Getting Tired Of Hearing The Knocks On Our "Weak" Schedule

teamplayer

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2001
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Well our OOC schedule is weak this year. Louisville is without Lamar Jackson and with the likes of Arkansas St, Lousiana-Laffayette, and The Citadel, it doesn't look very challenging. The Citadel game on Nov. 17th really looks bad when other Power 5 Conferences (Pac 12, Big 10, Big 12) are scheduling nothing but conference games in November. It is just not Alabama either.....Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, SC, Auburn, LSU, & A&M all play weak OOC schools that week.

The SEC can help this by either going to a 9 game conference schedule (which Saban wants) or just scheduling nothing but conference games in November. Make all SEC teams play their 4 OOC games and take their bye week in Sept. and Oct. and leave Nov. for nothing but conference games.
I would rather keep it like it is. I say let these talking heads complain about our schedule this year. They are simply incorrect about this being the Saban way. Most of his years at the Capstone we have had brutal schedules. We play in the toughest conference, so we do need a few breaks in the schedule here and there. In November we already play LSU, MSU, and AU. I say no thank you to adding another conference game in there. Other conferences can easily schedule a few tougher out of conference opponents because most of their conference opponents are either weak or very weak. We play Louisville, Texas A&M, LSU, MSU, and AU this year, and I think all of those teams will spend time in the Top 25 rankings. As others have mentioned, those talking heads who like to complain about Bama's schedule are just trying to get attention because no one wants to hear them say that they think Bama is great and will win another championship.
 
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BamaInMo1

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Oct 27, 2006
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Everybody has that weak opponent on their schedule. They just want the king to play a harder schedule to make the odds better of the king being knocked off.
 

BamaFanInTally

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Nov 18, 2002
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Perhaps we would turn into media darlings if we scheduled all weak-patsy teams in conference and back our way into a bowl game with a P5 opponent that was favored, only to pull an upset. Oh wait, we would be UCF then.

Louisville is a quality opening opponent. No one knows how good Auburn, LSU, or Texas A&M will be and Pruitt may get UT back on track. Arkansas could present challenges and surprise some worth Morris as HC. Just need to let things play out.

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selmaborntidefan

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1) Per Team Rankings dot com, we played the toughest schedule in the country in 2009, 2012, and 2015 - and won national titles each year. We were also #2 in 2014 and #1 in 2016 as well.

2) Since 2009, we have never ranked LOWER THAN SEVENTH in SoS. Even in 2008, we ranked #12.

3) No team has played or WON more big games in the entire history of college football as Alabama has the last decade.

4) No team loses as many juniors to the NFL year after year after year as Alabama, either.

5) It seems a bit hypocritical to me for any sports pundit who talks about UCF as national champions (looking at Danny Kanell and the usual suspects here) to turn right around and complain about SoS. You can't complain about Alabama's SoS and then turn around and proclaim the greatness of a team who played a lesser schedule.

6) Let me deal with this canard for the last time......it's a lawyer worded statement that goes like this:

"Alabama/Nick Saban/The SEC doesn't play out of conference games on the road outside of the Southeast."

The unstated assumption is that they should. But it's not true on ANY level. For starters, we played Penn State in Happy Valley in 2011 with a sophomore starting his first-ever road game and rolled a ranked team. LSU played Washington on the road, Tennessee played Oregon on the road. This statement is false and absurd at every level.

But it's again a misleading statement because:

a) there are no open dates to go play these Midwestern teams in these alleged blizzards in November....either for Alabama or for anyone else. I believe some of the conferences have rules both about open dates and about OOC scheduling. Not sure on that, but I'm positive I read that somewhere.

b) even these supposed cold weather teams always play their conference title games....wait for it......on a rug indoors.......

c) it's very unfair to hack on Florida - they DO play FSU every single year, which is a tough game. South Carolina plays Clemson every single year. Just because they don't leave the state to do it doesn't make it any less of a challenge.

7) Someone needs to ask the Tim Brandos of the world if they're in favor of education for non-athletes and then point out to him that Mercer University stays open because of that game with Auburn and the one with Alabama.
 

