The toughest/easiest Big Ten schedules in 2016

[nic]

Not sure what attrition will be like for the teams, but Ohio State plays 2 of the 4 teams in this year's playoffs next season. Both of those are away games for OSU.

Plus they are going to break in a bunch of new starters next year. It will be interesting what the team will look like when they travel to Oklahoma.

Not sure anyone else in FBS has a tougher out of conference sched. tOSU's 2016 SOS must be through the roof.

OSU has Bowling Green, Tulsa and @ Oklahoma, with crossovers of NW, NU and @ Wiscy

 

[nic]

Based on the current z-scores for all teams on the B1G team schedules for 2016, only considering games against FBS teams (such that there's no penalty for playing lower division teams), and applying no adjustment for home/away...here's the order I came up with - the numbers given are the average z-scores for the 2015 teams' stats:

Wisconsin 0.255
Northwestern 0.217
Rutgers 0.213
Illinois 0.203
Ohio State 0.197
Michigan State 0.167
Purdue 0.088
Penn State 0.073
Nebraska -0.015
Maryland -0.073
Michigan -0.099
Iowa -0.119
Indiana -0.126
Minnesota -0.131


Maryland only has ten games scheduled against FBS teams so far - I think they need to add another game yet (as they're only at 11 when you count Howard). I think it bears mentioning that Michigan's 2016 out-of-conference slate features three of the worst-performing teams of this season in Hawai'i, UCF, and Colorado...though the Buffaloes' numbers are respectable next to those of the Rainbow Warriors and Golden Knights.

p.s. - A z-score close to zero, like Nebraska's, means the average 2015 z-score of all the teams on Nebraska's 2016 schedule is...pretty much average.

The difficult part of Michigan's schedule is @ MSU, @OSU, @Iowa and Wiscy

 

[beorach]

Based on the current z-scores for all teams on the B1G team schedules for 2016, only considering games against FBS teams (such that there's no penalty for playing lower division teams), and applying no adjustment for home/away...here's the order I came up with - the numbers given are the average z-scores for the 2015 teams' stats:

Wisconsin 0.255
Northwestern 0.217
Rutgers 0.213
Illinois 0.203
Ohio State 0.197
Michigan State 0.167
Purdue 0.088
Penn State 0.073
Nebraska -0.015
Maryland -0.073
Michigan -0.099
Iowa -0.119
Indiana -0.126
Minnesota -0.131


Maryland only has ten games scheduled against FBS teams so far - I think they need to add another game yet (as they're only at 11 when you count Howard). I think it bears mentioning that Michigan's 2016 out-of-conference slate features three of the worst-performing teams of this season in Hawai'i, UCF, and Colorado...though the Buffaloes' numbers are respectable next to those of the Rainbow Warriors and Golden Knights.

p.s. - A z-score close to zero, like Nebraska's, means the average 2015 z-score of all the teams on Nebraska's 2016 schedule is...pretty much average.

The difficult part of Michigan's schedule is @ MSU, @OSU, @Iowa and Wiscy

Yeah, but Wisconsin plays all those teams it can plus LSU, Michigan, and Nebraska.

 

[nic]

Based on the current z-scores for all teams on the B1G team schedules for 2016, only considering games against FBS teams (such that there's no penalty for playing lower division teams), and applying no adjustment for home/away...here's the order I came up with - the numbers given are the average z-scores for the 2015 teams' stats:

Wisconsin 0.255
Northwestern 0.217
Rutgers 0.213
Illinois 0.203
Ohio State 0.197
Michigan State 0.167
Purdue 0.088
Penn State 0.073
Nebraska -0.015
Maryland -0.073
Michigan -0.099
Iowa -0.119
Indiana -0.126
Minnesota -0.131


Maryland only has ten games scheduled against FBS teams so far - I think they need to add another game yet (as they're only at 11 when you count Howard). I think it bears mentioning that Michigan's 2016 out-of-conference slate features three of the worst-performing teams of this season in Hawai'i, UCF, and Colorado...though the Buffaloes' numbers are respectable next to those of the Rainbow Warriors and Golden Knights.

p.s. - A z-score close to zero, like Nebraska's, means the average 2015 z-score of all the teams on Nebraska's 2016 schedule is...pretty much average.

The difficult part of Michigan's schedule is @ MSU, @OSU, @Iowa and Wiscy

Yeah, but Wisconsin plays all those teams it can plus LSU, Michigan, and Nebraska.

Yeah Wiscy is screwed. LSU, @UofM, @Mich St., OSU, NU, @ Iowa....now those are cross over games.

 

[Michiganball]

Wiscy no doubt has the hardest schedule, almost a stupid schedule. LSU first, which may be a sign of Armageddon as a sec team is actually playing up North. Then as if Wisconsin has moved to the east conference and all in a row @MSU @UM, OSU, then @Iowa, Nebraska, @NW. Finally in their last three games, whatever is left of them will play the fluffier teams. The only good that will come out of this is that they will get under seeded for a bowl game.

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

So ESPN came out with their "Power Rankings" in Early April, and the SOS predictions are very different compared with the article in the OP. Not sure why, but it IS ESPN, so...

30 Ohio St

40 Wisc

42 Illinois

46 Mich St

53 Penn St

54 Northwestern

55 Rutgers

57 Indiana

58 Iowa

62 Nebraska

63 Maryland

64 Purdue

65 Michigan

66 Minnesota

http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/sort/sosRemainingRank/order/false (you have to sort by SOS)

 

[NUance]

Not sure what attrition will be like for the teams, but Ohio State plays 2 of the 4 teams in this year's playoffs next season. Both of those are away games for OSU.

Plus they are going to break in a bunch of new starters next year. It will be interesting what the team will look like when they travel to Oklahoma.

Not sure anyone else in FBS has a tougher out of conference sched. tOSU's 2016 SOS must be through the roof.

They now have a record 9 underclassmen declared for the draft

Some of those guys are getting bad advice. There's just no way all nine will go in the first two rounds.

UPDATE: Wow, tOSU wasn’t far away from having nine picked in the first two rounds. They had five go in the first round and two more in the second round. Twelve picked overall. Not too shabby.


Round 1, pick 3: Joey Bosa
Round 1, pick 4: Ezekiel Elliott
Round 1, pick 10: Eli Apple
Round 1, pick 16: Taylor Decker
Round 1, pick 20: Darron Lee
Round 2, pick 16: Michael Thomas
Round 2, pick 30: Vonn Bell

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

Really I think our schedule works in our favor this year. If we win 3 of 4 in our games against Wisconsin/Iowa/Minnesota/Northwestern, We are in the CCG IMO. If we win just one game out of Oregon/Wisc/tOSU that would be icing on the cake.

No way Wisconsin has less than 3 conference losses this year. They could sweep the West and still not win it.

Iowa is the tiebreaker this year, and could set up for an exciting Thanksgiving. Can't wait.