CBS: SMU tied for 2nd toughest OOC schedule

[East Coast Mustang]

Interesting in light of all the banter about whether we should have dropped Baylor from the schedule:

2. (tie) SMU | Index -- 3.5: The Mustangs load up on their old SWC foes, opening against Texas Tech then, visiting Texas A&M and TCU later in September. In Week 2, they get a really strong FCS opponent, Montana State, which won 11 games in 2012. Just going 2-2 before joining the new American Athletic Conference seems optimistic.


http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... es-of-2013

[East Coast Mustang]

To clarify, I think if we want to get where we need to be as a program, we should be at or near the top of this list every single year (and then beat somebody).

[Harry0569]

Beat me to it.

I agree - to be the best you must BEAT the best.

[SMU 86]

I disagree, we need to take the TCU/Boise approach. 1 tough BCS game, 1 easy game and then a 50/50 game.

[East Coast Mustang]

I disagree, we need to take the TCU/Boise approach. 1 tough BCS game, 1 easy game and then a 50/50 game.

Need four games, though.

We already have UNT locked in for the foreseeable future, as well as Baylor. I'd like to see us extend TCU as well- judging by Del Conte's comments which I recently psoted, they seem in favor of keeping it as well.

So- UNT, TCU, and Baylor. Then I'd like to see us add one game a year against another BCS opponent. Maybe not Alabama or LSU, but SEC teams like Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vandy, and Mizzou would travel well and create a lot of interest in the DFW area. Plus, they're not automatic 59-0 blowouts like Bama would be. If we could knock off one of those teams it would be a huge boon to our credibility. Other teams to consider: UCLA (lots of CA students at SMU, would drum up interest), Northwestern, Texas Tech (like keeping them around on the schedule), BYU (travels well). All of these teams want to recruit Texas obviously, and I think more teams than you'd think would be open to scheduling us in Dallas.

[East Coast Mustang]

I'd also like to see us try and schedule a marquee opponent like Notre Dame, USC, Oklahoma, or Texas once in a blue moon at Jerryworld. At least get our name out there. BYU beat OU there a few years back. No reason we couldn't get 50k plus there for one of those opponents.

[jpe747]

I would like to see a game with the west coast...USC, UCLA, etc.

[AusTxPony]

With UNT, TCU, and Baylor, we should have some good attendance then we should schedule a beatable BCS opponent like Ole Miss (however, didn't they have an amazing recruiting class recently), Vanderbilt, Iowa St, Kansas, Kentucky...

[East Coast Mustang]

I would like to see a game with the west coast...USC, UCLA, etc.

Yep. We should have plenty of East Coast exposure in our new conference, but I'd love to see us schedule a game out in California sometime. A lot of SMU students are from CA, seems like a no-brainer to me. UCLA and Houston had an OOC series recently, we should do the same.

[TWALV33]

I'd really like to see Ole Miss in the last slot. Very similar type school (while not quite as academic) as ours; they also have the same colors . Plus being an SEC team they will be sufficiently difficult while remaining a winnable game, unless they start getting good again which with Freeze its looking probable....

[blackoutpony]

I would like to see a game with the west coast...USC, UCLA, etc.

I would even be cool with our almost conference mates SDSU as the sort of 50/50 game. Other good possibilities include Cal (50/50), Arizona of ASU (close enough to CA for the exposure), Utah (I just kind of like the idea of playing the original BCS buster as a measuring stick) and of course USC of UCLA. More people show up to SC games these days in LA (by about 30K (90K vs 60K)), but we would prob have better chance against UCLA. Maybe we could replace Hawaii on USC's schedule every year, I'm sure June would love that

[Billy Joe]

You guys are idiots to suggest we schedule a bunch of BCS teams in non-conference. We need wins. The AD needs to schedule 4 winnable games. We get more benefit from wins than trying really hard and losing to BCS teams. We will be lucky to make a bowl game this year because we will be 1-3 or 0-4 to start the season. 2-2 if we are lucky and catch Tech in a transition with a new qb and coach.

[blackoutpony]

You guys are idiots to suggest we schedule a bunch of BCS teams in non-conference. We need wins. The AD needs to schedule 4 winnable games. We get more benefit from wins than trying really hard and losing to BCS teams. We will be lucky to make a bowl game this year because we will be 1-3 or 0-4 to start the season. 2-2 if we are lucky and catch Tech in a transition with a new qb and coach.

In the past 5 years alone, TCU's OOC included Baylor (3 or 4 times), Oregon State, Clemson, Virginia, Oklahoma, Stanford and freaking Texas. Not to mention having played perennial top 25 teams in the MWC of Utah, BYU and Boise State. Yeah, they didn't get into the Big 12 by being slouches and loading up a crappy schedule every year. They played quality BCS teams and were taken seriously.

If you want to stay in the AAC (CUSA 2.0) forever, then yeah, lets play 2 FCS teams, South Alabama and UNT every year. If you want to play with the big boys (which it might honestly be too late, but its can't hurt to try) we need to play, be in games with and beat quality opponents

[Grant Carter]

You guys are idiots to suggest we schedule a bunch of BCS teams in non-conference. We need wins. The AD needs to schedule 4 winnable games. We get more benefit from wins than trying really hard and losing to BCS teams. We will be lucky to make a bowl game this year because we will be 1-3 or 0-4 to start the season. 2-2 if we are lucky and catch Tech in a transition with a new qb and coach.

No disrespect to Montana State, but if we go 0-4 to start the season then no reasonable schedule would have been easy enough for us to get 6 wins.

[SMU 86]

You guys are idiots to suggest we schedule a bunch of BCS teams in non-conference. We need wins. The AD needs to schedule 4 winnable games. We get more benefit from wins than trying really hard and losing to BCS teams. We will be lucky to make a bowl game this year because we will be 1-3 or 0-4 to start the season. 2-2 if we are lucky and catch Tech in a transition with a new qb and coach.

In the past 5 years alone, TCU's OOC included Baylor (3 or 4 times), Oregon State, Clemson, Virginia, Oklahoma, Stanford and freaking Texas. Not to mention having played perennial top 25 teams in the MWC of Utah, BYU and Boise State. Yeah, they didn't get into the Big 12 by being slouches and loading up a crappy schedule every year. They played quality BCS teams and were taken seriously.

If you want to stay in the AAC (CUSA 2.0) forever, then yeah, lets play 2 FCS teams, South Alabama and UNT every year. If you want to play with the big boys (which it might honestly be too late, but its can't hurt to try) we need to play, be in games with and beat quality opponents

TCU never loaded their OOC schedule with all BCS teams (1 or 2 at the most). And they usually played one D1AA team each year. I believe we downgraded our schedule to add a D1AA team this year which was a smart move.