March 7, 2008

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

ADAM CAPARELL
Caparell is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer.
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        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 6/12: 2008 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/6: 2008 Wishlist 6/5: 2008 Schedule Planner - Week 3 5/30: This Year's Kansas? 5/29: 2008 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/23: Walking Tall 5/22: 2008 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/16: Feeling Blue 5/9: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason 2008 Top 25 5/2: Making The Call 5/1: Holtz Comes Full Circle 4/25: Question and Answer 4/18: These Aren't Your '07 Tigers 4/4: Mid-Spring, Pre-Preseason 2008 Top 25 3/28: Tillman's Hall of Fame Legacy 3/21: High School Superstars 3/14: Back Where He Least Expected 3/7: Easier Said Than Done 2/29: Spring Storylines 2/22: Change Is Good 2/15: No Regular Joe 2/8: Pryor Engagement 2/1: Plans For Succession 1/25: All About Practice 1/25: Name Recognition 1/24: Standing Out, In More Ways Than One 1/23: Feeling It 1/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 1/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 1/7: Ring A Bell? 1/4: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/28: New Challenge For Georgia Defense 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect BASKETBALL 3/16: Tougher Than The Rest 3/16: How About These?

We're a shade under six months before the regular season begins and Georgia and USC are still two of the favorites to find their way to Miami for the BCS Championship Game. But who could stand in their way? CSTV.com takes a very early look at what the Bulldogs and Trojans, owners of two of the nine toughest schedules in the country, will face this fall.

Hard

Fresno State

It's not the WAC schedule that's going to present the biggest challenge Fresno State -- although that season finale should be a good one for the Bulldogs -- it's those first three games. Fresno State, off that nice win in the Humanitarian Bowl, will start things off with stern tests against BCS teams UCLA, Kansas State and Wisconsin, the first two coming on the road.

Consider It A Win: There are more than a few winnable conference games for Fresno, but Idaho at home should not present too many problems.

Circle It: The non-conference games are nice, but the WAC could very well be determined when the Bulldogs return to the blue turf.

Aug. 30 - at UCLA

Sept. 6 - at Kansas State

Sept. 13 - Wisconsin

Sept. 20 - at Toledo

Oct. 4 - Hawaii

Oct. 11 - Idaho

Oct. 25 - at Utah State

Nov. 1 - at Louisiana Tech

Nov. 7 - Nevada

Nov. 15 - New Mexico State

Nov. 21 - at San Jose State

Nov. 28 - at Boise State

Wisconsin

 You'd be hard-pressed to find a Big Ten team with the toughest schedule in the country because the league always plays an easy non-conference slate. But Wisconsin actually plays some respectable non-BCS schools this year and has a tough trip the third week of the season visiting Fresno State. And the Big Ten did not do Bret Bielema's crew any favors by placing Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State as the Badgers first three conference opponents.

Consider It A Win: Hosting Cal Poly is an unusual way to finish out the season, but one of the Great West's best should be easy pickings for the Badgers.

Circle It: Wisconsin played the Buckeyes tough last year until things just fell apart in the fourth quarter. Two of the conference's best teams battle early and winner probably has the inside track at winning the league.

Aug. 30 - Akron

Sept. 6 - Marshall

Sept. 13 - at Fresno State

Sept. 27 - at Michigan

Oct. 4 - Ohio State

Oct. 11 - Penn State

Oct. 18 - at Iowa

Oct. 25 - Illinois

Nov. 1 - at Michigan State

Nov. 8 - at Indiana

Nov. 15 - Minnesota

Nov. 22 - Cal Poly

Miami

It's a rebuilding year for Randy Shannon as he enters his second season as the Hurricanes head coach and he has to deal with a bear of a schedule. There are very few easy games for Miami, who will start a quarterback with no college experience and that has yet to be named to go along with a defense that will be missing two of its best players from 2007. It was already going to be a frustrating year for `Canes fans before this schedule was finalized.

Consider It A Win: Charleston Southern. After that, it won't be easy.

Circle It: They're not going to win it, but the Florida game the second week of the season will be a great learning experience for the Canes. They'll face one of the best offenses in the country in a hostile environment. Miami may take it on the chin, but it'll be worth it down the road.

Aug. 28 - Charleston Southern 

Sept. 6 - at Florida

Sept. 20 - at Texas A&M

Sept. 27 - North Carolina

Oct. 4 - Florida State

Oct. 11 - UCF  

Oct. 18 - at Duke

Oct. 25 - Wake Forest

Nov. 1 - at Virginia

Nov. 13 - Virginia Tech

Nov. 20 - at Georgia Tech

Nov. 29 - at North Carolina State

Harder

Alabama

Nick Saban and company start off the season with a primetime Saturday night matchup with Clemson, who could easily be a Top 10 team when the polls come out. Then there are trips to Arkansas and Georgia back-to-back along with trips to both Tennessee and LSU.

