I’m Bored. Let’s Argue About Schedules, Part I: Michigan, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, USC, Oregon
Welcome to the first installment of the “bored-as-shit Spring ’25” schedule rankings!
If you want to review the proprietary scoring system, be my guest. Otherwise, just scroll the article, look for your team, and head to the comments. Just know that we are NOT doing six teams each day. There’s a five-way tie that messes that up. But we will do six teams (13-18) today. Without further ado:
18. MICHIGAN (25.5 points)
That’s right, freakin’ Michigan gets the easiest conference schedule this year. Yeah, they host Ohio State, but they also play each Tier 4 team (vs. Purdue, @Maryland, @Northwestern), and the other five games are against Tier 3 teams (@Nebraska, @USC, @Michigan State, vs. Washington, vs. Wisconsin). Sparty’s a rival! Nebraska might be good! Shut the hell up. You host your rival. And you miss Oregon, Penn State, Illinois, and Indiana. If you miss the playoff, you’re frauds. “But we play at Oklahoma.” They were shite last year, and even if you lose, you still should go 9-3 at worst. I hope you lose by five TDs you insufferable bastards.
Rocky Mtn Blue: Ok...sure. We don’t know how the morass-of-mediocrity in the middle of the Big10 is going to play out, so I suppose this is fair. ish. fair-ish. That said, Michigan is NOT going to the playoff. 2025 Michigan is going to look a lot like 2024 Michigan, except with a talented but YOUNG QB (he turns 18 about a week before the season starts), and minus three players taken in the first 13 picks of the NFL draft. Freshman QBs can work out if they have someone to throw the ball to. By far Michigan’s best receiver is a guy who couldn’t earn playing time at Indiana last year. The other guys belong in the MAC. Maybe DII. He’ll last 3, maybe 4 weeks because we won’t be able to protect him, and we’ll be back to hoping to win games 13-10. Only this time without Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant raising hell in the middle of the DL. The important thing here, though, is I usually go to the @Maryland games. And this game is in the MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER. AGAIN. [grumble]
Brian: The advent of the super conferences has added some intrigue to college football. Seldom seen regular season match-ups between Michigan and USC, for example. Penn State and USC. Ohio State and Oregon. But conference expansion has done far more harm than good. And one of the more significant negative effects is the unbalanced schedule.
With 18 teams in the Big Ten, each team plays fewer than half of its conference foes. It’s a situation that, along with the expanded college football playoff, not only takes away from college football traditions, but diminishes the importance of the regular season.
Conference expansion also lends itself to unfair scheduling. Last season, Michigan played three of the four top teams in the final Top 25 poll. Four playoff teams. Who else could make that claim? Indeed, the Wolveirnes arugably played the toughest schedule in the country last season.
This year, the pendulum swings the other way for the Michigan. But is Michigan’s schedule really that bad? Other than Penn State, what other top team is Michigan ducking?
What Michigan’s schedule does provide, is as interesting a road schedule as any team has had in a long time. With trips to Oklahoma, USC and Wrigley Field on tap, this would be a good year for Michigan fans to start cashing in their frequent flier miles.
17. ILLINOIS (25 points)
Bert is coming off a good season, and things seem lined up for something really special. What could possibly go wrong? Well, plenty, if you know the arc of Bert’s career. But if things go sideways, it will be a real accomplishment, because resistance is minimal with the conference slate. Five homes games (yeah, OSU, but also Rutgers, Maryland, USC, and NW), and the road tests top out with the conference opener @Indiana, who will be replacing plenty off last year’s team. @UW (x2) sounds tough, but neither was any good last year. And, yes @thumpasaurus, strange things happen when Illinois plays Purdue. But Purdue is still a very poor football team. Biel with it. Things are set up for another fantastic 10-win campaign, at the very least.
16. NEBRASKA (24 points)
State College won’t be fun, but the only other game against a Tier 1 or 2 team is home to Michigan. Otherwise, it’s five games against Tier 3 brethren (vs. Sparty, USC, and Iowa, and @UCLA and Minnesota) and should-be bye weeks at Maryland and vs. NW (and yes, I’m not to proud to try the reverse jinx six months out). That looks to me like eight games where Nebraska will be, at worst, a field goal underdog. If the bowl streak ends at 1, something will have gone very wrong (especially since the non-conference is three home games, including Akron and…Houston Christian. Way to challenge yourself, guys).
T-14 MINNESOTA (23 points)
@Ohio State and @Oregon creates a bit of a ceiling, but this is probably the cushiest home schedule any team has in conference play next year: Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin, MSU, and Nebraska. Add in @NW, and the trip to Kinnick might be for a 10-win regular season (Buffalo and Northwestern State shouldn’t put up to much of a fight in the non-conference, and @California is not that bad if you’re going to cross multiple time zones to play a P4 foe). Even if there’s a home stumble, anything worse than 8-4 would be damning. Gotta think Peej has the resume polished and ready to send out widely if things go really well.
T-14 USC (23 points)
Congrats on replacing Texas in the “Is former blue blood x back” formulation, fellas. Figured out how to play defense yet? Opening vs. Missouri State, vs. Georgia Southern, @Purdue, vs. MSU is an accommodating way of getting started. B1G-wise, you’re @Oregon, but miss OSU and PSU, and host Michigan. Yes, @Illinois is a super hard game this year, but you host NW, Iowa (notoriously bad on the West Coast) and good ol’ Sparty. Add in @Purdue, and all that should be required to notch a winning conference record is a home win over UCLA. No East Coast trips. The only conference game in the Eastern time zone is Purdue. Not that much too complain about. Except, you know, the continual wasting of elite offensive talent.
13. OREGON (22.5 points)
Think the Ducks are taking a step back? They miss Ohio State and the only Tier 2 opponent is the home date with Indiana. So, yeah, mark down @Penn State as a loss. They could easily lose @Iowa or @Washington (I guess), but split those two, take care of business at home (Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and USC), and neither @NW nor @Rutgers should prevent a 10-2 record and return trip to the CFP, even with some significant offseason losses. The Ducks appear here to stay.
