Hey All,
We now continue our look at the schedules of the Power Five conferences. Let's take a look at the Big XII and the SEC. We still miss you, Stu Nahan.
Big XII
The makeup of the Big XII remains unchanged for 2016.
Big XII: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
Top five non conference games in the Big XII
9/2- Kansas State at Stanford: This is the first meeting between these schools. A win over a Big XII contender helps Stanford nationally and for KSU an upset would be great. Never count out old surly HC Bill Snyder and Wildcats. However, the numbers don't help them here. Stanford hasn't lost a non conference home game since 2007 and KSU has lost seven straight to ranked foes.
9/10- Theee Ohio State at Oklahoma: I already wrote about this game in the previous blog, but this is one of those big, big, big games of the season. Will folks speak of this game and Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops as they do of Woody Hayes and Barry Switzer in their battle at The Horseshoe back in 1977. Only time will tell.
9/10- Arkansas at TCU: These two old Southwest Conference foes haven't met since 1991 where the Razorbacks walked away with a 22-21 win. Arkansas has been a real up and down team lately, but when they are up, watch out. Just ask LSU how it felt when the Hogs were rolling last year. TCU will be a strong club and needs a big home win to balance out their very weak non conference schedule.
9/10- Texas Tech at Arizona State: This is matchup of old Border Conference members. For Texas Tech it's a chance to play in a tough road environment against a quality Pac 12 foe. For ASU it's advanced scouting for their game later in the year with Washington State as both Tech and Wazzu both run the same Air-Raid Offense.
Bonus Border Conference Trivia: Texas Tech and Arizona State were members of the Border Conference form 1932-56 and never played each other. They've only face each other twice. The played in 1999 and in the 2013 Holiday Bowl. The series is tied at 1-1.
9/17- Texas at California: The last time the Longhorns visited Berkeley, they spanked the Golden Bears on their way to a national title back in 1969. For the Longhorns this game is huge as they need to establish a better California recruiting base and whipping a down Cal team will help with that effort. For the Golden Bears, a big home win would help the Bears get past the Jared Goff era.
Top five conference games in the Big XII
9/24- Oklahoma State at Baylor: This is where Baylor finds out how good they are. After three very weak non conference games, the Bears jump into Big XII play with all those questions surrounding the program after the scandal. For Okie State, a win over Baylor gives them a boost to the upper echelon of the league.
10/1- Oklahoma at TCU: The winner of this game has the inside track to the Big XII title and a College Football Playoff berth. Period.
10/8- Texas v. Oklahoma: Oklahoma will either be way up or way down after their previous week's game v. TCU. Texas made a statement last year at the Sooners expense and would love to do it again. The old Cotton Bowl will be rocking.
11/5- TCU at Baylor: By the time this game rolls around, folks will know if Baylor is still a threat to win the Big XII or if the scandal has taken its' toll on the team and downhill slide of the program has begun. If it is the latter, the Frogs will roll all over the Bears.
11/12- Iowa State at Kansas: Somebody will get a conference win here. No, seriously, I mean that. For Kansas a win would make their football fans, all several hundred of them, giddy. For Iowa State a win is expected, a loss would really invalidate whatever progress the Cyclones may have made under new HC Matt Campbell.
Big XII Scheduling Observations...
...1-0; That's what Kansas should be after opening up the season at home v. FCS also ran, Rhode Island. The much needed win would break a 15-game losing streak for the Jayhawks.
...'98-'38-Never; West Virginia's non conference slate features teams they haven't face since the last century and one they've never faced at all. WVU played Missouri in the 1998 Insight Bowl, hosted Youngstown State in 1938 and will play BYU for the first time ever this year.
...Austin in their rear view mirror; Texas has a four week stretch without a home game this year. The four weeks feature two road games, a neutral site game and a bye.
...Tough Triple; Texas Tech plays Oklahoma, TCU and Texas in three straight weeks.
...Power-Five-Less; Baylor doesn't face a team from a Power Five conference yet again this season in their non conference slate. That's six years in a row at least.
...Don't go low; Oklahoma is the only team in the Big XII that doesn't play an FCS school this year.
SEC
The makeup of the SEC remains unchanged for 2016.
SEC East: Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt
SEC West: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi. Mississippi State, and Texas A&M.
Top five non conference games in the SEC
9/3- USC v. Alabama at AT&T Stadium: This is a big game alright. For Bama and the SEC it's a rare match with a Pac 12 school. For Bama a win shows that the defending national champions are rolling like a machine. For the SEC, a win over the Pac 12 keeps the SEC in the top of the conference pecking order.
