College Football 2011: Teams That Could Be Limited By Their Schedule
By Ty Duffy
Auburn: This young, inexperienced team will get no breathing room. They travel to Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia. They also play Mississippi State, Florida and the Iron Bowl at home. They could show encouraging signs, yet still struggle to make a bowl game.
LSU: The Tigers have turmoil. They also face an absolutely brutal schedule. Non-conference they play Oregon and at West Virginia. They also travel to Mississippi State and Alabama and host Arkansas, Auburn and Florida. LSU has the talent to win double digit games, but they did last year too and needed some crazy Les Miles luck to get there.
Nebraska: They may be the Big Ten’s best team, but the conference did them no favors. The three teams they miss this year are Illinois, Indiana and Purdue. They open in a night game at Wisconsin then face Ohio State. Their last five games in succession: Michigan State, Northwestern, at Penn State, at Michigan, Iowa.
Michigan State: The Spartans probably will be better than last year and probably won’t finish anywhere near 11 wins. First four Big Ten Games: at Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, at Nebraska. They also play Notre Dame, Iowa and Northwestern on the road.
Boston College: Solid bowl team with a tough defense under Frank Spaziani. They could be in some trouble. Two tough non-conference games to start: Northwestern, at UCF. From Oct 8 onward: at Clemson, at Virginia Tech at Maryland, Florida State, NC State, at Notre Dame, at Miami. Good luck with that.
SMU: The Mustangs should be poised for a leap forward in a third-year under June Jones. They have road games against Texas A&M and TCU non-conference. They also play Houston, with Case Keenum back for his 17th season, and Tulsa on the road in conference. They have to play UCF at home as well.
TCU: It’s a rebuilding year for the Horned Frogs. Moving to the Big East (and counting for their coefficient), the MWC had a compelling incentive to screw them. Their best conference opponents are Air Force, San Diego State and Boise State. TCU faces all three on the road. They also go to Baylor, play SMU at home and have a Jerry Dome game with BYU.
[Photo via Getty]