Ranking B1G teams with the toughest 2024 football schedule.
February 17th, 2024 at 4:08 AM ^
we have a hard schedule and I’m drunk
we’re national champs so here’s the whole 4 min 5 sec biggus dickus scene from Monty pythons life of Brian
February 17th, 2024 at 7:12 AM ^
We have a hard schedule and OSU has the second easiest schedule and I'm sober enough to wonder if the fix is in. This difference in strength of schedule makes me wonder again why we want to continue to be part of the B1G.
Is this another way Tony Petitti sticks it to Michigan? Where the F is Warde when it comes to making his voice heard?
February 17th, 2024 at 9:00 AM ^
Well, part of it is because OSU isn't on OSU's schedule.
February 17th, 2024 at 9:10 AM ^
But Michigan has the same “grade” per their ratings so that is irrelevant since they play each other.
February 17th, 2024 at 10:38 AM ^
Agree, not arguing that. Just saying that sometimes strength of schedule can be misleading
February 17th, 2024 at 3:19 PM ^
A couple of things scheduling can do. Obviously a harder schedule could keep you out of playoffs and a loss of the financial upside as well as recruiting advantages that go with it. A weak schedule keeps viewership down. This last point doesn't mean much in a conference with equal revenue sharing, but I'd make a bet that when it comes time to pay players, revenue may be increased as a function of viewership.
February 17th, 2024 at 9:33 AM ^
This year's schedule reminds me of the quip "Just because you are not paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you". The Iowa schedule is stunning-that POS team could "legitimately" go undefeated.
February 17th, 2024 at 10:19 AM ^
Iowa has received the biggest scheduling breaks over the last 5 years or so, One of them was getting to play in that POS B1G West which was a total joke. But they'll get waxed in Columbus - probably the only real tough game they play.
The game I'm keeping an eye on is the Iowa-Maryland game. I equate Maryland to USC.....if they ever figure out how to play defense, watch out
February 17th, 2024 at 10:27 AM ^
Just think - IF that punt return against Minnesota hadn’t be ruled a fair catch - Iowa would have been 11-1 heading into the B1G CCG.
February 17th, 2024 at 10:29 AM ^
And would have been waxed just like every other West team in the B1G CCG before them. That entire East-West setup was a TOTAL joke
February 17th, 2024 at 11:18 AM ^
And would have been waxed
Why the hypothetical? The game happened.
February 17th, 2024 at 1:51 PM ^
Hypotheticals is a catchy tune, FWIW
February 17th, 2024 at 11:22 AM ^
I’m not disagreeing about the imbalance between the divisions. Was it worse than Leaders & Legends?
The geographical separation was easier to follow but didn’t have balance.
The SEC goes “east and west” - with a bit of flexibility - not sure where Texas and Oklahoma will fit. They are logically “west” - but that could shift the conference’s strength with Bama and LSU. The SEC is going “division-less” this year - so, it could be an interesting tiebreaker scenario too.
February 17th, 2024 at 2:11 PM ^
They have been propped up by a pretty good QB for years. Im guessing for a Miaimi (YTM) type melt down from Gattis this year. A few MTSU/Army games in there.
February 18th, 2024 at 4:57 PM ^
Iowa’s schedule is weak, but they play OSU in Columbus. They’re not going undefeated.
February 17th, 2024 at 11:25 AM ^
Where the F is Warde when it comes to making his voice heard?
Apparently sitting next to Petitti at banquets. But he must only comment on the food.
February 17th, 2024 at 11:57 AM ^
See Blue@LSU's analysis of SOS for a much more robust look. The Michigan difference!
If you look at the gif below go give him an upvote.
February 17th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
Thanks, WestQuad! (Though as a CMU grad, I'm not sure I can claim to be part of the Michigan difference. 😊)
I just noticed that I made a mistake on the left-side graph. It should say "FBS opponents only", not p5.
February 17th, 2024 at 2:28 PM ^
Sherrone Moore came from CMU, so there is that. I'll take your analysis over a Duck's any day.
February 17th, 2024 at 5:32 AM ^
At least our coach isn't inept at fielding a defense (Lincoln Riley) and has these games to look forward to... ouch.
February 17th, 2024 at 10:31 AM ^
That's a killer although Washington will take a big step back this year. I believe that they're losing 17 of 22 starters and they don't have the returning depth like many of the CF powerhouses
February 17th, 2024 at 2:30 PM ^
Washington and Wisconsin are probably the only toss-ups. [2nd] year Fickel is probably a decent team. PSU should beat USC, but you never know with frames.
February 17th, 2024 at 6:20 AM ^
OSU has the second-easiest schedule in the league. Who’d have thought?
If UM can find a way to beat them in Columbus, after they coast through their schedule and spent $13M in NIL, whooooo boy
February 17th, 2024 at 8:15 AM ^
I’ve got news for you. They spent a lot more than $13M…
February 17th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
I'd be extremely upset if they win it all next season. Or any of these other teams that have blank check books.
February 17th, 2024 at 1:11 PM ^
I couldn’t agree more. I’ll be in Columbus on November 30th - and, making it four in a row against the best team their money could buy would really be icing on the cake. Go Blue!
February 17th, 2024 at 10:10 AM ^
I have a sneaking suspicion someone is gonna creep up and get them next year, maybe Iowa or some team like that they may look past. Playoffs are gonna be a gauntlet now too, gotta string together a lot of mistake free football. Makes our run this year that much more incredible when you think about how some of our games could have changed with one play here or there.
February 17th, 2024 at 10:19 AM ^
One play, series, and game.. at a time.
