Easiest P5 Schedule in 2020?

[sufandu]

Yeah, because playing FOUR P5 games OOC is “manageable”

Northwestern
USC @ Met Life
@ Minne
@ Missouri

2 away, 1 ‘neutral’, 1 home.
We went 1-3 in the OOC.

BRILLIANT!!

Imagine if that was just 1 P5, and 3 tomato cans?
You know - like pretty much every other sane team schedules?
8-5 is now 10-3.

P5 does not equal gaunlet. Northwestern ended up having a really good year but had been 6-7 and 7-6 the previous two. USC was 7-6 that year and finished the season unranked. Minnesota was 6-7 and unranked. Missouri was 5-7 and unranked. Combined with the weak Big East that was not a daunting schedule. The stumbles we had early in the season with Pugh out prevented us from being ranked, not the schedule.

The Bill Parcells quote is one of the most overused quotes in the history of sports. It's something a hot headed coach said in the heat of the moment. Any actual validity it could have in an argument only pertains to the pros and is not transferred to college sports due to the huge variance of talent and imbalance of schedules.

Cincinatti went 10-3 in 2012 and finished unranked. They were ranked for two weeks in the middle of the season after starting with 5 wins, fell out after two losses, and were never able to climb back in, so a good record with soft schedule doesn't always mean you'll be ranked.

Having said all that, I have no problem with a soft schedule for now. I hope we get good enough to eventually justify playing an annual OOC game against a ranked opponent. I have always thought those were fun games.