SEC vs PAC12 Scheduling

[AutzenMember]

I was going to post this in the ongoing aTm thread, but thought this deserved a new thread (at the risk of beating a dead horse).

Did some research with regards to how often each conference travels outside of their timezone to play a non conference game. I travel a bunch and it is extremely difficult to travel into other timezones and stay at your best. With this in mind, here is the data with timezone difference in parenthesis (I got bored after two seasons for the Pac12 and quit…if someone wants to continue tracking more years, have at it). FWIW, IMO, LSU and Alabama do the best job in the SEC of scheduling tougher games…even though this data doesn't show it. However, as a whole, the SEC is pathetic at PROVING they are the best conference and is more interested in PROTECTING the notion of their dominance by not playing outside of the conference. Just my opinion (but an opinion, nonetheless, backed up by many factual data points).

SEC
2014
Tenn. @ Okla. (1)
Auburn @ Kansas St. (1)
2013
Miss. St. @ Okla. St. (1)
Tenn. @ Oregon (3)
2012
- none -
2011
Missouri @ ASU (2)
Georgia @ Colorado (2)

PAC12
2014
UCLA @ Virginia (3)
Cal @ Northwestern (2)
UW @ Hawaii (3)
Colorado @ UMass (3)
OSU @ Hawaii (3)
USC @ BC (3)
UCLA @ Texas (2)
Utah @ Michigan (2)
Stanford @ ND (3)
2013
USC @ Hawaii (3)
WSU @ Auburn (3)
Oregon @ Virginia (3)
UCLA @ Nebraska (2)
Stanford @ Army (3)
UW @ Illinois (2)
ASU @ ND (3)
USC @ ND (3)

[QuackininBama]

I will "Pile on" some here. How bout those SEC late season....errrr....additions:

Mississippi State Nov 8 UT Martin
Ole Miss Nov 8 Presbyterian
Alabama Nov 22 W. Carolina
Auburn Nov 22 Samford
Nov 22 Charl Southern

Seriously, that's just embarrassing. Everyone else is playing through their conference schedule and the SEC basically gives themselves a bye week.

[OregonFan4Life]

It's amazing to me this overrated conference continues to get this respect they don't deserve. This whole "strength of schedule" talk that SEC homers do is insane! They play crap d2 teams and start off 4-0 then because they're undefeated, everyone jumps on the bandwagons, then when the 4-0 teams start to beat each other, they act like they're so amazing for beating the undefeated SEC teams who have played maybe 1 tough game. It's such an embarrassment to college football.

[QuackininBama]

It's amazing to me this overrated conference continues to get this respect they don't deserve. This whole "strength of schedule" talk that SEC homers do is insane! They play crap d2 teams and start off 4-0 then because they're undefeated, everyone jumps on the bandwagons, then when the 4-0 teams start to beat each other, they act like they're so amazing for beating the undefeated SEC teams who have played maybe 1 tough game. It's such an embarrassment to college football.

Exactly! A 4-0 SEC team is ranked 11th, Pac-12, not at all or 18th. Just look at this year. Oregon gets beat by an "Unranked" Arizona team so its pile on to Oregon and the Pac-12. Well if we got the benefit of the doubt, that UNDEFEATED Arizona team would have been ranked 8th in the nation if they were in the SEC (With the EXACT SAME SCHEDULE) so their story there is, "8TH RANKED ARIZONA UPSETS 2nd RANKED OREGON" and we drop TWO spots. Its worse this year to. Them ranking the friggin ENTIRE SEC West in the top 10 is just plain ugly.

[wlduck]

This topic ignores the indisputable fact on the SEC's side; the National Titles and bowl game records. You can make an argument that the 8 game conference schedule and November patsies help them be fresh for the post season. But as long as they keep winning the post season the narrative is not going to change.

I think the playoff will put a serious dent in their post season performance. The SEC has had a run of good teams, favorable scheduling and perception, and even luck, to establish their decade of dominance. I think it will be much harder to duplicate in a playoff system.

[UofDuck]

This topic ignores the indisputable fact on the SEC's side; the National Titles and bowl game records. You can make an argument that the 8 game conference schedule and November patsies help them be fresh for the post season. But as long as they keep winning the post season the narrative is not going to change.

