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PFF College 10 Hardest schedules in College Football

scarletred

Nebraska Legend
Jun 17, 2001
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31,132
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1) Arkansas
2) Nebraska
3) Georgia Tech
4) Purdue
5) South Carolina
6) Mississippi State
7) Indiana
8) Auburn
9 Ole Miss
10) Florida State
 
Now we have a reason to feel good if Scott puts another crap product on the field in year 4.
Or another way to look at it; we have reason to be excited if we improve to an 8 or 9 win season.

I am sure there will still be some that will use it as an excuse. But I don't think it is nearly as many as you would hope. Another .500 season or worse and something has to change.
 
Interesting how everyone always complains how weak the B1G conference is, yet we have one of the toughest schedules. Figure out the logic in that.
 
Interesting how everyone always complains how weak the B1G conference is, yet we have one of the toughest schedules. Figure out the logic in that.
Are you up the opinion that preseason schedule strength readings or a bit inaccurate? For example if Nebraska were to win eight games the season and Wisconsin or Northwestern only win six games, is our schedule still tough or is anyone else’s that much weaker. Let’s look at it at the end of the year. I would think any team in the SEC west would have just as difficult schedule as Nebraska. They will all play Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M. 5 of the 7 teams are ranked in some preseason top 25, draw Florida or Georgia from the East and that is ridiculous.
Given a choice, with Ohio St and Alabama being a wash, I would rather play Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin than LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn, (Ole Miss, Miss St or Arkansas)
 
Or another way to look at it; we have reason to be excited if we improve to an 8 or 9 win season.

I am sure there will still be some that will use it as an excuse. But I don't think it is nearly as many as you would hope. Another .500 season or worse and something has to change.

I think you are probably correct here. I am very optimistic about season and next two years but 100% agree with your last sentence about another sub .500 in 2020 and what it means. While I could write quite a bit about why I expect this to be a good football team with Illinois game only 60 days away might as well wait and see how they look.

My current prediction is 8 wins. A team that can win 8 games with our schedule beats this illinois team by 25+ in a game as statistically lopsided as the Rutgers game with the expected point total to match. If we happen to lose the game or scrape by in there coaches first game it is fairly certain we are in for another long year and a coaching change sooner rather than later
 
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end of the day if we dont turn it over, do better than average at special teams and call reasonable, doable plays inside the 20 we will do just fine. we are the adolescent that cant walk and chew gum at the same time until proven otherwise.
 
Ah, the old days when playing us made the opponents strength of schedule more difficult.

It is interesting when people list teams we play and then label it a win, loss or toss up. I wonder how many people of opposing teams do the same with their schedule and pencil the Nebraska game as a win now days without hesitation.

My how things have changed.
 
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With the exception of Penn St swapping with Purdue, this is the conference schedule Nebraska had it's 1st year in the B1G in 2011 10 years ago except the dates of those teams we played then and now.

Novenber is gonna be brutal

Ohio St 11/6
Wisconsin 11/20
Iowa 11/26

Ohio St and Iowa are in Lincoln wth a bye between Ohio St and Wisconsin.
 
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Are you up the opinion that preseason schedule strength readings or a bit inaccurate? For example if Nebraska were to win eight games the season and Wisconsin or Northwestern only win six games, is our schedule still tough or is anyone else’s that much weaker. Let’s look at it at the end of the year. I would think any team in the SEC west would have just as difficult schedule as Nebraska. They will all play Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M. 5 of the 7 teams are ranked in some preseason top 25, draw Florida or Georgia from the East and that is ridiculous.
Given a choice, with Ohio St and Alabama being a wash, I would rather play Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin than LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn, (Ole Miss, Miss St or Arkansas)
Well of course I never put much faith in the preseason rankings. BUT until the season starts it's all we got. Usually it reflects last year's overall performance. More importantly though it reflects the national perception going into the season so the B1G doesn't have as bad a strength reputation nationally as some posters here would have us believe.
 
Or another way to look at it; we have reason to be excited if we improve to an 8 or 9 win season.

I am sure there will still be some that will use it as an excuse. But I don't think it is nearly as many as you would hope. Another .500 season or worse and something has to change.
Well at least we shouldn't have to hear the AD use that as an excuse.
 
So if we were good the 2nd toughest schedule in the nation would not look hard?
If Nebraska was a top 20 or top 10 team, it would up other teams difficulty level. Purdue would pry be higher on that list for example. If Iowa was coming off of four consecutive years without a bowl game; Nebraska, Purdue, and Indiana would be lower on that list.
 
