FanPost

FSU and UF 2011 Schedule Comparison(Improved)

 

Hey guys and girls,

We are all in the dreaded dead period and we all are itching for that first kickoff this fall. So I have been thinking about something to do a fanpost on to try and help somewhat ease(to the best of my ability) the passage through the dead period. So I decided on doing a schedule comparison between FSU and UF for the 2011 football season. I ranked each one of the games on each teams respective schedule on a scale of 1-10. 10 being the toughest and 1 being a team that if you add them to your schedule on NCAA football it will make your letter grade drop down. I figured this could lead to some good conversations. So here's a rundown of the rules I went by,

*Whether the game is a home or an away game with be taken into consideration.

*How many days in between games is also taken into consideration.

*Finally position of the teams bye week can negatively or positively affect a score.

That's pretty much it, I just took all those things into account and looked at the returning players and tried to assign a number that was fair. Now I'm certainly not a expert on these teams, I had to learn about most of the other teams rosters from various sources before I felt like I could assign a fair number. So I am definitely open to changing these scores, just let me know what yall think.

So lets get to it, I will start with FSU's schedule:

Game #1 ULM 9/3/11-

ULM is returning all 5 of their offensive linemen from last year, yet none of them recieved any all-conference votes. They run a 3-3-5 base defense. 18 starters returning(10-O,8-D)

Ranking: 2

Game #2 Charleston Southern 9/10/11-

Couldn't find to much info on their football team.

Ranking: 1

Game #3 Oklahoma 9/17/11-

Entering this game as the likely consensus #1 team in the nation. They have 2 legitimate Heisman candidates on offense, and their defense is very good too. Not getting much tougher than the Sooners.

Ranking: 10

Game #4 @Clemson 9/24/11-

Their defense will likely take a step back with the loss of two very big playmakers in Bowers and McDaniel. Although I don't expect it to as a huge step back because I think that Kevin Steele is a great coach. Brand new offense this early in the season is a wildcard for me. I do think that Andre Ellington could have a very good year though. Death Valley is a very tough place to play and factor in we have our toughest game of the year a week prior. Later in the year I could see this as a legitimate 8, but for now I'm going for a solid 7

Ranking: 7

Game #5 @Wake Forest 10/8/11-

Wake after our bye week really made me consider changing my self-imposed rules of only 1-AA teams receiving a score of 1. 16 returning starters(8-O,8-D)

Ranking: 2

Game #6 @Duke 10/15/11-

Rules are made to be broken, that's what they say. But I'm gonna stick with them. I do like David Cutcliffe as a coach though, at a program that cares about football. But I do admire him for sticking at Duke and doing what he wants to do, not just following the money. 13 returning starters(7-O,6-D)

Ranking: 2

Game #7 Maryland 10/22/11-

Maryland had a nice season last year at 9-4, but I definitely think that they will regress from that mark this season. I think that Danny O'brien is a good qb, but with the loss of Torrey Smith I think that his numbers will go down. Kenny Tate is a very good player on defense. 14 returning starters(7-O,7-D)

Ranking: 4

Game #8 NC State 10/29/11-

If Russel Wilson had come back this game would be much tougher. I think that Glennon can be a good qb, but I don't know how good he will be this season. Losing Nate Irving definitely hurts this defense and I think that they take a step back. They also lose a lot of depth along the dline.

Ranking: 4

Game #9 @Boston College 11/3/11-

This is FSU's toughest game since Clemson. It's a Thursday night game on 4 days rest, I don't care who you are playing 4 days rest is tough. Not to mention according to mapquest we are traveling 1321.43 miles to head up to Boston. BC is always a very disciplined team. Montel Harris a a good runner, and Luke Kuechly is an absolute beast, all the guy does is make plays.

Ranking: 7

Game #10 Miami 11/12/11-

A rivalry game that is always tough. Many people have been talking about how the future at Miami isn't that bright, but this team this year still has plenty of talent. I see their offense taking a step forward and their defense a step back. The offense only takes a step forward, however, if they lean on their running game. They have got a very good group of backs and a very good oline. The receivers have been very inconsistent, and let not get started on the qb situation.

Ranking: 6

Game #11 Virginia 11/19/11

I think that in time Mike London can do some good things at UVA, but this isn't the year. I think that they will still be pretty bad this year.

