument that the SEC is on par with the NFL, and all other college football is on par with high school football. That argument will change as soon as it points in a different direction.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I'm not an SEC apologist. I enjoy the product they put on the field.

Outside of the top 35, it's a dog's breakfast of bad teams. It seems important to you that the SEC be charged with playing worse bad teams than others. I disagree.

Have a cookie. You'll feel better.

Don't be condescending.

I simply believe the SEC has created and nurtured a narrative built on playing average to below-average P5 teams and touting their own dominance. They have good teams that have talented kids. It's probably the strongest conference. But it's not head-and-shoulders above all the other conferences like they want everyone to believe. They don't deserve to have 7 teams in the Top25. That creates an inherent bias before any of the games even get played.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

They did in comparison to what they used to be and what they are now. That's the point. At the time of scheduling, they weren't a top of conference team even though they had name recognition.

Your definition of "sucks" is 11-14 over two seasons after a major coaching change after finishing up a run of 85-23 the previous 8 years? I still think you're being a bit hyperbolic.

 

[forensicbuzz]

You clearly have SEC Disorder Syndrome.

The GT - Ole Miss series was scheduled well over a 15 years ago originally for 2017-18 but rescheduled a in 2015. GT was playing excellent football when the series was scheduled.

Texas - Bama was scheduled in 2018 when Texas was 10-4 under Herman who was 31-18 as their HC.

The FSU-LSU series was scheduled in Aug 2018. FSU was 77-18 in their prior 7 years.

Might want to check some facts before you spout off BS.

Until other conference teams beat SEC teams there is no reason to change the narrative. The BCS and CFP have shown the SEC to be the dominant conference by far. Fla, Auburn, LSU, Bama and UGA all have won NCs. That’s more teams then all other conferences combined. FSU, ISU and Clemson are the only non SEC TEAMS to win an NC during this era.

The truth hurts. We, GT and the ACC need to start winning our games if the narrative is to change. Don’t count on the ACC stepping up.

Nope. No syndrome here. Just tired of the same old narrative of people bowing down to the SEC as this almighty. They're not. Historically (read: past 20 years) they duck big games against top teams from other conferences. Take the rivalry games out of the equation because they're outliers. LSU is the only SEC team that does it regularly and some of the others do it occasionally. The facts don't lie. Do the research.

Until the top SEC teams start playing games against teams of their caliber in the other conferences, we'll continue to hear this same, tired narrative.

 

[Vespidae]

Don't be condescending.

I simply believe the SEC has created and nurtured a narrative built on playing average to below-average P5 teams and touting their own dominance. They have good teams that have talented kids. It's probably the strongest conference. But it's not head-and-shoulders above all the other conferences like they want everyone to believe. They don't deserve to have 7 teams in the Top25. That creates an inherent bias before any of the games even get played.

It’s not like the SEC picks themselves. More than 60 sports writers and broadcasters across the country cast their votes individually and disagree with you.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Your definition of "sucks" is 11-14 over two seasons after a major coaching change after finishing up a run of 85-23 the previous 8 years? I still think you're being a bit hyperbolic.

yeah, I think a team that goes .500 pretty much sucks. No hyperbole. Just my opinion. You're only as good as your last season. I stand by that with GT, as well. We've pretty much sucked too.