Consider it A Win: We can only imagine what the spread is going to look like for the Tulane game.

Circle It: There are a bunch you could point to, but we all know it's going to be an absolute circus surrounding the LSU game with Shy Guy Nick returning to the scene of his greatest accomplishment.

Aug. 30 - Clemson (Atlanta, Ga.)  

Sept. 6 - Tulane  

Sept. 13 - Western Kentucky

Sept. 20 - at Arkansas

Sept. 27 - at Georgia

Oct. 4 - Kentucky   

Oct. 18 - Ole Miss   

Oct. 25 - at Tennessee

Nov. 1 - Arkansas State   

Nov. 8 - at LSU

Nov. 15 - at Mississippi State  

Nov. 29 - Auburn

West Virginia

The Big East will once again be a distant sixth in the BCS conference rankings, but the Mountaineers, under new head coach Bill Stewart, are going to have their hands full with the likes of Pittsburgh and USF to end the season, along with matchups on the road with Connecticut and an early-season swing to ECU and the ever-improving Colorado.

Consider It A Win: Syracuse. The Mountaineers will have almost two weeks to prepare for Auburn and they'll tear through the Orange at home before taking some time off in anticipation of the Tigers.

Circle It: Clearly, it's the Auburn game. It's a Thursday night, primetime game, both should be highly-ranked and it'll be a fun battle between two unique spread offenses.

Aug. 30 - Villanova

Sept. 6 - at East Carolina

Sept. 18 - at Colorado

Sept. 27 - Marshall

Oct. 4 - Rutgers  

Oct .11 - Syracuse

Oct .23 - Auburn

Nov. 1 - at Connecticut

Nov. 8 - Cincinnati  

Nov. 22 - at Louisville

Nov. 28 - at Pittsburgh

Dec. 6 - USF

Colorado

That 2-10 season will be nothing but a distant memory for the Buffaloes when the 2008 campaign begins the last Saturday of August. And coming off the bowl appearance last December, things haven't looked this good at Colorado in some time. The only problem is, Dan Hawkins up-and-coming team faces a pretty brutal schedule having to meet both Missouri and Kansas on the road, playing Florida State at a "neutral" site and welcoming in West Virginia on a Thursday night. Buffaloes have a brutal stretch starting Sept. 18 that doesn't let up until the first weekend of November. But looking on the bright side, they do avoid Oklahoma and Texas Tech.

Consider It A Win: Not many easy ones on this one, but no way Hawkins club falls to an I-AA squad in Eastern Washington like it did a few years back to Montana State in 2006.

Circle It: Plenty to chose from, and avenging that embarrassing loss to Missouri last season would be a logical choice, but it'll be imperative that Colorado beat Kansas Oct. 11 because going 1-2 against West Virginia, Florida State and Texas could be a lot to ask for.

Aug. 30 - Colorado State (Denver)   

Sept. 6 - Eastern Washington   

Sept. 18 - West Virginia   

Sept. 27 - Florida State (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Oct. 4 - Texas  

Oct. 11 - at Kansas  

Oct. 18 - Kansas State   

Oct. 25 - at Missouri  

Nov. 1 - at Texas A&M   

Nov. 8 - Iowa State

Nov. 15 - Oklahoma State   

Nov. 28 - at Nebraska   

Hardest

UCLA

Rick Neuheisel will not have it easy during his first year as the Bruins head coach. He starts out with Fresno State, hosts Tennessee and then has to travel to BYU for a very difficult game against what should be a very good team. And then the Pac-10 schedule starts. Have fun with that.

Consider It A Win: Few guarantees on this one, but go with Washington State. The Cougars hung an embarrassing and surprising loss on the Bruins in Pullman last year.

Circle It: Talk of USC will always consume the Bruins, but with a road trip to Arizona State a couple of weeks before their season finale with the Trojans and having just played Washington in Seattle the week before, UCLA could be in big trouble against the Sun Devils.

Aug. 30 - Fresno State

Sept. 6 - Tennessee  

Sept. 13 - at BYU

Sept. 20 - Arizona

Oct. 4 - Washington State

Oct. 11 - at Oregon

Oct. 18 - Stanford  

Oct. 25 - at California

Nov. 8 - Oregon State

Nov. 15 - at Washington

Nov. 28 - at Arizona State