The college football season is just weeks away and it is time to start looking at some schedules. Tough and weak schedules play a major part in who makes the College Football Playoff and the bowls associated with them.
According to Sporting News, Virginia is way ahead of the curve when it comes to non-conference scheduling. They ranked two different categories when it comes to non-conference schedules and games.
The Virginia Cavaliers, who finished the 2014 season 5-7 and missed a bowl game, play on the road against UCLA and then host Notre Dame, William & Mary, and Boise State all in the first month of the season. That slate was good enough for them to be ranked as having the toughest non-conference schedule for 2015.
Now after the Cavaliers finished the previous season under .500, many would question why they would have such a tough schedule the next year. The answer is simple. They are contracted to have these games this year and just think of the possibilities if they pull an upset on one or two of these teams.
The site also ranked the top ten individual non-conference games for the 2015 season and the Michigan State/Oregon game on September 12 topped the list. That is really no surprise. Oregon played in the national championship game in January and Michigan State pulled an upset over another team (Baylor) that was favored to make the College Football Playoff last season and this season as well in the Cotton Bowl.
The Spartans boasted one the nation’s top run defenses last year and that should be the same case this year as they return seven defensive starters. The Ducks are always dangerous, so when these two clash, it is sure to be exciting.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