Redwood Forrest

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Sep 19, 2003
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Hey. It's me and my name is Fact. We opened with Michigan and stomped them. They said Michigan was down. We opened with USC and stomped them. They said we hadn't played anyone cause USC was down. We played FSU and they well, "FSU is down, no wonder you beat them." While I can find fault with Mercer and the like I can't find fault with our P5 games. Roll Tide.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Hey. It's me and my name is Fact. We opened with Michigan and stomped them. They said Michigan was down. We opened with USC and stomped them. They said we hadn't played anyone cause USC was down. We played FSU and they well, "FSU is down, no wonder you beat them." While I can find fault with Mercer and the like I can't find fault with our P5 games. Roll Tide.
That's why I said it's a lawyer's statement.

Because the comeback is..


"Yeah, you played them at a NEUTRAL SITE in the SOUTH because you're AFRAID to play road games up north in November. You would only play Wisconsin in Dallas, you wouldn't play them at Camp Randall. blah blah blah."


I don't disagree with you at all, but this is the level of jack ashery we have to deal with.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Perhaps we would turn into media darlings if we scheduled all weak-patsy teams in conference and back our way into a bowl game with a P5 opponent that was favored, only to pull an upset. Oh wait, we would be UCF then.

Louisville is a quality opening opponent. No one knows how good Auburn, LSU, or Texas A&M will be and Pruitt may get UT back on track. Arkansas could present challenges and surprise some worth Morris as HC. Just need to let things play out.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

The amusing part is that the very same media that bloviates about Boise State, Utah, and UCF not "getting a chance" DESPITE their bakery manufactured schedules turn right around and complain about the schedule when it's Alabama.

It's no accident that the moment TCU and Utah joined major conferences with more challenging slates, they stopped going undefeated.
 

Tideflyer

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Dec 14, 2011
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Win them all and it will not matter. But this is the weakest that your schedule has been in a long, long time. Not your fault, but it is true.
Agree. Very little, if any, room for error this year IMO. Know it depends on what other teams do as well, but the chances of a low SOS this year are pretty good.
 

bamamick

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Feb 22, 2005
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Yep. Very tired of it. Part of the thing with social media and having so many sports talk shows, it gives people something to fuss about.

rtr
 

CrimSonami

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Everyone wants to see the giant slain. For years it's been "SEC! SEC! SEC!" and now that we've been consistently at the top and the much of the SEC has stumbled they're making excuses for Bama not sliding down the hill with them. It'll never change while CNS resides in T-Town. Might as well just smile and wave.
 

BamaMoon

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Apr 1, 2004
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Well, ours is always going to be "easier" because we don't have to play us, right?

As someone said, the first mistake is listening to too much talk radio. Turn on some good music or something else.

And, as someone else said, just win 'em all. And this year, I think we've got a great chance to run the table. I kinda think CNS, if he was being frank, would tell us he'd like another perfect season so we don't have to depend on others losing to help us when we drop a game.
 

BamaInBham

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Everyone wants to see the giant slain. For years it's been "SEC! SEC! SEC!" and now that we've been consistently at the top and the much of the SEC has stumbled they're making excuses for Bama not sliding down the hill with them. It'll never change while CNS resides in T-Town. Might as well just smile and wave.
IMO, it's more about Alabama than CNS. He never got the kind of grief at LSU that he gets at Bama - not even close. IMO, if he were at USC or ND or other bluebloods, while people would have tired of them, the nature and intensity of the grief would be completely different. While many Bama fans imagine things that are not there - all fanbases think that they don't get the credit they deserve or get criticism they don't. I hate to say this, but I do as one who can be objective when I want to, there is a definite media and masses bias vs Alabama. Some of it is because of the current run of unprecedented success, a lot of it is because it's a University that is located in a despised state within a despised region and has historically been that despised region's bellcow for almost 100 years now. Part of it is because Bama has a segment of its fanbase that is unsavory in an unsophisticated and vocal way and they now have access to the public airwaves, whereas before they could only write unfortunate letters. To be fair to the fanbase, great success can bring out this type of person who wants to identify with something good. Too bad that not many more typical Bama fans don't call in :).

