Hey All,
Here's another installment of my summer reading program. It's all part of the lead up to the 2012 season. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Over the next few weeks we'll take a look at scheduling among the FBS. This installment will cover the ACC and Big East conferences.
ACC
Five Big Ones- Non Conference
9/1 Clemson v. Auburn: This game is at the Georgia Dome and is the second game of the Chick-Fil-A Double Header Classic. This is the ACC's big chance to knockoff a good SEC team and give their league a leg up in the national debate. Clemson won last year at home, 38-24. However, the Tigers haven't won back-to-back games over Auburn since 1950 and 1951. Back then Auburn was still known as the Alabama Polytechinic School.
9/8 Miami at Kansas State: This game is the second of a season opening back-to-back where the 'Canes will play a league game at Boston College then take a trip to the Little Apple that is Manhattan, Kansas. Oh, last year's meeting between these two squads went down to the wire. This one could too.
9/22 Duke at Stanford: This is a big game? For the Blue Devils and the ACC it sure is. A win here would go a long way towards cooling the hot seat under HC David Cutcliffe. Also, the ACC would love to a add a Pac 12 scalp to its' wall in 2012. This game oozes shades of 1971, where the Blue Devils beat a Stanford team coming off having their QB drafted #1 overall.
9/22 Virginia at TCU: This is the Cavaliers big chance to prove that last year's 8-5 record was no fluke. The Wahoos will be tested on defense in this one. The unit has only five returning starters with only one of those being on the defensive line.
11/24 Florida at Florida State: If FSU is as good as everyone thinks they will be, this rivalry matchup will be the Seminoles last roadblock en route to a BCS Bowl. FSU has beaten Florida the last two years by a combined score of 52-14.
Five Big Ones- Conference
9/1 Miami at Boston College: Opening up with a conference game is a nightmare for both squads. 'Canes HC Al Golden will have his hands full again with a BC squad that won last year's tilt, 24-17. The game was not nearly as close as the score indicated. BC tailed after one quarter, 14-7. Then the Eagles held Miami to cosmetic field goal over the final 45 minutes of play.
9/3 Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech: Let me say this again, opening up with a conference game is a nightmare for both squads. To know that you can be in an 0-1 league hole just after Labor Day is frightening. This game is a on Monday night at Blacksburg, Va. That means a hostile crowd awaits the Yellow Jackets. However, the Hokies have to face a triple option team right off the bat. The Ramblin' Wreck is just 1-4 v. the Hokies in the last five years.
9/22 Clemson at Florida State: This game comes early in the year. A loss here by the Tigers and their annual collapse could begin earlier than normal. An FSU win will have the east coast writers pumping up FSU for several weeks. The home team in this series is 9-1 over the last ten meetings.
10/20 Florida State at Miami: Yes, this doesn't have the allure of those 1990's tilts, but the 'Canes could be just dangerous enough to ruin FSU's big plans for 2012. 10 of the last 11 games between these two has been decided by seven points or less.
11/8 Florida State at Virginia Tech: VaTEch needs this game. However, the Seminoles hold almost all the cards going into this one. Even though this game is on a Thursday night on the road, the 'Noles will be coming off a bye and own a 13-2 record v. the Hokies.
ACC Scheduling Odds & Ends
An FCS double dip; Florida State will open up with two FCS schools this season. West Virginia backed out of a game with the 'Noles after jumping to the Big XII. So, FSU opens up with four games in a row at home and the first two are against Murray State and Savannah State.
Two double-doubles; Clemson only plays four real road games this year and those four come in two sets of two games each. On 9/22 and 9/29 the Tigers go to Florida State and Boston College. Then they hit the road again on 10/25 and 11/3 for dates at Wake Forest and Duke.
Someone had to do it; North Carolina State drew the short straw and will host that great power of college football, The Citadel on 9/22.
A tough trio; Boston College is the only school in the ACC that will play three straight road games. The Eagles will travel to Army, Florida State, and Georgia Tech in the first three weeks of October.
A perfect symmetry; Maryland's schedule is a model in balance. The Terrapins play their four conference games first, have a bye, then play eight straight conference games to finish the season. They also play six home games and six away games. The home and away split is in six perfect couplets: H/A H/A H/A H/A H/A H/A.
A first date; North Carolina will play it's very first WAC opponent ever this year when they host Idaho on 9/29. I don't what shape Idaho will be in when they show up to Chapel Hill, though. The Vandals will have already made a road trip to LSU on 9/15.