February 17th, 2024 at 1:13 PM ^
I think OSU will underwhelme at times, and is the type of team that will have one loss turn into two. I just struggle to see how a team contructed off of buying the best players won't lead to lockeroom issues. One of the biggest reasons for the 23' teams success (as well as 21' and 22') was how close the team was. We have seen organizations buy teams this way before, and it rarely works out.
Having said that, the talent is real. If they play as a unit, and Ryan Day learns how to lean on the run game, they will likely be celebrating a championship.
February 17th, 2024 at 2:41 PM ^
I have no proof of payments, but allegedly buying teams has worked pretty well for Bama and then Georgia once Smart went there.
Ole Miss definitely bought players under Hugh Freeze (Laquan Treadwell anyone?) and they steadily improved each year until Freeze's morality came to light.
Nutt
2010 4-8
2011 2-10
Freeze
2012 7-6
2013 8-5
2014 9-4
2015 10-3
2016 5-7 Freeze was fire because of hookers and whatnot.
Football is about more than just individual talent which is why the money canon can backfire. My bias is that dedication to the team and execution as a team is more important. ...but if you can do that with the best players then you get an Albama or post 2020 Georgia.
February 17th, 2024 at 5:45 PM ^
IMO, OSU's OL and their TE/WR's run-blocking skills won't be good enough to lean on the run game this year.
Maybe after getting a season of really stressing the run game under their belts, their offense will be able to rely on it in 2025. But recall that Michigan's OL didn't suddenly become well versed at the running game in 2021. There had been a real foundation to build on that OSU simply has not yet developed.
February 17th, 2024 at 2:14 PM ^
When USC/UCLA/Wash/Oregon was a done deal I knew it would be:
USC, Wash, and Oregon for us with the worst team being the pass. Who couldve guessed it?
You finally get out of the B10 east and they replace perma scheduled Wisconsin and Penn st with the Pac12 all stars. Classic move BigTen.
February 17th, 2024 at 5:31 PM ^
OSU has the second-easiest schedule in the league.
OSU non-con schedule is dog meat.
But among conference games, OSU is the only team among the top 4 expected contenders (incl. Mich, Oregon, PSU) that plays all of the other 3.
February 17th, 2024 at 5:47 PM ^
IMO, Allar isn't going to improve enough to make PSU a real threat. But could a be a slightly competitive game since it's at Happy Valley.
February 18th, 2024 at 10:21 AM ^
- Do you think PSU is capable of going 8-1 with their schedule? ...if they can avoid losing a trap game, it's quite likely.
- Will 8-1 be good enough to get into the CCG? ...I suspect so.
February 17th, 2024 at 7:25 AM ^
Finally. Until this schedule, Michigan hasn't played anybody yet.
/s
February 17th, 2024 at 7:39 AM ^
The livin’ is easy on Third Base.
February 17th, 2024 at 8:11 AM ^
Don't overlook Fresno St in the first game as that will be no gimme, especially with an entirely new coaching staff and lots of new players. Hard to believe they weren't mentioned.
February 17th, 2024 at 8:43 AM ^
They weren’t mentioned because they aren’t consider hard or easy based on their team rating metrics. They fall somewhere in the middle. If you are worried about Fresno State - it’s going to be a long, anxious offseason for you.
February 17th, 2024 at 8:56 AM ^
We shouldn't lose to Fresno State but they're a solid program with a long-standing good resume. And being a season ticket holder since '77, I've seen many a struggle and a painful loss or two in our home openers over the years.
What's more, it's a classic trap game. Texas visits Ann Arbor the following Saturday.
February 17th, 2024 at 8:50 AM ^
Duck got your tongue, OP?
February 17th, 2024 at 9:15 AM ^
maybe he was thinking, 'duck that, this is good enough'.
February 17th, 2024 at 9:05 AM ^
Man, the league powers that be really want to see Ohio win the title this year. Day must have friends in the scheduling office who want to help him keep his job. Or maybe some NIL money made its way to that office?
February 17th, 2024 at 9:20 AM ^
We heard "they haven't played anyone" from the Buckeyes the entire 2023 season. I doubt they'll be saying that about themselves next year.
February 17th, 2024 at 10:00 AM ^
All this chatter about the Buckeyes schedule. Have you looked at their OOC matchups this season? It’s a “murderers row” of powerhouses.
Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall - all in Columbus - with a bye week between games two and three.
Oh, my apologies - I see your point…
February 17th, 2024 at 10:56 AM ^
They'll "pass the eye test" so no one will be talking about their schedule, but we all know the "eye test" is just "flashy offense". Those that know football were hyping up Michigan all season, but those that don't were harping on the schedule because they wouldn't know good football if it won a national championship game right in front of their eyes.
February 17th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Normally I poo-poo the prospect of purposely easy schedule for a particular team as tin-foil-hat stuff, because the scheduling is done years ahead of time and there is no knowing how the teams will stack up. In this case, however, the scheduling was done just the year before. The B1G has a very good idea of what PSU, Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Wash are gonna look like in 2024.
Conclusion? OSU's powder-puff schedule is not an accident.
February 17th, 2024 at 9:20 AM ^
The upside is depending how the team looks and what games are lost there is a shot to get in at 9-3. 10-2 for sure but a real shot at 9-3
February 17th, 2024 at 9:28 AM ^
I think getting to10-2 is reasonable, but 9-3 is more likely. As long as we don't lose to a cupcake we probably sneak in at 9-3.
Texas and OSU feel like losses. Stacked teams returning a lot, and adding a lot in OSU’s case. Gonna be very tough to win those. Oregon is a toss up.
Unless, of course Alex Orji is really Jalen Milroe 2.0, then maybe we can go 11-1.