Michigan's Football Non-Conference Schedules: Historical Perspective - Sports Illustrated

Is Michigan's just-announced 2022 non-conference football schedule historically soft as it's being panned by some, and even if it is so what? 

In 2022 the Wolverines will face the following non-conference schedule (all at home):

Sept. 3 Colorado State
Sept. 10 Hawaii 
Sept. 17 Connecticut 

Critics are panning this slate as soft, and I ask "is that a complaint or a compliment?" 

It's about time Michigan took a page out of the SEC playbook, and realized in this era of the College Football Playoff/New Year's Six it's not who you beat but how many. Until the playoff committee shows a willingness to put a two-loss team in the playoff, or the playoff expands, there's no point to playing a difficult non-conference schedule when you're already facing treacherous conference opposition. 

The SEC has figured this out, and bends the system to its advantage accordingly. Only playing eight conference games, and lining up FCS patsies as glorified byes the Saturday before rivalry week. Just take a look at the non-conference schedules played by these SEC schools that made it to bowl games in recent years:

Alabama 2019
Duke (Atlanta)
New Mexico State
Western Carolina 
Southern Mississippi 

Tennessee 2019
Georgia State
BYU
UAB
Tennessee-Chattanooga 

Kentucky 2019
Toledo
Eastern Michigan
Tennessee-Martin 
Louisville 

Kentucky 2018
Central Michigan
Murray State
Middle Tennessee 
Louisville (coach forced out) 

Georgia 2018
Austin Peay
Middle Tennessee
UMASS
Georgia Tech (coach forced out)

Florida 2018
Charleston Southern
Colorado State
Idaho 
Florida State (went 5-7) 

Mississippi State 2017
Charleston Southern
Louisiana Tech
UMASS
BYU (went 4-9)

These seven teams averaged 9.7 wins! Do you remember anyone downgrading their accomplishments because of this Charmin-soft competition? Of course not, because SEC. Well, two can play at that game. 

But is the 2022 slate really that much weaker than Michigan traditionally plays?

To answer that question, I went all the way back to 1978. Why that season? Because it was the first year Notre Dame came back on the schedule after a decades-long hiatus, and became a fixture on the Wolverines' schedule. 

From 1978-1982, Michigan played a ranked Irish team every season, and except for also facing No. 12 UCLA in 1982, they were the only ranked non-conference opponent the Wolverines played those years. 

Michigan substituted a home-and-home with Washington for Notre Dame in 1983-84, and lost both games. The Huskies were ranked 16th both times. The Wolverines also played No. 1 Miami in 1984, too, and pulled the upset. 

Jim Harbaugh's junior year in 1985, Michigan played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in school history: No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 15 South Carolina, and No. 17 Maryland. The Wolverines won each of those games by a touchdown or more. 

Michigan scheduled both Florida State and Notre Dame in 1986, but only the Seminoles (20th) were ranked. Michigan won those two games by a combined three points. 

From 1987-2003 Michigan played at least one ranked non-conference team every season. That streak was snapped in 2004, but the No. 8 Wolverines still lost at unranked Notre Dame nonetheless. 

Michigan would once again not face a ranked non-conference foe in 2007, when it started 0-2 in Lloyd Carr's final year. That was the start of a trend. No. 18 Notre Dame in 2009 was the only-ranked non-conference foe faced by the Wolverines from 2007-2011. However, that wasn't the result of Michigan scheduling down as much as the Irish's decline during that time. 

Assuming Washington will be ranked the next two seasons when the Wolverines play them in a home-and-home, which is no guarantee with the coaching change in Seattle, 2022 could mark the first time under Harbaugh (provided he's still the coach here) that Michigan hasn't played a ranked team in the non-conference. 

The 2022 non-conference schedule likely won't have any ranked competition, as well as nobody traditionally associated with a power conference. The last time Michigan didn't play a single such team in the non-conference was its Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship team in 1964. But that year the Wolverines did host No. 6 Navy, led by Heisman Trophy quarterback Roger Staubach. 

None of the trio on Michigan's 2022 non-conference itinerary have a profile anywhere near that. 

In fact, it's quite possible the 2022 non-conference schedule is Michigan's weakest since before Michigan State joined the Big Ten and was a fledgling independent. The Spartans were often joined by a couple of Ivy League squads to fill out the slate back then, which takes us all the way back to the Great Depression and World War II. 

What do you think of the historically-anemic non-conference schedule that awaits Michigan in 2022? Let us know in the comments. 

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"football" - Google News
February 09, 2020 at 07:02PM
https://ift.tt/39mcBpn

Michigan's Football Non-Conference Schedules: Historical Perspective - Sports Illustrated
"football" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2ST7s35
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update

Bagikan Berita Ini