Halfway in the door; Virginia Tech will play at Pittsburgh on 9/15. The two were rivals in the Big East, and they will be again in 2013 in the ACC.
Shades of a tier two bowl; BYU plays at Georgia Tech on 10/27. Sounds like an old Sun Bowl matchup to me. All I need is for Verne Lundquist to tell me how nice it is in El Paso this time of year.
A tough trio redux; Virginia will take on Penn State, Georgia Tech, and TCU in three straight weeks. The latter two on the road.
Big East
Five Big Ones- Non Conference
9/2 Kentucky at Louisville: This battle for the commonwealth is an extension of the great hoops rivalry between the two schools. As for the football side of things, this series is only 24 games old. There was a gap in the rivalry from 1925-1993. The Wildcats had won four straight before Louisville broke through for a 24-17 win last year.
9/8 USC v. Syracuse: All the 'Cuse alumni in New York will be there for this game at still new MetLife Stadium. It will most likely be a hot and muggy day for a USC team that will be playing after a 3,000 mile trip at 12:30 PDT. This game is a rematch of the 1990 Kickoff Classic where USC whipped the Orange, 34-16, in the old Meadowlands.
9/15 Connecticut at Maryland: Games with a revenge theme can be ugly and fun to watch. This could be just that. Beating current Maryland HC Randy Edsall will be foremost among the minds of UConn's players. Afterall, Edsall was the man who as HC of the Huskies took them from the FCS to the FBS ranks.
9/22 Rutgers at Arkansas: This game seems a little more winnable for Rutgers now that Bob "Harley" Petrino is not in charge of the Hogs. Regardless of who's in charge for the Hogs, this game will come down to Big Offense v. Big Defense. Arkansas can light up the scoreboard, while Rutgers has the best returning defense in the Big East.
9/29 Florida State at South Florida: If South Florida wants to claim its' place as big time program in the state, Big East and the nation, they need to win this game. A win crushes FSU's title hopes, and makes USF a national story. USF won the last time they met in 2009, but in 2012 the stakes will be higher.
Five Big Ones- Conference
9/29 Cincinnati v. Virginia Tech: This game will be at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The Bearcats are on the edge of being a contender this year in the Big East and an upset of the Hokies would give them great momentum for the rest of their season.
10/5 Pittsburgh at Syracuse: This is the final Big East meeting for this pair before they bolt for the ACC in 2013. Despite the lawsuits against both schools by the league, they will surely be gone. That will mean that of the original Eight Big East schools, only two will be left by 2013.
10/6 South Florida at Temple: This game is Temple's welcome back to a BCS conference. The Owls have made this their homecoming game. It's the first meeting ever between the two schools as Temple had already been kicked out of the Big East before USF joined.
10/20 South Florida at Louisville: USF owns a 4-3 lead in this series since they joined the league. This could easily be the game that determines the Big East champion. Average margin of victory in the last four game of this series is seven points, with the Cardinals winning by 10 last year at USF.
11/29 Louisville at Rutgers: This Friday night ESPN showcase could be Louisville's coronation as the 2012 Big East champs. However, it could also end up being a lame game that will have running out to see a high school playoff game.
Big East Scheduling Odds & Ends
Quick turnaround; After taking a near 3,000 mile road trip to Reno to take on the Nevada Wolfpack on 9/8, South Florida has just four days to prepare for their league opener with Rutgers the next Thursday, in Tampa.
Been awhile; Rutgers game at Arkansas this year is the Scarlet Knights' first with an SEC team since they hosted and beat Kentucky, 24-8, in 1990.
Cupcakes for the Panthers; Pitt will face two FCS schools as Youngstown State and Gardner-Webb both will make visits to the Steel City.
Reunited; When Connecticut hosts Massachusetts on 8/30, it will be the 72nd meeting between the two schools and their first in the series since 1999. That prior meeting was UConn's last FCS game. This game will mark the Minutemen's first game on the FBS level.
Checking out the Big Ten; Syracuse is doing a small homage to Notre Dame by taking on Northwestern and Minnesota this year.
A BCS battle again; With Temple back in the Big East this season, the Owls matchup with Penn State will be between two BCS conference schools. It hasn't been this way since 2003.
Until next time folks, remember that the Big East may lose its' automatic qualifier status pretty soon.
