Maryland IS the perfect OOC opponent for you guys...WHEN you don't already have a game on the schedule you can lose.
I never said you guys can't beat Maryland. Only that you can also lose to Maryland, and that hasn't changed. How are you going to guarantee they have a third of their players hurt again next year (although based on recent trends, maybe it is a safe bet). Or that you are the ones racked by injuries next year.
If you didn't already have ND on the schedule...have at it.
It's pretty simple. One BCS caliber team. It should be one you realistically can play with most years. Out of every four or five years, if you want to throw an Ohio State, Oregon, USC or LSU on there, fine. But it should not be a yearly auto-loss. Nobody should schedule a game where they will be likely 20+ underdogs EVER, unless there is some regional/historical significance.
When you draw Notre Dame, Notre Dame is this game.
Then 1 FCS, and two low level FBS schools. You guys have been better than most expected, and you're 5-4. If you were 7-2 this year like Duke, would everybody hear be whining about your schedule? Or would there be excitement about the program? Do you think Baylor or Duke or Minnesota fans are storming the Athletic offices right now because of their awful OOC schedule?
The only thing that I could be wrong about is whether you'll be an underdog to Maryland. We'll have to wait and see about that.
It has nothing to do with whether you CAN beat Maryland, or ND, or Penn State or Northwestern or Alabama.
The point is, it's important that every ACC teams goes into conference play either 4-0 or 3-1 every year, and 4-0 at least half the time. Obviously, there will still be times it doesn't happen, but that should generally mean the team is garbage and the coach is on the hot seat. But we should not be sending any half-way decent teams into conference play with 2 losses EVER, because that does nothing but hurt everyone else.
Let's say you play FSU close into the 4th quarter. If you were 7-2 right now, that's a hell of a lot better for the ACC than you being 5-4. Thankfully, it doesn't matter, but until Oregon lost it did matter.
If teams come in to conference play undefeated, they are basically "unknown", and therefore, when they beat a highly thought of team, they pick up the juice from it.
It's been shown again and again, and the SEC and Big 12 has mastered it. Hell, Maryland is the PERFECT example this year. They had ONE half-way credible OOC opponent, beat them, and found themselves in the top 25, which allowed FSU to make a substantial statement.
Here's the thing. Let's say that you are 60% likely to beat Maryland, and 50% likely to beat ND. And 75% likely to beat Central Michigan and 85% likely to beat Villanova (if you are scheduling FCS, wish you would schedule a bad one). That means your likely number of wins is 2.7. Most likely either 2 or 3 wins, with 3 a little more likely. That's not good enough and that's on a schedule where you're not an underdog in a single game. That number should be between three and four.
I totally get that you guys want to play Maryland. Everybody that hasn't been in the ACC with them seems to love the idea of playing Maryland. But you should play them when that is the only competitive game. So if you get the win, cruise into the conference undefeated, and see what happens.
People either see it or they don't. There's no logical grounds to oppose that philosophy on, only emotional ones.