9/3- LSU v. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field: Yes, this is an actual non conference game from an SEC team that isn't being played in the south. Cheeseheads and Corn Dogs. What a matchup!
9/3- UCLA at Texas A&M: Can the 12th Man defeat Sports Illustrated cover boy Josh Rosen and the bRuins? If they do, it could be a big year in College Station.
9/5- Florida State v. Ole Miss at The Citrus Bowl: This is a huge huge huge game for the Rebels as a win would establish them as a true contender for the national title. A win for FSU gives them a quality victory over an SEC contender.
9/10- Arkansas at TCU: A win for the Razorbacks over their old Southwest Conference foe would vault the hogs into the national discussion.
Top five conference games in the SEC
9/17- Alabama at Ole Miss: Can the Rebels make it three in a row over the Crimson Tide? These Rebels can easily do this to Bama again. Remember, the Rebels lost a one point heart breaker in overtime to Arkansas to keep them out of the SEC title game last year.
9/24- Florida at Tennessee: This is the SEC opener for the Volunteers and if they want to live up to their preseason hype, they have to snap their 11-game losing streak to the Gators. Plenty of question marks exist about Florida's offense coming into this season, so the guys with the checkerboard end zones need to take advantage of it.
9/24- Georgia at Ole Miss: This game is huge for the culture at Georgia. Can the Bulldogs win a big road game? UGa new HC Kirby Smart will find out just how long his honeymoon in Athens will last after this game.
10/8- Alabama at Arkansas: Over the last two seasons, the Hogs have given the Tide all they can handle. Throw in the fact that this game comes the week before Bama heads to Tennessee and you can see how the environment is ripe for an upset here.
11/5- Alabama at LSU: Is this really that big of a game? If LSU doesn't develop a abetter passing game, it won't be. The Crimson Tide will just stack the box and make LSU's Leonard Fournette just and ordinary player again. Also, after surviving last year's attempted coup, LSU HC Les Miles has to win this game or he won't be in Baton Rouge in 2017.
SEC Scheduling Observations...
...Take 'em out early; In their non conference slates, the SEC has major games against power teams from the other four Power Five Conferences. If the SEC gets a clean sweep of those games, the SEC is solidified as the top conference and will most likely get two teams into the College Football Playoff.
...They have bottom feeders too; SEC folks who proclaim how strong their league is from top to bottom seem to forget that Vanderbilt and Kentucky are league members.
...No frequent flyer miles; The SEC plays just four road non conference games this year. Arkansas's date at TCU is the best of these games, while Mississippi State's game at BYU in October just seems odd.
...League foes in name only; Anybody else find it odd that Alabama and Kentucky, who have been members of the SEC since 1932, have only played each other 13 times in the last 45 years?
...Season on an early brink; The loser of the South Carolina-Vanderbilt game on 9/1 will have the stigma of being basically out of contention for the SEC East crown before labor day.
...Sometimes it don't apply; An old college football adage states that you always remember the games played in November. I don't find that ringing true for the SEC when their November slates are filled with the likes of Charleston-Southern, Austin Peay and Western Carolina.
...A digression with Carolina on my mind; How many Carolina's are there? I know of North Carolina, South Carolina, North Carolina State, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Western Carolina, And North Carolina A&T and I'm sure I've missed a few off the top of my head. How many Carolina's can two small states have?
...Old, old foes; Auburn and Georgia will play for the 120th time this year. The series stands 56-55-8 in Georgia's favor.
...Home cooking; Throwing out the neutral site games, nine SEC teams play four true road games, three play five true road games, and only Mississippi State and Vandy play six true road games.
...Home cooking- Part II; Auburn plays five straight home game to start the season. They don't hit the road until they face Mississippi State on 10/8.
Notes on the Southern Hemisphere...
Tonight's Hawaii-Cal game in Sydney is the third FBS level football game ever played in Australia. The first game was back on 12/7/1985 Where Wyoming beat UTEP on a 34-yard field goal by Andy Cottingham in the Australia Bowl At Melbourne's VFL Park. Then, in 1987 at Prince's Park, also in Melbourne, BYU knocked off Colorado State, 30-26 behind two TD passes and a TD run by Cougar QB Sean Covey.
Friday Night Lights...
In addition to Hawaii and Cal kicking off the college season, the high school season starts tonight in California. So tonight, while watching the college game, I just may have my front door cracked open so I can hear the band and the crowd from old San Pedro High. Go Pirates!
Until next time folks, remember that best time of the year is at hand and we are all lucky enough to spend a great amount of time following this great game with the funny bouncing ball.
-The Commissioner