I think the playoff will put a serious dent in their post season performance. The SEC has had a run of good teams, favorable scheduling and perception, and even luck, to establish their decade of dominance. I think it will be much harder to duplicate in a playoff system.

But here's the rub, the SEC bowl tie-ins have leaned heavily with the Big 10. It's become a perfect storm for them. We've absolutely dominated our (pac) one bowl tie-in with the Big 10 too.

[Bud Lee]

This topic ignores the indisputable fact on the SEC's side; the National Titles and bowl game records. You can make an argument that the 8 game conference schedule and November patsies help them be fresh for the post season. But as long as they keep winning the post season the narrative is not going to change.

I think the playoff will put a serious dent in their post season performance. The SEC has had a run of good teams, favorable scheduling and perception, and even luck, to establish their decade of dominance. I think it will be much harder to duplicate in a playoff system.

But here's the rub, the SEC bowl tie-ins have leaned heavily with the Big 10. It's become a perfect storm for them. We've absolutely dominated our (pac) one bowl tie-in with the Big 10 too.

I don't think that is true at all, yeah the sugar bowl tie is with the Big 10 but a lot of times they pull a team from another conference and we have another bowl with the Big 12. we seem to get a lot of ACC matchups too. It does seem though that we never play a PAC team in a bowl though. then of course you have to factor in all the championships games.

[Bud Lee]

It's a at large now that it is a CFP bowl, but I think the preferred matchup was SEC vs Big Ten.

Here is a list of bowls and their tie ins, found it interesting

[SuperDuck]

I was going to post this in the ongoing aTm thread, but thought this deserved a new thread (at the risk of beating a dead horse).

Did some research with regards to how often each conference travels outside of their timezone to play a non conference game. I travel a bunch and it is extremely difficult to travel into other timezones and stay at your best. With this in mind, here is the data with timezone difference in parenthesis (I got bored after two seasons for the Pac12 and quit…if someone wants to continue tracking more years, have at it). FWIW, IMO, LSU and Alabama do the best job in the SEC of scheduling tougher games…even though this data doesn't show it. However, as a whole, the SEC is pathetic at PROVING they are the best conference and is more interested in PROTECTING the notion of their dominance by not playing outside of the conference. Just my opinion (but an opinion, nonetheless, backed up by many factual data points).

SEC
2014
Tenn. @ Okla. (1)
Auburn @ Kansas St. (1)
2013
Miss. St. @ Okla. St. (1)
Tenn. @ Oregon (3)
2012
- none -
2011
Missouri @ ASU (2)
Georgia @ Colorado (2)

PAC12
2014
UCLA @ Virginia (3)
Cal @ Northwestern (2)
UW @ Hawaii (3)
Colorado @ UMass (3)
OSU @ Hawaii (3)
USC @ BC (3)
UCLA @ Texas (2)
Utah @ Michigan (2)
Stanford @ ND (3)
2013
USC @ Hawaii (3)
WSU @ Auburn (3)
Oregon @ Virginia (3)
UCLA @ Nebraska (2)
Stanford @ Army (3)
UW @ Illinois (2)
ASU @ ND (3)
USC @ ND (3)

In all fairness, Alabama played West Virginia this year and Michigan last year. They've played reasonably tough opening games for a few years now.

I do agree that things are heavily tilted in their favor, though. I'd rather Oregon schedule a mid-major opening game, a power conference school in game two and an FCS school later in the season as they do. That would be a less threatening opener in most years, a power conference school for SOS and an FCS school so we could have an opportunity to rest some players, allow injuries to heal and get younger players playing time. Most teams are getting really banged up by weeks 8-9, so it makes sense to do that. My only issue is them not scheduling 9 conference games, too.

[Greydrake]

I think the committee is going to have to man up and take a heavy hand of a viewpoint that 10 game FBS schedules need to be the norm. It might inflame the ire of some teams at first, but they need to create an equitable balance for comparison.

This might work against the Pac12 due to its Western isolation, we don't have the luxury of multiple conferences in the same time zone.