I think that while teams like McNeese State are good (and beating them is reassuring) they really haven't any "sex appeal" for selling the program to Portland. I think we need to concentrate on teams that do have media marketing appeal that help the program be seen as progressive in the collective eyes of local ticket-buying prospects, fellow Northwesteners and the nation as a whole.
I like the idea of playing a flexible but often set pattern of three OOC games---one big time university, one cupcake, and one East-West match-up---games fraught with interest and relevance, as we should always be thinking about our path of development.
The big time univesity game can be most anywhere in the nation as travel expenses should not be a major concern. What is of concern is the profit after payout. Don't just settle for a Fresno State or Boise State, though. Consider also the likes of a Syracuse, Kentucky, or Navy. Here we experience developmental relevance and, in a very direct way, a barometer for measuring how far we have advanced nationally as a program.
The cupcake should also be a team of interest. I like the idea of developing good relations with Western Oregon, so maybe it would be best not to schedule them for a shelacking. Texas A&M-Kingsville was a good choice a few years back. I'd say any of our old rival nemeses from D-II play-off days would be appropriate. Pittsburg State of Kansas would be a tremendous choice. They'd be champing at the bit for a chance to knock us off---and at the I-AA level. Our goal, however, is to serve up some tasty revenge, a dish, I hear, that is best served cold. Here we experience meaning matching the intensity level of our old rival, taking care of business to cleanly outclass them in every category, and do it with severely enjoyable payback in mind.
Regarding the third OOC game, it would be great to exhibit, especially, an Atlantic-10 team or someone else from the east or maybe even the midwest. These should be games in which we feel we have a good chance to win but not an overwhelming chance---they should be a good challenge for us: Massachusetts, Ball State, Wofford, Kent State. These all represent good East-West challenges for us, to stengthen us and get us more in the national spotlight to allow us increasingly greater power for overcoming our natural stagefright.
If we play a fourth OOC game, we could consider it as a wild-card and use it to play just about anybody. But, I think it would be best strategically, however, considering our ever newfound level of development, to go after a team that we honestly think we can now beat---a game serving to establish our new level of development, a game that shows us we really are as good as we believe ourselves to be. Years ago, the Hawai'i game stood as that example. The New Mexico game last year served as a prime example. And the San Diego State game is this year's opportunity example. The opportunity to actualize---to physicalize---what is right now statistics and reasonalbe beliefs accumulated on paper.