Since the mid 80s Bama does not even get favorable press from its local media in the larger markets like Huntsville, Mobile and esp Bham, though the opposition seems to have subsided lately, at least in the Bham area. IMO, part of that is the decline of the Bham News - what's their circulation now 172 :)?

IMO, credit should be given to the University PTB and the fanbase for being willing to endure the onslaught that is inevitable with the success that anyone and especially Alabama faces with that success. That's one reason some individuals and orgs shy away from success. Though some don't see the link. Alabama has the courage to stand up. It's much easier to slink by.
 

81usaf92

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Apr 26, 2008
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Everyone wants to see the giant slain. For years it's been "SEC! SEC! SEC!" and now that we've been consistently at the top and the much of the SEC has stumbled they're making excuses for Bama not sliding down the hill with them. It'll never change while CNS resides in T-Town. Might as well just smile and wave.
If the SEC only won 2 bowl games a year.... I would be very happy as long as those 2 wins are Bama. You’ll never hear me chant ,” SEC SEC SEC”.
 

CrimSonami

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IMO, it's more about Alabama than CNS. He never got the kind of grief at LSU that he gets at Bama - not even close. IMO, if he were at USC or ND or other bluebloods, while people would have tired of them, the nature and intensity of the grief would be completely different. While many Bama fans imagine things that are not there - all fanbases think that they don't get the credit they deserve or get criticism they don't. I hate to say this, but I do as one who can be objective when I want to, there is a definite media and masses bias vs Alabama. Some of it is because of the current run of unprecedented success, a lot of it is because it's a University that is located in a despised state within a despised region and has historically been that despised region's bellcow for almost 100 years now. Part of it is because Bama has a segment of its fanbase that is unsavory in an unsophisticated and vocal way and they now have access to the public airwaves, whereas before they could only write unfortunate letters. To be fair to the fanbase, great success can bring out this type of person who wants to identify with something good. Too bad that not many more typical Bama fans don't call in :).

Since the mid 80s Bama does not even get favorable press from its local media in the larger markets like Huntsville, Mobile and esp Bham, though the opposition seems to have subsided lately, at least in the Bham area. IMO, part of that is the decline of the Bham News - what's their circulation now 172 :)?

IMO, credit should be given to the University PTB and the fanbase for being willing to endure the onslaught that is inevitable with the success that anyone and especially Alabama faces with that success. That's one reason some individuals and orgs shy away from success. Though some don't see the link. Alabama has the courage to stand up. It's much easier to slink by.
It IS about Alabama. Not only the University but about the state and the stigma of the "South" in general to some degree. And you're exactly right about the PTB. Especially Coach Mal pulling off the "CNS Miracle" we're so blessed with. No CNS didn't catch that kind of grief at LSWho but only because he left for Miami before he finished what he started. He could have built a juggernaut there like he built here, IMO. He was well on his way but Les wrecked the bus after he took the keys.

For now I'm just gonna enjoy the ride and "Smile & Wave" at the talking heads waiting for them to boil over and/or explode. :biggrin2:
 

jthomas666

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Aug 14, 2002
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As has been noted, this year's schedule is pretty weak. The OOC openers are generally good, but someone undercut by being neutral site. I've got no problem whatsoever with us playing an uber-cupcake before the Iron Bowl, but we should upgrade mid season OOCs. I'm sure the reason we don't is that it allows us to have more home games, but damnit, we need some good home and home series.
 

bamamick

All-American
Feb 22, 2005
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Apparently Tim Brando made some comments that there is favoritism towards Alabama with the committee, and that our schedule is 'pathetic' (if I heard correctly). From what I understand he was bashing schools in the SEC for playing FCS schools, of course turning a blind eye to the ACC and other schools who play lower division teams. If it is a big deal go ahead and pass a rule that we can't play them. Better yet, create yet another 'Saban rule', and pass a rule that P5 conference schools can only play other P5 conference schools.

Go ahead. I dare you.

rtr
 

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