Every Friday, the Friday Five will rank something in the world of college football -- anything and everything from the logical to the illogical. This week we rank the most difficult schedules of 2017.
Back in May, I went through every schedule in the Power Five conferences, as well as the American Athletic Conference, to determine which teams will be playing the most difficult schedules in the 2017 season. I did more than just look at a schedule and say "oh that's hard" or "that's easy." My rankings are based on math, using the same formula I've used to compile my Fornelli 50 and Bottom 25 rankings here on CBS Sports.
After publishing the rankings for each conference, there was a common question showing up in my Twitter mentions and my inbox: which schools had the most demanding schedules overall?
Well, I do like to give the marvelous people of the internet what they ask for, so in this week's Friday Five I've decided to rank the five most difficult schedules in the 2017 season. Now, there's something you should all know before we get into it, and it's that there are quite a few Big Ten teams represented here.
The reasoning for this is simple. While the SEC and ACC may be stronger conferences overall, every team in the Big Ten plays nine conference games, while the ACC and SEC play only eight. Furthermore, no Big Ten team plays a team from the FCS this year. Meanwhile, every team in the SEC does, and most ACC teams do. That matters when compiling the numbers.
So be forewarned that there's a lot of Big Ten coming your way here.
| 5 |  |
| Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State teams have won at least 10 games in five of the last seven seasons. If they're to make it six in eight, it will not be easy. While the nonconference schedule may not strike you as a gauntlet, Tulsa is coming off a 10-win season of its own, and a road trip to face Pittsburgh won't be easy. In conference play, the Cowboys only have four road games, but they include Texas Tech, Texas and West Virginia in back-to-back weeks, and finally Iowa State. Between those final three road games is Oklahoma in Stillwater as well. That will be a difficult stretch. | |
| 4 |  |
| Lovie Smith's second season at Illinois will begin with a home game against Ball State, a game his team should win. After that, the rest of the noncon includes Western Kentucky (22 wins the last two season) and a road trip to South Florida (18 wins the last two years). If there's good news, it's that both of those schools have new coaches in 2017, so the transition may be rough on them. Conference play provides Illinois some relief in that they draw both Rutgers and Indiana from the East, but their third East opponent is Ohio State in Columbus. Complicating matters is the fact that some of what you'd consider Illinois most "winnable" conference games will come on the road against Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue. Meanwhile, both Nebraska and Wisconsin come to Champaign. | |
| 3 |  |
| Syracuse will start the season with three rather simple nonconference games. It will play Central Connecticut State (I never realized Connecticut was even large enough to need directional schools), Middle Tennessee, and Central Michigan. Now, aside from the fact all three of those schools seem located near the center of their states, the only other thing they have in common is that they won't be too difficult. Unfortunately for Syracuse, the pain begins afterward: a road trip to LSU. After playing NC State on the road, there's a three-week stretch that includes home games against Pitt and Clemson and a road trip to Miami. The Orange then take a bye week before hitting the road to take on Florida State. Following the Seminoles is a home game against Wake Forest, which should be winnable, but the week after that it's a road trip to Louisville. Reaching a bowl game will not be easy for Syracuse. | |
| 2 |  |
| Jeff Brohm's first season at Purdue will not be a simple one. The noncon includes a home game against Ohio, but that game will come between a neutral site contest against Louisville in Indianapolis and a road trip down to Missouri. Conference play then begins with a home game against Michigan. Are we having fun yet, Purdue? After that, the Boilermakers find themselves taking road trips to Wisconsin, Rutgers, Northwestern and Iowa with home games against Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana sprinkled in between. There's a very real chance that Purdue could be a better team in 2017 yet still finish with a worse record than the 3-9 it posted last season. | |
| 1 |  |
| If Michigan State rebounds from an awful 3-9 record last year to compete in the Big Ten East this year, it will have earned it. The nonconference isn't murderous, but it's not simple, either. Bowling Green should be a win, and Western Michigan won't be easy, but there's some question as to how good the Broncos will be following so many key losses. Then there's Notre Dame, which went 4-8 last season, but Notre Dame was a better team than its record reflected. Still, what does it for Michigan State is its Big Ten schedule. The Spartans not only have to play Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State this season, but only Penn State will be coming to East Lansing. Also, five of Michigan State's Big Ten games will be on the road this season (it's the East's turn), and its cross-divisional draw avoids the West's heavyweights, but it still provides challenges in Iowa, Minnesota and Northwestern. | |
Honorable mentions: Maryland, UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon State, Duke
