The Power of the Schedule

[Skippy]

Alright, everybody who figured that after three weeks of the Big Sky season that we'd have Southern Utah, Weber State, Portland State, Northern Colorado and North Dakota as five of the top 7 in the conference, raise your hands. I thought so...

A big factor in the topsy-turvyness of the standings is the early schedule. Southern Utah has wins against Northern Colorado, Weber State and Sac State, none of whom were expected to be very good this year. Weber did get a huge win in Missoula, but they caught the Griz down two quarterbacks and with a new coach who is still taking D-II gambles against D-1AA opponents. Their other wins have been against Sac State, UNC and North Dakota, again teams nobody expected to be very good this year.

Idaho State really benefitted from a good schedule last year, hitting the right teams on the road (UNC and a very down Portland State team), missing Montana altogether, and getting a good Cal Poly team at home at the right time. This year's schedule, well there's been enough said about how ridiculous it is.

Scheduling has always been a big part of success in football: who you play, when and where can have a big impact on whether you can build momentum throughout a season. With the Big Sky's unbalanced schedule, where you don't play everybody in your league every year, the scheduling draw becomes even more important. And in ISU's case, where you schedule two FBS teams every year, I'd say scheduling is at least a 50 percent factor in the program's ability to have a winning season in a given year.

 

[clawsout]

....good topic skippy.....I believe ..with ISU scheduling two FBS and the addition of this year's type of schedule...if this trend continues ....the best we could hope for ....would be to make the playoffs (or to get close...as in last year's case) ...every other year....

....and I'm not sure that type of situation is very good for recruiting young men....."Come play for us...we will either be in the playoffs....OR CLOSE AND GET SCREWED OUT OF IT every other year".....just not sure that would be a strong draw for athletes to come to Pocatello....

someone needs to take a strong look at the schedule....AND put future schedules together....using a vision for success for our Bengals.....I'm just sayin'.... :twocents:

 

[bengalcub]

Two money games a year will probably be the norm from now on. I think it is advisable to only play 3 every two years.

But throw that away--what cannot happen is scheduling 5 out of 6 games on the road at any point in any season.

I've been saying it since the schedule came out and this fact has largely gone ignored. How the hell do you expect to be in the playoff hunt or a Big Sky title race with such a stupid schedule?

ISU had the fortune of playing weaker teams last year and the team made great strides but the program is nowhere near being a perennial conference contender. Nor do I expect it to be. This year, so far, major disappointment because we are all learning that this program is closer to being average than it is to being a conference threat. It takes time--I understand that and hope others do as well.

 

[NewBengFan]

I think as of now we need to come to terms that we do need the "money games" in order for the athletic department to survive. But why do we schedule teams that we know will destroy us by 50+ points. Why not do what Portland State did and play a bottom of the barrel FBS team that we have a chance at contending with. I do think UNLV was a good choice this year but the dice did not fall in our favor (pun intended).

 

[Skippy]

I think as of now we need to come to terms that we do need the "money games" in order for the athletic department to survive. But why do we schedule teams that we know will destroy us by 50+ points. Why not do what Portland State did and play a bottom of the barrel FBS team that we have a chance at contending with. I do think UNLV was a good choice this year but the dice did not fall in our favor (pun intended).

Before the season, you'd have been hard-pressed to find any FBS team that was a better choice than UNLV for a money game: lousy program with a first-year coach coming from high school, of all things. And, ISU got bought out by BYU to play UNLV. Really, you could not have picked a better situation.

 

[up for the challenge]

I agree with you Skippy on the BSC scheduling. I also agree with Bengalcub how a bad schedule can keep any team from being a contender. Clawsout has a good point about recruiting. Kramer and his staff have their challenges with recruiting.

 

[biobengal]

I noticed that UNC played two FCS OOC, one buy game, and zero body bag games? How is it that UNC which plays more sports can afford to have fewer body bag games? Folks, when was the last time ISU played OOC within their own division?

Routinely, ISU has the worst schedules (football and men's basketball) in the conference.... and that is not hyperbole. IMO, this is ISU taking the easy path.

 

[BengalBannMan]

2016
Sept. 3 vs. Simon Fraser
Sept. 10 at Colorado
Sept. 17 at Oregon State
Sept. 24 vs. Sacramento State
Oct. 1 at Portland State
Oct. 8- BYE
Oct. 15 at NAU
Oct. 22 vs. North Dakota
Oct. 29 vs. SUU
Nov. 5 at Montana
Nov. 12 at Eastern Washington
Nov. 19 vs. Weber State

Anyone have an opinion of this being a good or bad schedule?
I think it's decent. Never on the road more than 2 weeks. Our home games are good ones.
I see this as a 7-4 season. If things click, 8-3 (Eastern Washington IS NOT a #4 ranked team... imo)

 

[Skippy]

2016
Sept. 3 vs. Simon Fraser
Sept. 10 at Colorado
Sept. 17 at Oregon State
Sept. 24 vs. Sacramento State
Oct. 1 at Portland State
Oct. 8- BYE
Oct. 15 at NAU
Oct. 22 vs. North Dakota
Oct. 29 vs. SUU
Nov. 5 at Montana
Nov. 12 at Eastern Washington
Nov. 19 vs. Weber State

Anyone have an opinion of this being a good or bad schedule?
I think it's decent. Never on the road more than 2 weeks. Our home games are good ones.
I see this as a 7-4 season. If things click, 8-3 (Eastern Washington IS NOT a #4 ranked team... imo)

