B10's Non-Conference Schedule

[Creed]

The B10's national reputation as a football conference is not the best. Until the B10 consistently has 5-7 teams in the Top 20 (like SEC, B12-3), we need to be scheduling better non-conference games. Wisconsin non-conf is a joke and if they are undefeated by the end of the year, the only nice win would have been over Neb. Mich and Mich State never play any good non-conf games - sorry ND doesn't count or a win doesn't give much nationaly credibility. Neb's and Illinois are ok but could be better. OSU suffered from Miami and CU being down.

 

We need to be scheduling more games vs avg to good SEC, B12, ACC, PAC teams. This will help the teams getter better, more national rep and expose overrated teams like Mich St last year.

[NUance]

Yeah, I agree that NU needs to schedule at least one big non-conf game. But I don't know that the B1G scheduling is any worse than other conferences, before league play begins. Several B1G schools have at least one marquee non-conf game. Penn State v. Alabama. Michigan v. Notre Dame. Michigan St. v. Notre Dame. Ohio St v. Miami. Illinois v. Ariz St. Minn v. USC. It seems like NU non-conf sched doesn’t have a game that measures up to any of these. We could use a high profile game with a big name school. I’d love to see us play Texas, or Notre Dame, or USC, or Miami.

[irafreak]

The B10's national reputation as a football conference is not the best. Until the B10 consistently has 5-7 teams in the Top 20 (like SEC, B12-3), we need to be scheduling better non-conference games. Wisconsin non-conf is a joke and if they are undefeated by the end of the year, the only nice win would have been over Neb. Mich and Mich State never play any good non-conf games - sorry ND doesn't count or a win doesn't give much nationaly credibility. Neb's and Illinois are ok but could be better. OSU suffered from Miami and CU being down.

 

We need to be scheduling more games vs avg to good SEC, B12, ACC, PAC teams. This will help the teams getter better, more national rep and expose overrated teams like Mich St last year.

And yet boise gets all this pub for an even less impressive season performance...

[bigg10]

I think first more teams need to play two BCS teams out of the four non-cons. That should be a goal for all big10 teams. As you get better, you can make those two harder. 3 creampuffs and one hard one, is no way to prepare a team either. 2 BCS and two upper FCS, would be ideal. BTW only 2 big 10 teams did that this year.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Iowa and Ohio State?

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

Agreed. B1G non conference scheduling stinks. Enough with playing all these MAC teams. It's pathetic.

[BOJ]

Iowa and Ohio State?

OSU didn't play any FCS opponents, two BCS and two from the MAC.

[irafreak]

I see nothing wrong with tune-up games. It builds up the anticipation for the conference schedule.

[Creed]

Until we can make the argument like the SEC ("our conf schedule is brutal enough) B10 needs 2 tune up games and 2 games vs top BCS teams. Someone mentioned Boise. They need 4 games vs top BCS games to compensate for their weak conf schedule.

[irafreak]

Nah. Anyone runs the table in the big 10 the only way they don't make it to the NT game is if their are several undefeated teams...

[NoLongerN]

You can have a pretty reasonable schedule and still play four teams from big conferences can't you. Choose four conferences and cycle thru a top tier, two middle teirs and one bottom feeder. Alternate them. Yes, you will end up with some tough years ... but overall, you can be measured against a team that atleast played the top tier of that conference. That makes a hell of alot more sense to me then playing a team like say a Missouri State (my college). Our Huskers have a few of those games every year. I don't see why anyone even wants to pay for the tickets. And then we play them everyone seems stressed out about why we can't even put that kind of a team away. Personally, I think it's good to force a team to play to a "higher level" early. The game is suppose to be a test ... not a rest. My two cents.

[Wolvie3758]

Someone from Nebraska doesnt need to lecture Michigan or MSU about the Importance of playing and Beating ND...or on non conference schedules on a wknd where NU is playing Wyoming...Dont become Texas..... Conrhuskers

[huzkerbob]

Someone from Nebraska doesnt need to lecture Michigan or MSU about the Importance of playing and Beating ND...or on non conference schedules on a wknd where NU is playing Wyoming...Dont become Texas..... Conrhuskers

 

Garrrrr

[GM_Tood]

We have UCLA, Miami, and Tenn on the future schedules...be nice to maybe snag an upper tier Big XXII too.

[huzkerbob]

Why all the fuss about schedules? Have any of you looked at some of the big and mighty SEC teams scheds? At least NU and the B1G attempt to play games outside their immediate geographic locations. Seriously, IIRC UGA's non-con game against OkSt last season was the first game any SEC team had played east of the Mississippi in something like 18 years!

 

Sure everyone would love to play a high caliber opponent every week, but it's just not that simple. Especially considering that non-cons are being scheduled further and further in advance and even mid level teams want more and more cash to play BCS level schools. Sure, schedule making may sound easy to us pleebs, but this isn't NCAA FB on our PS3s. AD's don't get the luxury of building A+ rated scheds at the beginning of each season. No, in reality a team you scheduled as a marquee game can become a mediocre contest when one team or the other falls on their collective faces by the time the game is played. (Miami 2014?)

 

Just think, we could be fans of a team like KSU who openly admits to playing patsies exclusively. Hell they where even willing to pay off teams they'd already scheduled to avoid playing a tough opponent.... Trust me, our schedules could be much much worse.