Michigan takes notes from $EC...

[wkeehawk]

The SEC plays 15 power 5 out of conference games and the big 10 plays 10 this year.

 

[ModebaSan]

If you really and truly believe that after watching kirk ferentz football..especially the last several seasons..that they belong anywhere near a playoff then you seriously need help. Seriously. I mean really. Teams with no offense don’t make the playoffs. Teams with no speed don’t make the playoffs. Teams with no skill positions don’t make the playoffs. Teams that play no one in the non conference don’t make the playoffs. Teams with centers calling the plays don’t make the playoffs. Teams with kirk ferentz coaching them don’t make the playoffs. Iowa doesn’t make the playoffs and b10 teams rarely make the playoffs. You dig?

I was referring to the B1G not just Iowa

 

[Fryowa]

Is this for GAMES PLAYED

Not sure to trust SAGARIN, but are these for GAMES PLAYED, OR ALL 12 GAMES? The reason I ask, is the BIG usually plays all 3 non-con games first, while the $EC will sprinkle them throughout season...so they still have many 'Towson State's' yet to play....

Well you can trust Sagarin’s ratings more than your gut, that’s for sure.

The ratings are for all 12 games and they are adjusted each week based on all opponents’ results.

If you look at previous years (in case you want to see ending SOS ranks), the SEC divisions traditionally have much tougher schedules overall than the B1G divisions. Sprinkling non-cons here or there makes no difference. The overall schedules are much tougher on average, and one could just as easily argue that the difficulty in playing conference games earlier in the season offsets any advantage to playing non-cons later in the schedule. If you’re going to say that’s not true, I need to see some data to support it.

Look, I hate the SEC as much as the next guy, but the fact remains that that conference is a WAY tougher place to play than the Big Ten. By a mile. Like it or not the football is much better in that league, and with the recruiting disparity it should be. To say they play weak schedules is just flat out false.

 

[guffus]

The SEC plays 15 power 5 out of conference games and the big 10 plays 10 this year.

So counting in-conference P5 games and ooc P5 games

SEC
14 × 8 + 15 = 127 total games
127 ÷ 14 = each team averages 9.1 P5 games

Big Ten
14 x 9 + 10 = 136

136 ÷ 14 = each team averages 9.7 P5 games.

 

[Fryowa]

Even if the SEC plays more non conference games, they still on average have tougher schedules.

What difference does it make on whether there are more “cupcakes” when the overall schedules are much tougher?

 

[THawk122]

It doesnt have to be a top P5 team, a lot of teams are available

But if we swap them out, for say, an Arkansas or something, it doesn't really gain us anything as far as sos. At least the last within the last couple years.

And really i was just poking fun at the other poster for wanting to schedule all mac schools so we could get to 10 wins

 

[zellchiro]

Even if the SEC plays more non conference games, they still on average have tougher schedules.

What difference does it make on whether there are more “cupcakes” when the overall schedules are much tougher?

The more P5 games you play the better chance you have to lose. Especially on the road. ACC and SEC play on average less than any other league. By eliminating one less P5 conference game you eliminate 7 losses for your league every year. This will tend to bring your league up and the strength of schedule will follow. Plus most teams in the SEC will never play a true road game out of conference. They play these neutral site games close to home where they can pack in 60k in the stands. There not stupid. Road P5 games are tough. Bama hasn't played a road P5 non conference game since 2011. The rest of the league is following suite.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Plus most teams in the SEC will never play a true road game out of conference. They play these neutral site games close to home where they can pack in 60k in the stands. There not stupid. Road P5 games are tough. Bama hasn't played a road P5 non conference game since 2011. The rest of the league is following suite.

Clemson rotates in a home and home with an SEC team every year, so they have played or will play all of Auburn, LSU, Georgia and A&M. All the schools that have in-state P5 non-SEC rivals play road games. At UGA at Georgia Tech, UK at Louisville, UF at FSU and/or Miami. The SEC has really good early season tie-ins that are basically the same as bowl games in Atlanta and Dallas. Iowa used to get invited to things like until we continually shat the bed so now we have shit like playing Northern Illinois at Soldier.