-The Commissioner
Here's another installment of my summer reading program. It's all part of the lead up to the 2012 season. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Over the next few weeks we'll take a look at scheduling among the FBS. This installment will cover the ACC and Big East conferences.
ACC
Five Big Ones- Non Conference
9/1 Clemson v. Auburn: This game is at the Georgia Dome and is the second game of the Chick-Fil-A Double Header Classic. This is the ACC's big chance to knockoff a good SEC team and give their league a leg up in the national debate. Clemson won last year at home, 38-24. However, the Tigers haven't won back-to-back games over Auburn since 1950 and 1951. Back then Auburn was still known as the Alabama Polytechinic School.
9/8 Miami at Kansas State: This game is the second of a season opening back-to-back where the 'Canes will play a league game at Boston College then take a trip to the Little Apple that is Manhattan, Kansas. Oh, last year's meeting between these two squads went down to the wire. This one could too.
9/22 Duke at Stanford: This is a big game? For the Blue Devils and the ACC it sure is. A win here would go a long way towards cooling the hot seat under HC David Cutcliffe. Also, the ACC would love to a add a Pac 12 scalp to its' wall in 2012. This game oozes shades of 1971, where the Blue Devils beat a Stanford team coming off having their QB drafted #1 overall.
9/22 Virginia at TCU: This is the Cavaliers big chance to prove that last year's 8-5 record was no fluke. The Wahoos will be tested on defense in this one. The unit has only five returning starters with only one of those being on the defensive line.
11/24 Florida at Florida State: If FSU is as good as everyone thinks they will be, this rivalry matchup will be the Seminoles last roadblock en route to a BCS Bowl. FSU has beaten Florida the last two years by a combined score of 52-14.
Five Big Ones- Conference
9/1 Miami at Boston College: Opening up with a conference game is a nightmare for both squads. 'Canes HC Al Golden will have his hands full again with a BC squad that won last year's tilt, 24-17. The game was not nearly as close as the score indicated. BC tailed after one quarter, 14-7. Then the Eagles held Miami to cosmetic field goal over the final 45 minutes of play.
9/3 Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech: Let me say this again, opening up with a conference game is a nightmare for both squads. To know that you can be in an 0-1 league hole just after Labor Day is frightening. This game is a on Monday night at Blacksburg, Va. That means a hostile crowd awaits the Yellow Jackets. However, the Hokies have to face a triple option team right off the bat. The Ramblin' Wreck is just 1-4 v. the Hokies in the last five years.
9/22 Clemson at Florida State: This game comes early in the year. A loss here by the Tigers and their annual collapse could begin earlier than normal. An FSU win will have the east coast writers pumping up FSU for several weeks. The home team in this series is 9-1 over the last ten meetings.
10/20 Florida State at Miami: Yes, this doesn't have the allure of those 1990's tilts, but the 'Canes could be just dangerous enough to ruin FSU's big plans for 2012. 10 of the last 11 games between these two has been decided by seven points or less.
11/8 Florida State at Virginia Tech: VaTEch needs this game. However, the Seminoles hold almost all the cards going into this one. Even though this game is on a Thursday night on the road, the 'Noles will be coming off a bye and own a 13-2 record v. the Hokies.
ACC Scheduling Odds & Ends
An FCS double dip; Florida State will open up with two FCS schools this season. West Virginia backed out of a game with the 'Noles after jumping to the Big XII. So, FSU opens up with four games in a row at home and the first two are against Murray State and Savannah State.
Two double-doubles; Clemson only plays four real road games this year and those four come in two sets of two games each. On 9/22 and 9/29 the Tigers go to Florida State and Boston College. Then they hit the road again on 10/25 and 11/3 for dates at Wake Forest and Duke.
Someone had to do it; North Carolina State drew the short straw and will host that great power of college football, The Citadel on 9/22.
A tough trio; Boston College is the only school in the ACC that will play three straight road games. The Eagles will travel to Army, Florida State, and Georgia Tech in the first three weeks of October.
A perfect symmetry; Maryland's schedule is a model in balance. The Terrapins play their four conference games first, have a bye, then play eight straight conference games to finish the season. They also play six home games and six away games. The home and away split is in six perfect couplets: H/A H/A H/A H/A H/A H/A.
A first date; North Carolina will play it's very first WAC opponent ever this year when they host Idaho on 9/29. I don't what shape Idaho will be in when they show up to Chapel Hill, though. The Vandals will have already made a road trip to LSU on 9/15.
