Power 5 Schools Not Playing an FCS Opponent in '19

[guffus]

You can admire those teams scheduling all you want, but maybe we can attribute their losing percentage to this type of scheduling. Maybe the toughest possible schedule isn't the smartest one. You really only need to play a couple top 20 teams and win at least 1. The B1G provides that opportunity almost every year. I don't think Iowa really needs to change much and most of the fans that think this way are still over reacting to Cowherds "fake ID" bullshit from 2015.

Well, the 2 teams that I singled out from the Big Ten that scheduled 11 P5 teams, NW and Purdue, both ended up beating Iowa last year. Would it had made a difference in Big Ten play if Iowa had played Missouri in non-conference instead of UNI? Could it have exposed some weaknesses in Iowa's game earlier in the season that could have been fixed by the time the conference games started?

For example, Iowa did not switch to its 4-2-5 base defense until after the late game collapse against Wisconsin. Maybe if the defense would have had that collapse earlier against a quality non-conference team, they would have had the problem fixed by the time they played Wisconsin.

Look, I know it's a stretch, and its debatable, and Iowa probably does not have the depth to play a tough schedule, but it did not seem to hurt NW or Purdue down the stretch.

 

[okeefe4prez]

IMO, Iowa's game at Iowa State is one of the Top 5 toughest non-conference games for a Big Ten team this season.

Whoa, pump the brakes, amigo. I don't think we have any substantive disagreement here. I didn't look at all schedules, but on a quick review it looked like the conference had 9 P5 games. I put Iowa State as "probably" middle of the pack, and when I ranked them, it was exactly 5th. So you and I agree, it is a top 5 toughest non-con game, at least as of now. Maybe you have it third, I have it fifth. Could easily end up being the best or second best non-con game for the conference, but it could be one of the worst. We won't know until the season gets going.

 

[Adam]

Well, the 2 teams that I singled out from the Big Ten that scheduled 11 P5 teams, NW and Purdue, both ended up beating Iowa last year. Would it had made a difference in Big Ten play if Iowa had played Missouri in non-conference instead of UNI? Could it have exposed some weaknesses in Iowa's game earlier in the season that could have been fixed by the time the conference games started?

For example, Iowa did not switch to its 4-2-5 base defense until after the late game collapse against Wisconsin. Maybe if the defense would have had that collapse earlier against a quality non-conference team, they would have had the problem fixed by the time they played Wisconsin.

Look, I know it's a stretch, and its debatable, and Iowa probably does not have the depth to play a tough schedule, but it did not seem to hurt NW or Purdue down the stretch.

The topic is debatable. I absolutely agree that it is a risk reward situation.

For Northwestern last year the risk of that "hard" schedule was losing to Duke and then losing to Akron the following week. Assuming NW doesn't play Duke before Akron and instead played a team that they were able to beat up on there is a decent chance they win the Akron game. That would have given them a 10 win regular season. Instead they finished with 8. Their schedule hurt them.

Purdue is a very similar story. First game was a conference game. Then they lose to Eastern Michigan and Mizzou right after to start off 0-3. I bet Purdue wins the B1G west had they not played Mizzou.

While both teams rebounded well that is not the norm. Iowa gave away games to both of them. Wisconsin was down by traditional standards. The B1G west dynamic uniquely allowed for them to salvage their seasons in conference. I don't think it is wise for middling programs to count on those results.

Also Iowa is not typically a team that starts firing on all cylinders right away. If we could do what the SEC does and schedule an OOC game for the 3rd or 2nd to last week then we could feel better about competing.

Playing good teams in week 1,2 & 3 has given us embarrassing results under Kirk. Why would any fan want to see more embarrassment?

 

[oldhawk12]

Incredibly misleading. The rest of the story is some of the schools play teams worse than your typical FCS matchup so increasing schedule strength isn’t accomplished after all. See iowa for instance. We actually play FCS schools (I have no issue with it as long as they are the caliber of UNI). But many Fbs schools we play are disasters. Our future schedules are littered with them just like the past and of course, all at home.

 

[wkeehawk]

Florida has scheduled home and aways with Texas and colorado on top of playing Florida State every year. Would enjoy Iowa playing in games like this once in a while. The MAC beat down isn’t fun at all.

 

[guffus]

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcspor...ping-prohibition-on-scheduling-fcs-opponents/

Welp, looks like USC is now considering scheduling FCS teams.

Officially there are only 3 FBS schools left that have never scheduled an FCS school.

USC, UCLA and Notre Dame.

Soon there may be only 2 left.