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That and the fact of playing 2 of top 4 rated teams in the country..
judging schedule difficulty can be done a LOT of different ways. This is just one way.
another way to look at it is there are a LOT of games NEB could very well win because other than those 2 Top 10 teams they dont really play anybody else they couldn't beat.
saying a schedule is tough because 2 out of 12 games are tough is exaggerating the impact of those 2 games on the overall schedule.
i would prefer to play 2 really tough games and 10 mediocre games to playing 12 pretty legit teams and no top 10 teams.
NEB has a lot of winnable games on the schedule. in my opinion it can't be close to the toughest schedule if there are a lot of winnable games.
 
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1) Arkansas
2) Nebraska
3) Georgia Tech
4) Purdue
5) South Carolina
6) Mississippi State
7) Indiana
8) Auburn
9 Ole Miss
10) Florida State
IMO, Oklahoma and tOSU are the only two teams on the schedule where the odds of us winning are quite low. This season we have the players to match up fairly evenly or better with the other 10 teams on the schedule. Eight or nine wins in the regular season is by no means out of the question.
 
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Damn, Nebraska bringing Iowa’s strength of schedule down!
That’s rich having the trolls from Iowa comparing strength of schedule. Pick damn near any year and compare their crossover games in conference to ours. Look at the 2024 schedules … we draw Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State; they draw Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana. Someone please explain the level playing field in this dumpster fire of a conference.
 
That’s rich having the trolls from Iowa comparing strength of schedule. Pick damn near any year and compare their crossover games in conference to ours. Look at the 2024 schedules … we draw Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State; they draw Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana. Someone please explain the level playing field in this dumpster fire of a conference.
He was joking with me. I got the joke. You didn't.
 
I got it. Jokes aside, am I the only person feeling we on the whole have a scheduling disadvantage since entering the B1G? Fully realize the new kids on the block take what they get (ask Penn State how they were treated first 10 years in conference). Don’t see anything similar being dealt to Rutgers and Maryland. No way to have this discussion without coming off as whining so will leave it at this mini-rant, but the hopes of leaving the Big 12 to come to a conference where all the seats at the big table were equal HAS NOT OCCURRED.
 
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That’s rich having the trolls from Iowa comparing strength of schedule. Pick damn near any year and compare their crossover games in conference to ours. Look at the 2024 schedules … we draw Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State; they draw Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana. Someone please explain the level playing field in this dumpster fire of a conference.

Nebraska will never have Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana as all 3cross over games in one year..

Yet by 2025 Ioway will have played Ohio St only 3 times in 14 years and they were suppose to play them last year till the conference changed the schedule and still didn’t leave them on the schedule.

They even adjusted the schedule for 2021 but no Ohio St insight and as we part and change crossover games with playing one from the opposite divisions we lose Ohio St and pick up Michigan and Ioway losses Penn St and picks up Rutgers…
 
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I got it. Jokes aside, am I the only person feeling we on the whole have a scheduling disadvantage since entering the B1G? Fully realize the new kids on the block take what they get (ask Penn State how they were treated first 10 years in conference). Don’t see anything similar being dealt to Rutgers and Maryland. No way to have this discussion without coming off as whining so will leave it at this mini-rant, but the hopes of leaving the Big 12 to come to a conference where all the seats at the big table were equal HAS NOT OCCURRED.
They set the matchups to with Ohio St to showcase an East vs West matchup. They did the same with Iowa and Wisconsin with Penn St and Michigan respectively. The fact that Nebraska hasn't lived up to the billing isn't on the Big Ten. Now going forward, in 2022 to 2025

Here's a look at the protected crossovers:

  • Illinois & Penn State
  • Indiana & Purdue
  • Iowa & Rutgers
  • Maryland & Northwestern
  • Michigan & Nebraska
  • Michigan State & Minnesota
  • Ohio State & Wisconsin

Based on today's records and trajectory, the only teams getting screwed are Wisconsin and Ohio St. So there is that.

Nebraska only plays Ohio St in 2024 in that time frame. Ironically, both Nebraska and Wisconsin play Penn St, Michigan and Ohio St in 2024. If all 5 teams are able to become or stay relevant that year, that would be some exciting football. Of course Iowa has Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana from the east.
 
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