Looking at all the East division teams’ schedules (divisions are gone next season), we were given the most difficult. IMO, it’s not even close. At this time I see one conference game where we can confidently say we will be favored (MSU). So unless we get some very effective transfer portal additions along the OL and DL and other positions of need then we need to prepare for another rough season in 2024. It’s still too early to start any concrete predictions so I will reserve those for after the O&B game.
And we shouldn’t even schedule that garbage. I’m all for the top 40 or so teams only playing each other. Surely tgat would help with marginal undefeated teams.
That's fine if they all are. But fsu will win 2 games next year and get a fast track into the playoffs. Why should we be the only ones playing this ridiculous schedule? Whoever set up this schedule should be fired, especially if it leads to Napier being fired too.
Yeah, I can live with a tough schedule; I get tired of the people who don't seem to understand that a better record against a weaker schedule is not necessarily proof of something greater being accomplished. It's one thing for people to say *I think SWAC had a better year than Alabama,* but it's another thing entirely for people to suggest that SWAC was screwed because they can't possibly comprehend how somebody might think Alabama had a better season (nevermind the loss of Travis). As long as the people that select the teams get this, that's really all the matters, but the people who don't understand can get annoying. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
I think the best route forward would be each conference using a 9 game conference schedule and then play one team from each conference who finished in an identical placing within their respective conferences. In this hypothetical situation, if we finished 5th in the SEC then we’d play Iowa, NC State and Baylor. So let’s say if UGA finished 1st then they’d play their 9 game SEC schedule and also have to play, say, Ohio State, FSU and Oklahoma State. It’s the only way in my mind. All the big time programs would be lining up to schedule Vanderbilt for every season if there weren’t any mechanism to force them to play a tougher schedule. It could help add more parity to college football. Anyone have any differing thoughts on more effective scheduling which eliminates group of 5 or FCS level cupcake games?
While some could call me wildly optimistic, this gives us a great chance to start strong next year... Hear me out... Home vs Miami Home vs Samford Home vs TAMU w/ a new coach Away vs Miss State also w/ a new coach... so we could be 3-1/4-0 going into the bye... then home vs UCF away vs Tenn home vs UK It's not unreasonable that we could be 6-1 or 5-2 here. Then we head into our 2nd bye and a murderer's row of a finish. I know everyone is down and wanting to "fire everyone" but IMO we are reacting to the end of the year. But looking at facts I see a team who 1) played 2 top 10 teams to the end in the last 2 games of the season. 2) was decimated by injuries on the OL- which was the weak link anyway. 3) had key injuries to its LBs core- which also was a wink link BEFORE the injury. So maybe the sky is not falling and we are not going 2-10 next year??
No other team's schedule is remotely close to the difficulty of ours. Our last five games are absolutely brutal and would be for any other team in the country that played it. Meanwhile, Tennessee has a four home game stretch of SEC games during the season. Looks to me like the conference is trying to make sure we never become relevant again.
Could easily lose to Miami, Texas AM and Miss State. This is a brutal schedule a lot can change though with the portal and it's the first game of the season those are always wild games.
I don't think it makes sense to treat the conferences equally. More conference games exaggerates the strength of schedule differences. I would even eliminate the SEC Championship Game as it is now a fairly useless event. Before the playoffs went to 12, I thought we should have mixed up the Division winners to have them face each other to create play-in game situations instead of conference championship games. This year we would have had something like this: SEC host (ATL): #1 Georgia vs. #8 Alabama B10 host (IND): #2 Michigan vs. #7 Texas P12 host (LV): #3 Washington vs. #6 Ohio State (wild card, sorry Iowa) ACC host (CLT): #4 SWAC vs. #5 Oregon Each of these would have been understood to be a play-in game and it serves to try to balance the disparities that exist within the conference championship games. Worst of the P5 conferences doesn't get to host event (but what about our money!?). I'm sure Texas and Michigan would have boo-hood about it; offer both of them a chance to trade out for an SEC team if they like. I like your idea for scheduling, generally, but I think you should pit the similarly ranked teams of conferences at opposite ends of the strength of schedule spectrum. Or you could pick ranked teams regardless of conference. For example, 5th in the AAC (Rice) is very similar to 12th in the PAC 12 (Stanford). We definitely need a schedule czar that could attempt to make things a little more even. None of these things are going to happen, but there are many, many better ways to do this for college football than what we currently have. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
I also like how we get UK later in the season (so they can't pull the play two crap teams and then give us their everything) and how we get LSU at home after they play Bama (dejection works in our favor) and UT right before they play Bama (looking ahead works in our favor).
Huh...its only hard because of the quality of the current process. If things were humming along, it would be challenging but doable...2024 doesnt seem doable.
Of course we COULD lose to anyone. Even Samford. But Miami was 7-5 last year- 3-5 within the ACC. Hardly a playoff team. We have them at home Getting TAMU and State early vs their new coaches is a good thing. I know most are wailing and moaning but I see an opportunity in this schedule. I just think we are OVERREACTING to the losses instead of looking at things in context. And frankly a little positive pixie dust is what we need right now to change the narrative and bring home our class.
