ACC All access...2-0 BC off to flying start!

[anomander]

Take a look at Texas Tech. They looked more or less like garbage last night, as did TCU.

But TT will likely be ranked #25 this week, and might remain undefeated well into October. And if TCU loses every game out, nobody is going to move LSU down or TT out of the rankings. They never retroactively move teams down based on the opponent.

Which means Oklahoma is possibly looking at a nice quality win against a team ranked about #15 in October, which is actually not a very good team. Somebody at some point in the Big 12 is going to blow their doors off and look good for doing so.

NC State may not be any better than Syracuse. They escaped the Richmond game by the skin of their teeth. But if they beat Clemson on Thursday, they'll be ranked, and will likely remain ranked until they play FSU at the end of October. If they don't beat Clemson, they might still be 5-1 going into FSU and be on the verge of a ranking. And they may really not be that good.

It's not just Syracuse area residents who look at college football like this...it's the media, the voters, the fans of every school, the bowls, and the recruits. There is NO upside to a more difficult schedule unless you are in the running for the top four, and even then it's VERY arguable. In many cases you're better off going undefeated than taking one loss and hoping your schedule puts you in over other one loss teams.

It's not like the Dome is packed to the gills by this scheduling philosophy. Much better to build your ticket appeal by convincing people you have a good team than by trying to get them to come out to see other good teams. Considering you're going to have FSU, Clemson and Louisville on your schedule, and if Pitt and NCSU continue this scheduling format as well they will look good, you should have enough good opponents if you just schedule one semi-attractive team OOC a season.

You would think it's easy right? Still can't believe we can't figure it out

It does kind of suck, you're fighting a weak college football culture there for sure.

While it is true now it hasn't already been like this. We used to have a very supportive, engaged fan base. Even after we canned Grob we had a near sell out vs Minnesota for Marrone's home opener. The fans want to support, but they want to support a winner. Goes back to your previous point. Now were 0-2 and people think it's the same old same old

 

[anomander]

the 2014 schedule is shaping up as the model I prefer going forward. Open the season with a combo of FCS/lower FBS home games, then one game against a peer level BCS school (maryland) then one premiere game (ND).

I agree with everything except the last part. I know there will be years we can't avoid it, but now that we are out of the Big East we no longer need to schedule a premiere opponent. There is just no point.

 

[Lou_C]

I agree with everything except the last part. I know there will be years we can't avoid it, but now that we are out of the Big East we no longer need to schedule a premiere opponent. There is just no point.

Yep, that just translates as "Every year we should schedule one game we might lose, and one game we should lose."

That isn't the way ANYONE does it any more, other than maybe Sun Belt teams picking up paychecks. Oh, and Virginia.

That is doing something that's the exact opposite of everyone else, and is opposite of what is proven to work. Part of acting like a big time program is scheduling like a big-time program. It's counterintuitive, but a big time program schedules one competitive game and three "should-wins."

Some of our fan bases have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the new reality (FSU, Tennessee, most of the ACC). I don't know anyone who actually claims to like it, but it's the way it is.