I would say for a schedule with two FBS games and a non-counter against an NAIA team, it's probably as good as it can be. If I were making a wild guess a year in advance, I'd say ISU would be favored in four games (Simon Frasor, Sac, UND and Weber), under-dogs in six (at Colorado, OSU, NAU, Portland State, Montana and EWU), with the SUU game at home a toss-up. It's probably still not a "playoff schedule," because you throw out the two FBS games as almost certain losses (although Kramer's MSU team did beat Colorado one year),and the Simon Frasor game doesn't count, so ISU would have to go at least 7-1 against the rest of the slate, which includes games on the road against PSU, NAU, Montana, and EWU. (ISU hasn't won at Flagstaff since 1984, Montana since, I believe 1985, and wins at PSU and EWU, while more recent, have still been few and far between).

I'd say 7-4 is probably a reasonable "ceiling"for ISU under this schedule (as we're learning this year, there really is no "floor"given injuries, etc.), which is not going to get you into the playoffs because the Simon Frasor win won't count. But as the late, great Yogi Berra used to say,"youneverknow."

 

[BengalBannMan]

Skippy, I would say those are all fair assumptions. I think there is a chance of making the playoffs with 6-2 after the obvious non-real win and two losses. But I feel that ONLY if we win two of the games between Montana, PSU, EWU, & SUU if they are decently ranked at the time we beat them.

 

[orangebandanaguy]

Best possible timing for the bye!!! By that time in the season the offense should have a firm grasp of its identity. And the defense wont have to play the bulk of there confrence games before getting the much needed rest.

 

[Eric hollowell]

I love you guys but I hate this topic. 2011 LSU had to play Alabama, Fla, Auburn, and two weeks later Arkansas all ranked in the top 12. just to get to the tittle game. GA had a cake walk to the same game. schedule just like life is not fair. You play who you play. look at SUU and who they have to play down the road it is what it is. again roll the ball out and just do the thing.

 

[Skippy]

I love you guys but I hate this topic. 2011 LSU had to play Alabama, Fla, Auburn, and two weeks later Arkansas all ranked in the top 12. just to get to the tittle game. GA had a cake walk to the same game. schedule just like life is not fair. You play who you play. look at SUU and who they have to play down the road it is what it is. again roll the ball out and just do the thing.

I understand you hate the topic, Eric, but scheduling is a huge factor in football success. Who you play, when and where is often a determining factor in whether you make the playoffs -- or finish 3-8. So it's definitely a topic worth discussion. Now if you're a coach or a player, sure, the schedule is out of your control and you play who you play.

 

[Eric hollowell]

Skippy we almost always agree. This is why to me it's not that important we lost to Portland and Washington at home coming off wins. We just have to get use to playing and winning on the road or wherever we are.

 

[BengalBannMan]

Eric, I agree that we can not change the schedule, but it's still fun, and interesting to talk about it, and the possibilities of it. Just like we can't change who Kramer plays a QB, etc.... but we still like to speculate and chat about it too. That's all. No biggie.

 

[JJB]

Scheduling makes a HUGE difference. It's not just about the who, but also the what, when, and where.

I guarantee you that LSU played an equal or greater amount of regular season home games in 2011 as they did away games. ISU always schedules more away games than home games per season. I guarantee you that LSU did not play more than 2 away games in a row in 2011. ISU played 4 in a row on the road this season. One of the beat writers for North Dakota State was commenting pre-season how suicidal ISU's schedule was. He was right. You don't schedule 4 straight away games. You just don't.

 

[BengalBannMan]

:agree:

Scheduling makes a HUGE difference. It's not just about the who, but also the what, when, and where.

I guarantee you that LSU played an equal or greater amount of regular season home games in 2011 as they did away games. ISU always schedules more away games than home games per season. I guarantee you that LSU did not play more than 2 away games in a row in 2011. ISU played 4 in a row on the road this season. One of the beat writers for North Dakota State was commenting pre-season how suicidal ISU's schedule was. He was right. You don't schedule 4 straight away games. You just don't.

 

[Bengal_believer]

There sure is more to a certain job than just hiring coaches....

Gotta give a chance to succeed, give a reason to stay,

 

[SLCBengal]

This article referencing Wyoming (a lower level FBS school) and its football schedule comes to mind. Their athletic director, Tom Burman, was previously the athletic director at Portland State. I posted this 3 seasons ago, but it still seems relevant to what ISU faces...

“In the short term the answer is yes, but we don’t want to play a bunch of them,” Burman said about playing more money games. “When you start playing them every year, it puts you in a tough situation.

“You have to be careful. You don’t want to schedule yourself into a situation where you can’t be successful. But on the other hand, you’ve got to pay your bills.”

Burman wants to use money games to help fund special projects, not for day-to-day operations.

“I don’t want us to put in a situation where it becomes how we run our operation. That’s not our goal,” Burman said on money games.

“Once you’re living off them for your general operating budget, it’s hard to get away from it. We’d prefer not to do that. We prefer to use that money for special projects.”

Read more: WyoSports.net: Playing BCS teams is good money for UW but not a habit

 

[Eric hollowell]

I'm sure LSU did not. Im not liking a school at the top of the food with us. I'm saying that the football gods are not always fair but that we have what we have..we have to do money games and road games. winning is.over.coming injuries and travel. That's where greatness is born.