The out of conference schedule shows the Seminoles facing off against teams like Florida and Oklahoma State during the 2014 season. For a typical year, this would be a nightmare attempting to win the conference as well as handle business in the out of conference games. However, Oklahoma State and Florida both come into this season unranked. This is quite a surprise given the success of both programs during the last five years.
Just last month, every coach took the stand at their respective media days, touting their in or out of conference schedule and comparing it to others. Everyone came armed with ammunition about why their conference is the best and it’s since been the talk of the college football nation.
ESPN weighed in on the discussion touting the SEC and Pac 12 schedules as usual. When playoff talks arose, they suggested multiple times that FSU may be the odd team out among a selection of the four teams to compete in the new college football playoff, due to their soft schedule.
The problem lies in the fact that 2013 W-L records, preseason rankings, and predicted conference strength is completely irrelevant in the 2014 playoff discussion. Why? IT’S BECAUSE NO ONE HAS PLAYED A SINGLE GAME THIS SEASON!
ESPN has done a great job brainwashing its viewers. You can’t fault a team for attempting to load up their non-conference schedule.However, it will take a collective team's record along with their opponent’s record to determine who has an edge at the end of the season. In 2013, who would have guessed that a game at Florida (4-8), could bring FSU’s strength of schedule down, while a game against Duke (9-3) on a neutral site would help it?
Strength of Schedule is only one factor in deciding the four team playoff. Only time, not the talking heads on ESPN, will tell how strong or soft FSU's schedule truly is.
**Special thanks to Chris Holder for the Seminole Pics!
**Additional credit to Michelle C, a huge FSU fan. Thanks for your assistance!
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