Image: There is a rumor the "I'm Georgia" 1. Auburn
Our Take: the home schedule is typically powder puff (Missy State, Vandy, Ole Miss, plus Bama), and but for the Kansas State game the non-conference schedule is vintage Auburn (South Florida, New Mexico State, Tennessee Tech). The road schedule is killer: Swamp, Arkansas, LSU, and Georgia. Eight games in their home state isn't too bad.
2. South Carolina
Our Take: Like Auburn, the home schedule has one real game (Florida, preceded by Missy State, Kentucky, and Vandy). The non-conference is not particularly impressive, even with Clem(p)son and home and at UNC (Louisiana-Lafayette?, S.C. State? puh-leeze). Like Allbarn, the road schedule is a killer: Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas.
3. Tennessee
Our Take: Decent home schedule: UGA, South Carolina, Arkansas & Vandy. Non-conference is not too bad, except for a rough road game at California (Southern Miss, Ark. St., and Louisiana-Lafayette). Road games are Florida, Missy State, Bama & Kentucky. All things considered, this isn't too bad a schedule. I don't think it is 3rd toughest.
4. Florida
Our Take: Tennesse and Auburn at home, plus Vandy. Road games at Ole Miss, LSU, Kentucky and South Carolina. Other than Florida State, non-conference is a parade of lightweights: Western Kentucky, Troy, and Florida Atlantic. There's no way this is a tougher schedule than UGA.
5. Georgia
Our Take: Oklahoma State to start this season is a tough one [only Auburn (KSU) and Tennessee (Cal) can boast real season opening games], followed by a tough one against South Carolina. Auburn later in the season will also be a test, especially with their road field advantage. Other non-conference games are Western Carolina, Troy, and of course, Tech dragging down our strength of schedule to end the season. The road schedule is a bear: Bama, Tennessee, a breather at Vandy, then our annual bed-sh*tting in Jax.
We really think the Dawgs have at least the 3rd toughest schedule in the country. I'd say that we have a tougher schedule than South Carolina, but they have to play us and we have to play them, so they get the nod for getting the tougher draw.
Dawgnoxious
13 comments:
I think Tony's off on his list. I don't see UGA's scheduling being any lower than 3rd on that list, and more likely 2nd.
But sometimes schedules look differently after a season has been played. My guess is that OK State, Alabama, and GT will determine the true strength of this schedule. If OKSU has the kind of season that Big 12 media and fans think they are going to have (most of them are predicting them to beat us, and if GT actually does improve in the absense of Ball, then this will probably be the toughest schedule in the SEC this year.
Frankly, none of those schedules looks too terribly imposing. When we're talking about lower-tier Big 12 teams being the highlight of an OOC schedule, and a neutral site game v. Florida being the toughest game...this is easily manageable.
Uga's is probably one of the toughest 3 in the SEC, but that's not saying much this year.
ok anon 10:35, I just finished reading how the SEC has 5 of the 10 toughest schedules in the country this year accoarding to espn.com, so what again is your point? There is no way on earth any reasonable person would consider this merely a "managable schedule" Your either a BIg 10 HOMER or an idiot (arn't they one in the same) to try and belittle a schedule that includes 9 bowl teams from last year and non conference schedule that includes two teams as tough as GT and OkSU. There is a great possiblity we might be the underdog in both of those games. Seriously, maybe Washington,FSU, and USC, and a couple others have a better OCC schedule. And who is putting OkSU as a lower tier team? Everything I've read or heard about them has been about how they are due for a break out year, and they were pretty good last year. What exactly constitutes an imposing schedule. ??? To have one of the best schedules in the SEC this year says alot.
other than Arkansas, the SEC has done as good or better of a job than most conferences of scheduling quality games out of league.
And ARK just got finished playing back to back series with USC and Texas. So, it's not like they're completely without merit when it comes to scheduling.
My bad, it wasn't espn.com but here is the list i was refering to...
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=681852
dsoule
for the record, Tony Barnhart is an idiot. and isnt it somewhat suspicious when four of the teams are SEC east and the only west team on his list of five is auburn, a school very close to... wait for it... atlanta! where he writes his bullshit! hooray. maybe his article is a little tainted, as if he is writing what he thinks his stupid readers want to hear. by the way, has anyone glanced at LSU's schedule? how can you justify not putting them on the list.
Let's get something straight - there is no way on earth that Oklahoma State will be favored over us and they ARE a "lower tier" Big 12 team. Once again this year, they are generally predicted to be 4th in the Big 12 South.
Last year they beat the following teams - Missouri State, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Kansas, Baylor and Nebraska during the regular season. Their only decent win was by 12 at home over Nebraska. Then, they beat a coachless 6-6 Bama team(whose 6 victims were a combined 23 wins and 51 losses) by a FG in the Independence Bowl.
Don't lump South Florida in w/ NMSU and T-Tech when reviewing AU's SOS, please. They crushed Louisville two years ago and beat in Morgantown last year the same West Virginia team your Dawgs, ahem, had some difficulties with. I'll admit the intent at the time was probably to schedule another middle-to-low-impact BCS team ,but that's not what USF is now.
Jerry Hinnen is a jackass and a douchebag. South Florida didn't have a football team last year. 2007 will be the first year the school has had a football team. BTW, I'm still fuming that AU scheduled The Citadel in 2004 rather than a real team. As a result Auburn gets locked out of the NC game. Proof once again that Jerry Hinnen is a jackass and a douchebag.
Bob - South Florida has had a football team for 10+ years.
They are based in Tampa. I've been there and seen it.
Although, the WVU team that lost to USF wasn't the same team that beat UGA. It was the same team that beat GT.
Paul, you're right that WVU's win over the Dawgs and loss to USF happened in different seasons. My point (and maybe I should have been clearer) was that the principals--Slaton, White, the o-line, coaches, etc.--were the same. I don't think WVU changed much between the Sugar Bowl and last year's team. But it's debatable, obviously. Just one douchebag's opinion.
Funny how WVU fans thought it was preposterous for UGA fans to suggest that their team was overconfident at the beginning of the Sugar Bowl in Atlanta..despite the fact that UGA outscored WVU 35-10 after the first 20 minutes.
Yet WVU fans were using the exact same logic as UGA fans were when USF whipped them in Morgantown.
I realize I'm late to the party, but figured you might be interested to see my critique of ranking strength of schedule based on the similarity of Alabama & Florida's schedules this year. Read here.
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