Overall, I like this schedule, except for the three-headed-beast that is Oregon-Votre Dame-Utah.
Some thoughts/observations:
* As has been noted, no home Thur or Fri games, only 1 non-Saturday game.
* A bye in a pretty perfect spot in the season to recover from injuries (post-Utah, after 6 games).
* Glancing at other teams' schedules, in no key game does an opponent have a bye when we do not have a bye (like this year's Utah team).
* By having Votre Dame, Washington, and Washington State relatively earlier in our season, it reduces the chance of having to play another Snow (or Rain) Bowl like the last 2 games in the Palouse. We clearly perform worse in poor weather.
* Additionally, the final games are in Stanford, Berkeley and LA, where the weather should be relatively decent in November.
* Only once do we have 2 nasty away games in a row -- at Oregon then at Votre Dame, and then we have Utah at home. But at least they are both Saturday games. From a scheduling perspective, this is clearly the nastiest hump of the season.
* We actually get 9 days to prepare for Washington State.
* Across the board, I saw more fairness. More teams seem to get their byes to recover from injuries (*after* playing tough physical teams), instead of getting extra time to plot upsets.
* The last home game is Oregon State. :(. Maybe they're trying to minimize opportunities to tear down goal posts late in the season.
Our Opponents' Schedules
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Before playing us, U$C plays UNLV. But after playing a Rashaad Penny-less SState at home, it feels reasonably fair. U$C should also be breaking in a new, post-Darnold QB.
Before we play Votre Dame, we play Oregon in Autzen. UGH! This is the nastiest hole in our season. The week before Votre Dame plays us, they play at Wake Forest, so, at least it's an away game at a Power 5.
Before we play Utah at home, we play Votre Dame in South Bend after playing Oregon in Autzen (UGH! UGH!) But at least we play Utah at home, as we seem to struggle at Rice Eccles. Before they play us, Utah plays Wazoo in Pullman and they will have already played Washington, so, they will have taken some lumps.
Before we play Washington State, we play ASU in Tempe, and get 9 days after that Thur game. Before they play us, Wazoo plays the Ducks at home.
Before we play Washington, we play at home vs. Washington State. Before they play us, UW plays The Weenies in Weenies Stadium. And they will have already had games against physical teams like Auburn and Utah early on.
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Overall, it feels fair. Even before Wilner's piece, I think the league noticed we were killing ourselves by favoring opportunities for upsets. I especially worry about the Oregon-Votre Dame-Utah stretch, and it feels almost unimaginable that we could escape that without a loss. At least we play Washington fairly late in the season (it reminds me of those classic Stanford-Oregon matchups), so hopefully by then Costello and the offense will be ready to operate in 133.6 decibels.
Some thoughts/observations:
* As has been noted, no home Thur or Fri games, only 1 non-Saturday game.
* A bye in a pretty perfect spot in the season to recover from injuries (post-Utah, after 6 games).
* Glancing at other teams' schedules, in no key game does an opponent have a bye when we do not have a bye (like this year's Utah team).
* By having Votre Dame, Washington, and Washington State relatively earlier in our season, it reduces the chance of having to play another Snow (or Rain) Bowl like the last 2 games in the Palouse. We clearly perform worse in poor weather.
* Additionally, the final games are in Stanford, Berkeley and LA, where the weather should be relatively decent in November.
* Only once do we have 2 nasty away games in a row -- at Oregon then at Votre Dame, and then we have Utah at home. But at least they are both Saturday games. From a scheduling perspective, this is clearly the nastiest hump of the season.
* We actually get 9 days to prepare for Washington State.
* Across the board, I saw more fairness. More teams seem to get their byes to recover from injuries (*after* playing tough physical teams), instead of getting extra time to plot upsets.
* The last home game is Oregon State. :(. Maybe they're trying to minimize opportunities to tear down goal posts late in the season.
Our Opponents' Schedules
=======================
Before playing us, U$C plays UNLV. But after playing a Rashaad Penny-less SState at home, it feels reasonably fair. U$C should also be breaking in a new, post-Darnold QB.
Before we play Votre Dame, we play Oregon in Autzen. UGH! This is the nastiest hole in our season. The week before Votre Dame plays us, they play at Wake Forest, so, at least it's an away game at a Power 5.
Before we play Utah at home, we play Votre Dame in South Bend after playing Oregon in Autzen (UGH! UGH!) But at least we play Utah at home, as we seem to struggle at Rice Eccles. Before they play us, Utah plays Wazoo in Pullman and they will have already played Washington, so, they will have taken some lumps.
Before we play Washington State, we play ASU in Tempe, and get 9 days after that Thur game. Before they play us, Wazoo plays the Ducks at home.
Before we play Washington, we play at home vs. Washington State. Before they play us, UW plays The Weenies in Weenies Stadium. And they will have already had games against physical teams like Auburn and Utah early on.
=============================
Overall, it feels fair. Even before Wilner's piece, I think the league noticed we were killing ourselves by favoring opportunities for upsets. I especially worry about the Oregon-Votre Dame-Utah stretch, and it feels almost unimaginable that we could escape that without a loss. At least we play Washington fairly late in the season (it reminds me of those classic Stanford-Oregon matchups), so hopefully by then Costello and the offense will be ready to operate in 133.6 decibels.