The easiest and hardest opening schedules in college football
One of the most discussed aspects of college football is scheduling and, more specifically, how a teams' schedule can have a great impact on their season.
Let's take a look at some teams that will take it easy at the beginning of the season and some that will jump right into it...
Easiest Schedules
Arizona State
Opponents: Weber State, at New Mexico, at Colorado
The Sun Devils' opponents combined to go 9-27 last season. The game to watch from a betting perspective is the Colorado game because the Buffs will be better than last year and ASU may be looking forward to their next opponent, UCLA.
Mississippi State
Opponents: Southern Miss, UAB, at South Alabama
These teams also combined to go 9-27 with Southern Miss and UAB splitting just three wins between them. The game to watch is South Alabama because it's on the road and the Jaguars tend to play their opponents close, only losing one game by double digits in 2013.
Duke
Opponents: vs Elon, at Troy, vs Kansas
With this opening schedule, the loss of offensive coordinator Kurt Roper will be minimized as his replacement will have time to ease into position. Keep an eye on the Troy game as they played the Blue Devils close in 2013, only losing by seven in Durham.
Hardest Schedules
Clemson
Opponents: at Georgia, South Carolina State, at FSU
Even though there is a cupcake stuck in the middle, it doesn't get much tougher than this. Florida State has won the last three games in this series in Tallahassee against Clemson. Georgia will be looking to return the favor from last year when the Tigers won by three in Death Valley. From a betting perspective, remember that Georgia is 2-7-2 ATS in it's last 11 games and both Clemson and Georgia have a recent history of going over on points.
Georgia
Opponents: vs Clemson, at South Carolina, vs Troy
The opener against Clemson will have a potential impact on the college football playoff and the last two times Georgia traveled to Columbia to play South Carolina they came up short. One thing to keep in mind is that Georgia gets a week off after the Clemson game while the Gamecocks will host East Carolina.
South Carolina
Opponents: vs Texas A&M, vs East Carolina, vs Georgia
One thing Carolina's first three opponents have in common is that they can score points in a hurry and that will be something to watch with the Gamecocks losing Connor Shaw this year. Another thing to watch is the ECU game as it's a classic trap game stuffed in between two conference games with one of those being a rivalry game. Don't forget that ECU beat two ACC teams last year and only lost to Virginia Tech by five.
One of the most discussed aspects of college football is scheduling and, more specifically, how a teams' schedule can have a great impact on their season.
Let's take a look at some teams that will take it easy at the beginning of the season and some that will jump right into it...
Easiest Schedules
Arizona State
Opponents: Weber State, at New Mexico, at Colorado
The Sun Devils' opponents combined to go 9-27 last season. The game to watch from a betting perspective is the Colorado game because the Buffs will be better than last year and ASU may be looking forward to their next opponent, UCLA.
Mississippi State
Opponents: Southern Miss, UAB, at South Alabama
These teams also combined to go 9-27 with Southern Miss and UAB splitting just three wins between them. The game to watch is South Alabama because it's on the road and the Jaguars tend to play their opponents close, only losing one game by double digits in 2013.
Duke
Opponents: vs Elon, at Troy, vs Kansas
With this opening schedule, the loss of offensive coordinator Kurt Roper will be minimized as his replacement will have time to ease into position. Keep an eye on the Troy game as they played the Blue Devils close in 2013, only losing by seven in Durham.
Hardest Schedules
Clemson
Opponents: at Georgia, South Carolina State, at FSU
Even though there is a cupcake stuck in the middle, it doesn't get much tougher than this. Florida State has won the last three games in this series in Tallahassee against Clemson. Georgia will be looking to return the favor from last year when the Tigers won by three in Death Valley. From a betting perspective, remember that Georgia is 2-7-2 ATS in it's last 11 games and both Clemson and Georgia have a recent history of going over on points.
Georgia
Opponents: vs Clemson, at South Carolina, vs Troy
The opener against Clemson will have a potential impact on the college football playoff and the last two times Georgia traveled to Columbia to play South Carolina they came up short. One thing to keep in mind is that Georgia gets a week off after the Clemson game while the Gamecocks will host East Carolina.
South Carolina
Opponents: vs Texas A&M, vs East Carolina, vs Georgia
One thing Carolina's first three opponents have in common is that they can score points in a hurry and that will be something to watch with the Gamecocks losing Connor Shaw this year. Another thing to watch is the ECU game as it's a classic trap game stuffed in between two conference games with one of those being a rivalry game. Don't forget that ECU beat two ACC teams last year and only lost to Virginia Tech by five.
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