Does UMass football have the toughest non-conference schedule in the MAC?

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootball/index.ssf/2012/06/does_umass_football_have_the_t.html

July 4, 2012

I saw this tweet from UMass offensive lineman John Wallace, and it got me thinking.

UMass football! Toughest OOC schedule in the nation! We ready!!

twitter.com/gungatron_58/s…

— John Wallace(@gungatron_58) June 20, 2012

At first, I laughed. There's no way the Minutemen, FBS rookies that they are, could really have

the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation, right?

Well, 124 schedules is a lot to go through, but I did decide to take a look at the rest of the MAC,

and how UMass' non-conference slate stacks up. I ranked the MAC schools' non-conference

schedules from one to thirteen, and lo and behold, what did I find? The Minutemen indeed

have the toughest road — and it's not even that close.

Without further adieu, the rankings.

1. UMass

@ UConn

v. Indiana

@ Michigan

@ Vanderbilt

The Minutemen play four BCS conference opponents, two of which went to bowls last year.

Three games are on the road, including that week-three trip to Ann Arbor to face last year's

Sugar Bowl winners in Michigan. In addition, UMass is the only MAC school that doesn't have a

non-conference game against an FCS school (though, some would argue Indiana counts, with a

1-11 record in 2011 and losses to Ball State and North Texas). Still, when your easiest non-

conference game is against a Big Ten school, you know it's going to be tough sledding. I give

UMass credit for scheduling the big boys — if you're going to move up to the FBS, there's no

sense in scheduling a bunch of cupcakes. Unless, you know, the Minutemen go 0-12. Then,

perhaps, we'll have to take a retrospective look at the scheduling process. Until then, it's full

speed ahead for David into Goliath's den.

2. Miami (Ohio)

@ Ohio State

v. Southern Illinois

@ Boise State

@ Cincinnati

If it wasn't for the cupcake at home against the Salukis (which, I learned via Wikipedia as I was

writing this, are the Royal Dog of Egypt), Miami's non-conference murderer's row would have

topped the Minutemen's. The Redhawks get to be part of Urban Meyer's debut in Columbus.

They get a trip to the smurf turf (which, by the way, is not a bird killer, according to this Los

Angeles Times article). To cap it off, there's a mid-season trip down the road to Cincinnati,

which posted a 10-3 record and was part of the 3-way tie at the top of The Conference That

Now Includes Teams From Both Coasts (perhaps they should call it the Big Country — they'd

even have a theme song). However you cut it, the Redhawks are staring a 1-3 non-conference

record straight in the face.

3. Bowling Green

@ Florida

v. Idaho

@ Virginia Tech

v. Rhode Island

The Falcons usually schedule up, and this year is no different, where they'll be paid handsomely

to take beatings from Florida and Virginia Tech. The Idaho game is very winnable, though, and

Rhode Island should provide some relief for coach Dave Clawson, who was my first post-game

interview at the FBS level after Falcons nearly beat Missouri in Columbia back in 2009.

4. Buffalo

@ Georgia

v. Morgan State

@ UConn

v. Pittsburgh

Buffalo's game against Georgia in Athens is one of the five toughest non-conference games for

MAC teams. The Bulls hope FCS Morgan State will be a walkover (the Bears dropped their only

MAC game of 2011 58-13 to Bowling Green), but the two games against Big Country — er, Big

East — teams will be trés tough. The Bulls fell to Pitt and UConn by a combined score of 52-19

in 2011.

5. Central Michigan

v. Southeast Missouri

v. Michigan State

@ Iowa

v. Navy

The Chippewas somehow convinced Mark Dantonio's Spartans to pay a visit to Mount Pleasant,

where things won't be pleasant for Central Michigan. It doesn't get any easier at Iowa, and a

home game against Navy is no treat either.

6. Ball State

@ Clemson

@ Indiana

v. USF

@ Army

Good luck to Ball State stopping Tajh Boyd and Clemson. They're going to need against the

dark-horse Heisman candidate, who led the Tigers to an 8-0 start in 2011 with superb play at

the quarterback position. The Cardinals will have their hands full with USF's B.J. Daniels too, as

the Bulls look to bounce back from a disappointing 1-6 showing in the Big Country last season.