Ranking: 2

Game #12 Florida 11/26/11

How good their offense will be is really unknown, although they certainly have talent. How much of Weis' playbook will they be able to run in year 1? How will John Brantley progress in this new offense? Will the receivers be consistent this year? With Aubrey Hill as their coach, I don't really think so. Also losing 4 starters on the oline is tough. The strength of this team will definitely be its defense, especially the front 7. The dline is stacked, I mean stacked with ridiculous amounts of talent. But depth is an issue and it is possible these great players could wear down as the season progresses i.e. FSU's dline last season. However these guys are great players and Gator fans should expect big things out of them. I'm just hoping to see Moses Jenkins again :)

Ranking: 8

Now on the the Gators schedule:

Game #1 FAU 9/3/11-

Beware Schnellenberger's stache, that's all I have to say. 12 returning starters(7-O,5-D)

Ranking: 2

Game #2 UAB 9/10/11-

15 returning starters(7-O,8-D)

Ranking: 2

Game #3 Tennessee 9/17/11-

They lose their top 3 receiving targets, they were targeted on 59% of UT's pass plays. They lose 3 of their top 5 linebackers. Also their top returning linebacker got hurt this June so he will miss at least part of the season.  However I did not factor in the rivalry aspect as well as I should have the first time around.  Quite a few Gator guys said this should be about a 6.  Also Tyler Bray will probably be one of the best qb in the SEC next season. 

Ranking: 6

Game #4 @Kentucky 9/24/11-

They were very competitive against many big teams last year. But they are losing their best player in Randall Cobb, their starting qb, and many other offensive pieces. Defense is returning 9 starters, but they weren't anything special last year.  While I don't think that they will be that good, I see them as a step up from Vandy, Duke, Wake, etc.

Ranking: 3

Game #5 Alabama 10/1/11-

Serious national title contender, with a ridiculous defense and a feature back. I do think that Oklahoma is the best team, but not by much.

Ranking: 10

Game #6 @LSU 10/8/11-

I do think that LSU is being overhyped to a degree. However they are a very very talented football team. But I think that Les Miles won't always be so lucky and that he will make one of those crazy calls and screw up big time. They are also losing a playmaker at every level of their defense: Drake Nevis, Kelvin Sheppard, and Patrick Peterson. They may be extremely talented but those players will be tough to replace. IMHO I do not think that they are quite on the level of Oklahoma and Alabama . Also Death Valley is an extremely tough place to play, so that gives them a 10. 15 returning starters(8-O,7-D)

Ranking: 10

Game #7 @Auburn 10/15/11-

To say that this team will look different than last year's is an understatement. They only have 1 starting linemen back. Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb are very good backs, but they need holes to run through. I might be understating them, but I think that they are going to be bad this season.(I screwed up this original ranking) 8 returning starters(4-O,4-D)

Ranking: 5

Game #8 Georgia 10/29/11-

Aaron Murray looks to be a very good qb. They recently lost their very good offensive tackle for the season, so they now have only 3 returning oline starters. The loss of A.J. Green is huge for this offense and for Aaron Murray. Teams will not have to gameplan around him anymore, so that is a plus for teams that are preparing to play UGA. Also Weis gets a bye week to come up with a good gameplan before facing the Dawgs.  I originally had this as a 6, but Flagators informed me that UGA has their bye week the week before they face UF.  So that took away that advantage that I thought UF had.

Ranking: 7

Game #9 Vanderbilt 11/5/11-

It's Vandy, no offense to them, but you can't expect much. 19 returning starters(11-O,8-D) will definitely help though.

Ranking: 2

Game #10 @USCe 11/12/11-

They have two of the best playmakers in the SEC in Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery. Since Spurrier has been there their defense has always been stingy. However they are losing 5 defensive starters that were talented, and USCe certainly doesn't reload defensive talent like Bama does. Losing 4 of the front 7 starters. I also think that the whole Stephen Garcia thing could become a big distraction.  Originally I had this as a 7 but it is an away game,  and you won't find many more talented players than Lattimore and Jeffery. 12 returning starters(6-O,6-D)

Ranking: 8

Game #11 Furman 11/19/11

n/a

Ranking: 1

Game #12 FSU 11/26/11

FSU is being touted as a top 10 team going into next season. But we are certainly not without questions. How will EJ fit into being the full time starter? How will the defense progress in its second year under Stoops? Will the receivers be more consistent? Will we have competent safety play? Those are all fair questions. I think that the defense will improve a great deal in their second year of the zone scheme. I think that moving LaMarcus Joyner to safety will greatly help the overall safety play. I think that EJ will fit in fine, although I expect there to be some growing pains. And finally I think that the receivers will be more consistent because they competiton level at that position is growing so they will have to be at the top of their respective games to play. I also think that our defensive front will be much better this year because we have much better depth this season. So our whole dline won't be burnt out by the end of the season.

Ranking: 8

Now I went into this assuming that Florida would have a tougher schedule, and I tried to rank teams to the best of my ability and knowledge. I also tried to be the least biased I possibly could be. I know that this is certainly not perfect in any way, and I'm very welcome feedback and will gladly change a ranking if a case is presented that I agree with.

So drumroll please, the final tally comes to:

FSU: 55

UF:64

UF's and FSU's schedules seem somewhat similar to me, but I think that UF's is definitely tougher. Thanks very much for reading guys and I welcome your feedback.

 

*It definitely took me a few tries, and I admit the the original one was off quite a bit(I definitely didn't have enough knowledge of all the SEC teams).  But I think that this one is looking a lot better.  Thanks for the patience and all the comments.  I'm sure it can still be improved though, so I'm still open to any suggestions.  Thanks for reading!

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