Out of Conference Schedules

[donovan]

Here is Boise State's OOC as it is so far for the next few years. Not much different in the next few years, but then seems to have a lot of PAC 12 schools. Nothing that is going to excite anyone on this board, though there are some good games scheduled. Those with the University of Washington and BYU will be well attended if Boise continues to win. I think this reflects a reasonable travel, distance wise, schedule. Most of the guarantees are cover expenses, e.g. the UW home and away is 350,000 each.

2011

Sept. 3 - vs. Georgia (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)

Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game

Sept. 17 - at Toledo

Sept. 24 - Tulsa

Oct. 1 - Nevada

Oct. 8 - at Fresno State



2012

Aug. 31 - at Michigan State

Sept. 15 - Miami (Ohio)

Sept. 22 - BYU

2013

Sept. 7 - at Washington

Sept. 21 - at BYU

2014

Sept. 4 - Ole Miss (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)

Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game

Sept. 27 - BYU

2015

Sept. 12 - at BYU

Sept. 19 - Washington

2016

Sept. 10 - Washington State

Sept. 24 - at Oregon State

2017

Sept. 9 - at Washington State

[RazorHawk]

Great seeing Georgia, Michigan State on the schedule. Kind of question the rationale in Miami OH though.

[donovan]

Great seeing Georgia, Michigan State on the schedule. Kind of question the rationale in Miami OH though.

It's Boise State, not Auburn, FSU or Arkansas. There is the misconception that Boise State thinks they are more than they are. I think the fans do as of late, I think the AD kind of does...but in the end, they are just moving along. The MWC turned out to be a bust....but frankly I think it is nationwide. Maybe the SEC will be the only conference of note...So I like the regionalism of their schedule, makes the most sense. Their budget for football was only about 7 million bucks....we are talking Idaho here, a state that has more millionaires per capita than other states, but seem to keep things in semi, quasi perspective.

[Derek]

I'm really looking forward to the Opener at the Dome. You won't get much of a game from Georgia though. It will be one of their 7-8 losses. But I will still enjoy it. Still plotting and scheming on tickets. I used to work at CFA HDQ for about a year and still keep in touch with many people. So I hope to run across some.

[Spence]

I see eight AQ conference teams in six years. More than most AQ conference teams in the same span.

[RazorHawk]

I see eight AQ conference teams in six years. More than most AQ conference teams in the same span.

However all AQ conference teams play 8 or 9 AQ conference teams every year.

Comparing OCC schedules only is meaningful, IMO, when you are comparing teams from conferences of similar strength.

Many MAC teams will play more AQ conference teams in their OCC, than will Big Ten or SEC teams. To me that means very little, if anything.

[billybud]

Oh Poo...

FSU 2008-2013...6 years...OOC

West Virginia, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USF, USF, Colorado, Colorado, BYU, BYU, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Nevada

[Spence]

Oh Poo...

FSU 2008-2013...6 years...OOC

West Virginia, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USF, USF, Colorado, Colorado, BYU, BYU, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Nevada

I see seven different teams.

[billybud]

So what if you see seven teams?? I see a 16 games with non AQ programs for FSU...You don't count Oklahoma the second time, West Virgina? Florida?

I see Boise with 8 GAMES...

So...let me say that Boise has 8 games...FSU doubles that in OOC....and really doesn't need to.

[billybud]

AND...Boise only has six separate TEAMS if yo9u are hung up on different teams.

[Spence]

Here is the deal with OOC schedules. They do not say one single thing about a teams strength. If you play the toughest and lose a couple you could be the best team --- or maybe you aren't. If you play the weakest schedule you could be the best team ---or maybe you aren't even in the top ten. No one knows and unless all the schools decide to play their peers in other conferences, based on how teams finished the previous year, you aren't going to ever no. A team could play three AQ teams in their OOC schedule and all the teams in their conference and if non of those teams are good, then they will not be a top five team, but they will be ranked in the top 5. People would all rank them in the top 5 because they don't know whether or not they are good.

All the back and forth about non conference schedules and who's is good and who's isn't is all a loud of crap because we generally don't know until after bowl season who is good - sometimes not even then. So either reform how we schedule non conference games or deal with the system as it is and that means dealing with some teams who get to play in games they don't deserve to be in. It also means dealing with some teams that are good not getting the credit they should because of their schedule.

The SOS argument is only legit if you have a system in place that can reasonably measure the strength of a team by measuring the strength of schedule.

[billybud]

The SOS argument is certainly legit....it is far easier to have a bunch of wins when playing a weak schedule...

Look at Miami of Ohio...MAC Champs with only one conference loss...but they lost to the three BCS teams that they played by an AVERAGE OF 33 POINTS.

Good team? Or a good team in context of their schedule?

[Spence]

The SOS argument is certainly legit....it is far easier to have a bunch of wins when playing a weak schedule...

Look at Miami of Ohio...MAC Champs with only one conference loss...but they lost to the three BCS teams that they played by an AVERAGE OF 33 POINTS.

Good team? Or a good team in context of their schedule?

I understand exactly what you are saying, but just because Miami of Ohio plays a weak schedule doesn't tell you if they are good or just good against their schedule. That is the problem with using SOS under the current system. I could be that M of O is good period or it could be (more likey) that they are just good against their schedule. If the point is to find the best team, then SOS will not give you that under the current system. You have to have a system that uses SOS to compare how good a team is nationally compared to their schedule and this system doesn't measure how good a team is nationally compared the rest of the teams in the country. Our system only compares how good a team is compared to their schedule and how strong or weak someones SOS ratings say they are - maybe they are right maybe they aren't, no one knows. At least not until they can compare SOS, with good information, against any schedule to create an accurate power ranking.

[billybud]

Oh..Miami of Ohio told me everything I needed to know about them (and the MAC). They are the big goldfish in their pond but get eaten by the Koi in the larger pond.

When you are dominant against non AQ teams and are absolutely whipped by every AQ team on your schedule...it says, LOUDLY, that there is a vast difference in degree of difficulty. In this case..it screams.

It is another case of Ball State syndrome (you can sub Hawaii syndrome if you desire). A lot of wins that mean little in the context of a national power ranking.

[Spence]

Oh..Miami of Ohio told me everything I needed to know about them (and the MAC). They are the big goldfish in their pond but get eaten by the Koi in the larger pond.

When you are dominant against non AQ teams and are absolutely whipped by every AQ team on your schedule...it says, LOUDLY, that there is a vast difference in degree of difficulty. In this case..it screams.

It is another case of Ball State syndrome (you can sub Hawaii syndrome if you desire). A lot of wins that mean little in the context of a national power ranking.

Again I'm not arguing that Miami of O is a good team, but what if they beat a good AQ team and finished a schedule that was weak. Are they good - are they good enough to be ranked #1. Without an accurate measure - and M of O isn't a good example, I know - we have no way of really knowing. That is a problem because not every non AQ team can not change it's conference on a whim.

I believe SOS should play a part. I also believe a 2 loss team can be in the championship game, even over a no loss AQ conference team. I just don't believe we have a way to measure power rankings well enough to do it that way.