Ball State is also the first team on this list to face Army. They won't be the last.

7. Western Michigan

@ Illinois

v. Eastern Illinois

@ Minnesota

v. UConn

The bad news: The Broncos face two Big Ten teams on the road. The good news: They are

Illinois and Minnesota. Illinois has a new coach straight from the MAC itself (Toledo's Tim

Beckman) and finished the regular season with six straight losses to balance their 6-0 start, and

finally, once and for all, rid themselves of Ron Zook. Minnesota won just three games last year,

but went 1-0 against the MAC (a 29-23 victory over Miami (Ohio)) and showed signs of life

toward the end of Jerry Kill's first season. The most disappointing thing about the Broncos

schedule? If they swapped UConn for Western Illinois and Minnesota for the Royal Egyptian

Dogs — I mean, Southern Illinois — they'd have had the Illinois sweep. Either that, or swap

Minnesota for Washington and play every FBS team named the Huskies.

Don Treeger/The RepublicanCharley Molnar is calm here, but will he stay that way with the

MAC's toughest non-conference slate?

8. Eastern Michigan

v. Illinois State

@ Purdue

@ Michigan State

v. Army

If a team beats Illinois State at home, but no one sees it, did they really win? The Eagles

averaged just 4,267 fans per home game last year, less than half of any of their MAC

counterparts (including UMass). It could have something to do with the fact that Rynearson

Stadium in Ypsilanti is 6.2 miles from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, or it could have

something to do with the eight total Eagle wins over the last three years (though EMU did go 6-

6 in 2011, to be fair). Either way, the Eagles will be big underdogs at Purdue and Michigan

State. They also play Army. This is not the last time Army appears on this list.

9. Toledo

@ Arizona

@ Wyoming

v. Coastal Carolina

v. Cincinnati

The home game at the Glass Bowl against Cincinatti is the toughest on this schedule, but long

road trips to Tucson and Laramie won't be walkovers either. The only reason Toledo isn't

ranked above Eastern Michigan on this list is because of EMU's game at Michigan State, but at

the end of the day, this schedule could prove to be much tougher than it looks in June. On the

plus side, the Rockets' game against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina is the first game on this

listwith a theme song.

10. Kent State

v. Towson

@ Kentucky

@ Army

@ Rutgers

Kent State will get a chance to avenge the Great Omaha T-Shirt Debacle (kind of) with its game

in Lexington, but probably won't. Hey, at least there's the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The trip to

Central Jersey won't prove any more fruitful, and the lack of bourbon will be disappointing.

They also play Army. No, this isn't the last time Army is on this list. Keep reading.

11. Akron

v. Central Florida

@ Florida International

v. Morgan State

@ Tennessee

You'd think Akron would be higher on this list with the game in Knoxville, but until Derek

Dooley can restore the Vols to previous glory, Neyland Stadium is no longer the horror it once

was for opposing teams. The intrigue in that game: Volunteers vs. Zips, the last two entries in

the FBS mascot alphabet. Should be a barn-burner. Morgan State makes its second (and final)

appearance on this list.

12. Ohio

@ Penn State

v. New Mexico State

@ Marshall

v. Norfolk State

Frank Solich's squad is coming off a thrilling victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and will

be favored in three of its four non-conference games. Other than the opener in Happy Valley,

the Bobcats shouldn't have problems.

13. Northern Illinois

v. Iowa (at Soldier Field)

v. Tennessee-Martin

@ Army

v. Kansas

If Army wants to be in the MAC, why don't they just join? The Black Knights play four MAC

games, and yes, this is the final time they are on this list. The Huskies open their season against

Iowa in the only neutral site non-conference game for a MAC team. At least they won't have to

deal with the pink visiting locker room at Kinnick Stadium. The game against Kansas might look

tough (since the Jayhawks are in the Big 12), but I saw the Jayhawks last year, and it wasn't

pretty.