Neither is Pitt, but we didn't struggle against them.I would disagree here. Missouri and Tennessee are nothing to write home about. Both 5 win teams. Mississippi State went 8-4 but before 'Bama had an easier schedule than my JV High School team. LSU and A&M...this is brutal, I agree. But not an insane 5 game stretch by any means.
Going into the season our first games were an absolute gauntlet. Traveled to Dublin to play Navy, then Purdue, MSU at night, Michigan at night, Miami at Soldier Field, then Stanford. That is a pretty brutal stretch. These teams did not turn out to be what we thought they would. But notice something about every team ... each played in a bowl game (Miami opted out).