If you want respect, schedule good teams, Part 2 of 4

2/4.

Everyone argues that strength of schedule should mean everything in college football, until someone calls their team out on scheduling Directional Community College...

As promised, here's the top five toughest schedules BCS bowl teams have played from 2003 through 2007. In case you're already thinking of your team's "really, really tough [insert year here] slate," here's my criteria for selection:

-I-AA schools! If a team played anyone outside I-A, they're automatically out. A team should never be rewarded for playing those games. Frankly, I'd rather the NCAA force teams to take a bye that week instead of paying a couple hundred grand for a win. I realize that Florida International might get beaten nine times out of ten versus Appalachian State, but it doesn't matter. ASU is in I-AA. If they want to be considered on the same level as I-AA, then apply for that level and move up. If you want proof of my convictions, I would have left off Penn State's 2006 schedule in a heart beat if they made the BCS. Why? Youngstown State. If Penn State makes it to the BCS in 2008, they're not making the list either. Why? Coastal Carolina. If you want respect, play teams from your own division.

-Opponent records, looking back. Was a team good at the beginning of the season, only to implode and prove to be a bad team? Look at Ohio State's win versus Washington in 2007. The Huskies were coming off a victory over Boise State, 2-0 and a star quarterback in Jake Locker. Ohio State beat them handily, and everyone was praising the Buckeyes. Washington turned out to be a bad team, at 4-8. And what about Boise State, which lost in week to to Washington? That loss didn't look so bad when Washington was 2-0, but now that's considered a real bad loss.

-Opponent conference affiliations. OK, I know I'm one of the first to argue that the SEC is not the juggernaught its fans want to think it is, but it's still one of the top conferences each season. That being said, if a team like Notre Dame in 2005 convincingly defeats Tennessee, even thought he Vols finished 5-6, it still counts more that beating a 5-6 ACC or Pac-10 team. (By the way, that Vols team beat LSU in Baton Rouge) Beating a mid-level Big Ten or SEC team is much better than beating the Sun Belt or MAC champions.

So here's what I came up with. Debate all you want, but you're not going to be able to convince me your team's schedule was harder in the last five years. THIS IS ALL IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER!

Just missed the cut. Close, but not tough enough...

West Virginia's 2007 schedule was tougher than most think. Mississippi State proved to be a worthy opponent to at least eight teams, and East Carolina came on strong. Oklahoma, regardless of what happened in the bowl, was still a powerfull team in 2007:

I think Texas' 2005 slate was bolstered mostly due to the night game at Ohio State. If the Longhorns had played one more tough road game, or at least one more top-15 team, this schedule would have made the top five:

Sure, Miami played a lot of really good teams in 2003, but it also played in the Big East and a game against a pathetic ECU team. There were tons of somewhat tough games, but none that particularly stood out:

Ohio State put on a good show in 2006 until getting pantsed in the championship game, but that didn't take away from the strength of their schedule that season. Playing a night game away versus the defending national champ will always gain you brownie points, but too many teams on this schedule turned out to be mediocre:

I know what you're thinking, "How did Notre Dame even get consideration in the first place?" Well, I hate to burst your bubble. The Irish's schedule in 2005 wasn't out of this world, but it definately wasn't as easy as you thought. Just having USC on there brought it out of the depths, and playing a bunch of bowl teams gave it the edge over many others:


Now for The Top Five Toughest Schedules Played by BCS Bowl Teams From 2003-2007...

I bet you looked down before finishing this, noticed Michigan, and though "Yeah, right." Hold on there cap'n. Playing in Autzen Stadium has been the death of many great teams, and matchups against Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State and USC far outweigh the games against Indiana and Illinois. Add Purdue to that, and you have five ranked teams:

Why do you think it was such a big deal when West Virginia beat Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl? This is why. The Bulldogs faced only six bowl teams in the regular season, but three other teams were one win away from bowl eligibility. LSU was probably one of the top two teams in the nation, but no one knew it. I hate to admit it, but getting throught teh SEC is really hard to do:

Scream all you want about Oklahoma's struggles in the Fiesta Bowl lately, but the 2006 schedule was much harder than most thought at the time. Eight bowl teams, and a Washington team one win from eligibility, sets this slate a notch higher than it could be. Plus, losing to Boise State that year wasn't all that bad, even if the Sooners should have won. The two BCS OOC games did it for me:

Here's my top underrated schedule on this list. Ohio State played two bowl-eligible BCS teams OOC, and a ranked, MAC champion Bowling Green squad. Going up against ten bowl eligible teams--five ranked--isn't something you run into every day. I wasn't totally convinced with this schedule, until realizing that the Buckeyes didn't really get a break outside of the Indiana game:

Remember, this is in no particular order. So you SEC fans don't go thinking that I put LSU here because I think they had the hardest schedule since 2003. But if you want to find a great schedule, look at LSU's 2006 docket. I really think that the 2006 Tigers were better than the rankings indicated. I'd like to see your team go through five ranked SEC teams in one year, including the eventual national champ, Florida. Tulane and Fresno St. turned out to be quite cakie, but the rest of the teams more than made up for it:

So that's it. Sorry it took so long to get this up, but hey, I'm not getting paid to do this. I don't know yet when I'll have Schedules, Part 3 up, but I'll keep you updated as to its progress.