Halfway in the door; Virginia Tech will play at Pittsburgh on 9/15. The two were rivals in the Big East, and they will be again in 2013 in the ACC.
Shades of a tier two bowl; BYU plays at Georgia Tech on 10/27. Sounds like an old Sun Bowl matchup to me. All I need is for Verne Lundquist to tell me how nice it is in El Paso this time of year.
A tough trio redux; Virginia will take on Penn State, Georgia Tech, and TCU in three straight weeks. The latter two on the road.
Big East
Five Big Ones- Non Conference
9/2 Kentucky at Louisville: This battle for the commonwealth is an extension of the great hoops rivalry between the two schools. As for the football side of things, this series is only 24 games old. There was a gap in the rivalry from 1925-1993. The Wildcats had won four straight before Louisville broke through for a 24-17 win last year.
9/8 USC v. Syracuse: All the 'Cuse alumni in New York will be there for this game at still new MetLife Stadium. It will most likely be a hot and muggy day for a USC team that will be playing after a 3,000 mile trip at 12:30 PDT. This game is a rematch of the 1990 Kickoff Classic where USC whipped the Orange, 34-16, in the old Meadowlands.
9/15 Connecticut at Maryland: Games with a revenge theme can be ugly and fun to watch. This could be just that. Beating current Maryland HC Randy Edsall will be foremost among the minds of UConn's players. Afterall, Edsall was the man who as HC of the Huskies took them from the FCS to the FBS ranks.
9/22 Rutgers at Arkansas: This game seems a little more winnable for Rutgers now that Bob "Harley" Petrino is not in charge of the Hogs. Regardless of who's in charge for the Hogs, this game will come down to Big Offense v. Big Defense. Arkansas can light up the scoreboard, while Rutgers has the best returning defense in the Big East.
9/29 Florida State at South Florida: If South Florida wants to claim its' place as big time program in the state, Big East and the nation, they need to win this game. A win crushes FSU's title hopes, and makes USF a national story. USF won the last time they met in 2009, but in 2012 the stakes will be higher.
Five Big Ones- Conference
9/29 Cincinnati v. Virginia Tech: This game will be at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The Bearcats are on the edge of being a contender this year in the Big East and an upset of the Hokies would give them great momentum for the rest of their season.
10/5 Pittsburgh at Syracuse: This is the final Big East meeting for this pair before they bolt for the ACC in 2013. Despite the lawsuits against both schools by the league, they will surely be gone. That will mean that of the original Eight Big East schools, only two will be left by 2013.
10/6 South Florida at Temple: This game is Temple's welcome back to a BCS conference. The Owls have made this their homecoming game. It's the first meeting ever between the two schools as Temple had already been kicked out of the Big East before USF joined.
10/20 South Florida at Louisville: USF owns a 4-3 lead in this series since they joined the league. This could easily be the game that determines the Big East champion. Average margin of victory in the last four game of this series is seven points, with the Cardinals winning by 10 last year at USF.
11/29 Louisville at Rutgers: This Friday night ESPN showcase could be Louisville's coronation as the 2012 Big East champs. However, it could also end up being a lame game that will have running out to see a high school playoff game.
Big East Scheduling Odds & Ends
Quick turnaround; After taking a near 3,000 mile road trip to Reno to take on the Nevada Wolfpack on 9/8, South Florida has just four days to prepare for their league opener with Rutgers the next Thursday, in Tampa.
Been awhile; Rutgers game at Arkansas this year is the Scarlet Knights' first with an SEC team since they hosted and beat Kentucky, 24-8, in 1990.
Cupcakes for the Panthers; Pitt will face two FCS schools as Youngstown State and Gardner-Webb both will make visits to the Steel City.
Reunited; When Connecticut hosts Massachusetts on 8/30, it will be the 72nd meeting between the two schools and their first in the series since 1999. That prior meeting was UConn's last FCS game. This game will mark the Minutemen's first game on the FBS level.
Checking out the Big Ten; Syracuse is doing a small homage to Notre Dame by taking on Northwestern and Minnesota this year.
A BCS battle again; With Temple back in the Big East this season, the Owls matchup with Penn State will be between two BCS conference schools. It hasn't been this way since 2003.
Until next time folks, remember that the Big East may lose its' automatic qualifier status pretty soon.
-The Commissioner
