Per Phil Steele's blog:

#130 Miami U
#129 OU
#120 BG
#113 CMU
#112 WMU
#102 Akron
#100 Buffalo
#97 EMU
#93. kSU
#81 Toledo
#76. BSU
#58. NIU

Miami isn't going through the ringer this fall, but Marshall, UC, and Notre Dame will probably bounce back. I'm guessing we'll be in the low 100s, though we avoid the best teams out of the West.

NIU will likely go 1-3 in non-conference schedule -- @ Nebraska, @ San Diego St, Boston College, and 1-AA team.

WMU is #112 with USC and MSU? Really?

Ohio's got Hampton, @Purdue, Kansas, @UMass....

So #129 sounds about right.

(05-15-2017 04:44 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Ohio's got Hampton, @Purdue, Kansas, @UMass....

So #129 sounds about right.

Shoot. I don't know how good OU is supposed to be this year, but that looks like it could go anywhere from 1-3 to 4-0.

This is both non conference and MAC right?
BG @ MSU, home IAA, @Northwestern, @ MTSU and the MAC East. I'm hoping for 6-6.

Kent State's playing Howard, Louisville, Marshall and Clemson. I think all those games are winnable

At least I'm sure one of the two teams playing will probably win the game. Not sure if Kent State would win any.

(05-15-2017 06:39 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  Kent State's playing Howard, Louisville, Marshall and Clemson. I think all those games are winnable

At least I'm sure one of the two teams playing will probably win the game. Not sure if Kent State would win any.

Back to back years the Flashes' first FBS opponent is the defending national champ. I think they are afraid to play us at Dix. We have never lost a season opener at home to a defending national champ.

(05-15-2017 08:27 PM)axeme Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 06:39 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  Kent State's playing Howard, Louisville, Marshall and Clemson. I think all those games are winnable

At least I'm sure one of the two teams playing will probably win the game. Not sure if Kent State would win any.

Back to back years the Flashes' first FBS opponent is the defending national champ. I think they are afraid to play us at Dix. We have never lost a season opener at home to a defending national champ.

The Mid American Conference, undefeated in Rose Bowl history.

(05-15-2017 06:39 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  Kent State's playing Howard, Louisville, Marshall and Clemson. I think all those games are winnable

At least I'm sure one of the two teams playing will probably win the game. Not sure if Kent State would win any.

Don't worry about Howard. Bad, bad FCS team.

Do worry about the other three...

(05-16-2017 05:48 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 06:39 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  Kent State's playing Howard, Louisville, Marshall and Clemson. I think all those games are winnable

At least I'm sure one of the two teams playing will probably win the game. Not sure if Kent State would win any.

Don't worry about Howard. Bad, bad FCS team.

Do worry about the other three...

And here's my big worry - last season we had season ending injuries to Justin Agner at Penn State, and Mylik Mitchell at Alabama

We do seem to schedule the big dogs
Clemson this year (won championship prior year)
Alabama 2016 (won championship prior year, lost championship game that year)
Ohio State 2014 (won championship that year)
Alabama 2011 (won championship that year)
Ohio State 2007 (lost championship game that year)

(05-15-2017 02:06 PM)emu steve Wrote:  WMU is #112 with USC and MSU? Really?

Yeah, @USC and @MSU back to back is really tough.

Bear in mind, THIS IS NOT PHIL STEELE'S LIST. This is not his method for ranking the toughest schedules. He just posted this to demonstrate the NCAA's method. You have to read his magazine to see his list.

Some of the ridiculous rankings according to the previous year W/L record:

#113 CMU - FCS, @Kansas, @Syracuse, @BC
#112 WMU - @USC, @MSU, Idaho, FCS

And then some of these other schedules that are ranked much harder...

#100 Buffalo - @Minny, @Army, FCS, FAU
#97 EMU - Charlotte, @Rutgers, @Kentucky, @Army
#81 Toledo - FCS, @Nevada, Tulsa, @Miami(FL)
#76 BSU - @Illinois, UAB, FCS, @WKU....really? This is the 2nd toughest non-con schedule in the MAC??

BG plays a tough schedule but is ranked 120 - @MSU, FCS, @Northwestern, @MTSU


Going on last year's record is a terrible method.

(05-15-2017 04:44 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Ohio's got Hampton, @Purdue, Kansas, @UMass....

So #129 sounds about right.

Looking forward to have you guys finally on campus.

Also think we came in with the #1 hardest schedule.

Are people misreading this? This isn't a ranking of toughest non-conference opponents, but a ranking of ALL opponents (MAC schedule included) based entirely on the W-L record from last year: it's a ranking of who plays the teams who had the best total winning % last year. There is zero attempt to assess what teams might do this year.

(05-16-2017 12:50 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 04:44 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Ohio's got Hampton, @Purdue, Kansas, @UMass....

So #129 sounds about right.

Looking forward to have you guys finally on campus.

Also think we came in with the #1 hardest schedule.

I'm strongly considering making the drive up for the game in Amherst this fall. The google says its only about a six hour drive from where I live now, so that might make for an ideal weekend trip.

(05-16-2017 02:01 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 12:50 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 04:44 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Ohio's got Hampton, @Purdue, Kansas, @UMass....

So #129 sounds about right.

Looking forward to have you guys finally on campus.

Also think we came in with the #1 hardest schedule.

Quote:On March 1st, the Sun Belt released its 2017 football schedule. Now that all the conference slates are out, the yearly debate can begin anew: Which team plays the toughest schedule?

There are many ways to assess schedule strength. The most commonly used method is to combine opponents’ records from the previous season. By this metric, the toughest 2017 schedule belongs to the UMass Minutemen, whose opponents won 65.2% of their games in 2016. They are followed by LSU (62.8%) and East Carolina (62.4%). According to this measure, the easiest schedule belongs to Miami, Ohio (34.0%).

http://philsteele.com/Blogs/2017/MAY17/DBMay13.html

I'm strongly considering making the drive up for the game in Amherst this fall. The google says its only about a six hour drive from where I live now, so that might make for an ideal weekend trip.

Hope so, miss having Ohio on the schedule. As the time gets closer will post a thread (if one is not already started) on Bobcatattack with info.

Parking tickets are $5 in advance and $10 for game day.

Football info on parking

This thread has the limited updates for this year, premium bathrooms and updated concession locations.
http://csnbbs.com/thread-739590-post-143...id14320967

Will post this later on Bobcatattack but created a thread to make it easier to post the thread than all the info to multiple locations.

UMass Visiting Guide thread link

(05-15-2017 08:27 PM)axeme Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 06:39 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  Kent State's playing Howard, Louisville, Marshall and Clemson. I think all those games are winnable

At least I'm sure one of the two teams playing will probably win the game. Not sure if Kent State would win any.

Back to back years the Flashes' first FBS opponent is the defending national champ. I think they are afraid to play us at Dix. We have never lost a season opener at home to a defending national champ.

Honestly I expect the game to be a relatively close game. Opening game, no idea what the offense will do and a date with Auburn lurking? Spells a let down.

WMU being #112 schedule difficulty, playing @USC + @MSU + Bowl-winning G5 Idaho of last year = A tough Non-Conf Schedule. WMU has NIU+Toledo on the road this year, too.

Saying their Schedule is #112 -- basically is a huge slap to the MAC. Not saying it should be #65 (smack dab in the middle) -- but adding *47* places DOWN FROM the middle? Wow.