As I mentioned in the Big 12 grades intro, I’m choosing to grade each team subjectively. Different teams have difference expectations and have to schedule differently. For example, a USC program that is loaded with talent and expects to compete for national titles should schedule non-conference games against teams like Alabama. If Colorado, on the other hand, scheduled the Tide, it would be a bad idea. It would be an embarrassing blowout loss that wouldn’t do much for the program.
I looked at the Big 12 all at once, but for these bigger conferences (especially once we get to the rest of the Power 5 conferences, which each have 14 teams) it makes sense to go division by division. Remember, the Pac-12 plays nine conference games (round-robin within the division and four cross-divisional games), so there are only three non-conference opponents per team.
Pac-12 South Non-Conference Schedule Grades
September 3rd: vs BYU (in Glendale, AZ)
BYU may or may not technically be a P5 opponent (I’ll let others decide that), but the Cougars are a quality team and this should be a good season-opening test for a team that disappointed last year after winning the Pac-12 South in 2014. It would be nice if there was another decent opponent on the non-conference schedule, though.
Grade: B+
September 10th: Grambling State
Grambling was one of the worst teams in the country, by far, a few years ago. Last year, the Tigers won the SWAC West. They’re still an FCS team traveling cross-country, though. What’s the excuse for that?
Grade: F
September 17th: Hawaii
As I mentioned in the Pac-12 North grades, Hawaii might have its season of greatness, but right now it’s basically a cupcake.
Grade: D-
Overall:
Arizona is not quite expected to be a contender, though the Wildcats have the talent to shock everybody. They have a brutal conference schedule incoming, but this is a weak non-conference slate to start it with.
Grade: C-
Arizona State Sun Devils
September 3rd: Northern Arizona
In-state FCS schools are acceptable to schedule, but just barely.
Grade: D
September 10th: Texas Tech
Texas Tech might be a little lower in the Big 12 power rankings than Arizona State is in the Pac-12, but they’re pretty close. And games between P5 opponents of relatively equal stature are what we love to see.
Grade:A
September 16th: @UTSA
This is supposed to be a cupcake game/recruiting trip in the Alamodome. Larry Coker has stockpiled some talent in San Antonio, even though it hasn’t translated to football success yet. Still, this is supposed to be more of an in-season recruiting trip to Texas than an actual non-conference game.
Grade: D
Overall:
We saw really good schedules from the Pac-12 North. A few teams in the South have excellent slates (USC, for one), but we are seeing this trend of two cupcakes and one decent team too much from the South.
Grade: C-
Colorado Buffaloes
September 2nd: vs Colorado State (in Denver, CO)
It’s a rivalry game against a decent Mountain West team. Much to Colorado’s chagrin, this rivalry has been pretty even in recent years.
Grade: B
September 10th: Idaho State
One FCS team is acceptable, even if it’s not fun to watch. But we’ll let it slide because of what comes next.
Grade: D
September 17th: @Michigan
The Wolverines are probably out of Colorado’s league right now, though Michigan was in a bit of a major down period when this game was scheduled. Still, major props to a P5 team for playing a blue-blood on the road–without a return game, to boot.
Grade: A+
Overall:
This is the kind of schedule we like to see. It’s one decent Group of 5 team, one top-level P5 team, and one tune-up. No complaints from me, though maybe for a program in Colorado’s situation it would have been better to schedule a second “gimme” win.
Grade: A-
UCLA Bruins
September 3rd: @Texas A&M
This feels a lot like last year’s Texas A&M/Arizona State matchup, which provided a pretty good game. Of course, UCLA is expected to be better than last year’s Arizona State team, which is a good thing because Texas A&M won that game by 11 points. This one should be closer, assuming Texas A&M is almost as good as last year.
Grade: A
September 10th: UNLV
UNLV just can’t find its way out of the Mountain West basement. This is a weak opponent, but we’ll allow one of those for UCLA. At least it’s not an FCS team.
Grade: C-
September 17th: @BYU
The Bruins complete BYU‘s Pac-12 trifecta but, unlike Arizona and Utah, UCLA will be traveling to Provo. It’s a good game against a good program. UCLA gets full credit for scheduling it.
Grade: A-
Overall:
UCLA is playing a good P5 team, a good independent, and a cupcake that at least plays at the FBS level. Great schedule. Can’t ask for much more.
Grade: A
USC Trojans
September 3rd: vs Alabama (in Arlington, TX)
This is going to be one of the most highly-anticipated game in a loaded Week 1. This will tell us just how close USC is to being elite again — or if it’s already there. Either way, there is only one possible grade to give this game.
Grade: A+
September 10th: Utah State
Utah State has had talent at times this decade. And when this game was scheduled, it had to be in the back of USC’s mind that Chuckie Keeton might be given an eleventh (it felt like that many, at least) year of eligibility for this game. This might be a cupcake game compared to USC, but Utah State is as good of a cupcake as it gets.
Grade: C+
November 26th: Notre Dame
It’s a rivalry game, which takes nothing at all away from the fact that it’s a second likely preseason Top 10 team on USC’s non-conference schedule.
Grade: A+
Overall:
I’ll wait until the fancy computer rankings can come out at the end of the season, but it would shock me if this doesn’t end up as the hardest non-conference schedule in the country.
Grade: A+ with honors
Utah Utes
September 1st: Southern Utah
In-state FCS schools are acceptable, even if the games aren’t fun. It’s doubly excusable if the game comes right before a rivalry game.
Grade: D
September 10th: BYU
It’s the return of the Holy War. Sure, the Holy War returned in Las Vegas last year, but this is the regularly scheduled return in a non-neutral venue. It’s great to see this rivalry return after a two-year hiatus.
Grade: A+
September 17th: @San Jose State
Coach Ron Caragher has the Spartans moving in the right direction, including a bowl berth (and win) last year. There is a bit of talent here too. Add in the fact that it’s a road game, and this gets upgraded to being not-a-complete-cupcake.
Grade: D+
Overall:
Like with Arizona above, BYU is the only good team on the Utah non-conference schedule. But Utah facing BYU is a much bigger deal than Arizona facing BYU.
Grade: C
Other Non-Conference Scheduling Grades
