Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller
Programs that don't schedule tough non-conference opponents are cowards.
That's a statement of fact, not an opinion.
When folks pipe in a variety of excuses for their beloved team's weak non-conference schedule, they are no different than parents who defend their child after he just got caught cheating on a test at school.
Their defense is based entirely on emotion. They are defending bad behavior. They'd do the perception of their intellect a service by hushing up.
Moreover, these fans should muster their outrage for cowardly -- and greedy -- athletic directors who schedule boring, automatic victories but still charge a full ticket price for a terrible game.
Of course, the Pac-10 is the conference of bravery. It doesn't embarrass itself by scheduling Appalachian State, Troy, North Texas and Tulane (LSU) or Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU and Massachusetts (Texas Tech).
But this isn't about comparing the coward conferences and programs to the brave, courageous, lordly, distinguished, heroic Pac-10. You can go here for that.
This is about looking at each Pac-10 team's non-conference schedule, rating it and telling what it means.
Arizona
Opponents: Idaho, Toledo, at New Mexico
Rating it: 10th
What it means: It means a 3-0 start for Arizona, which gets the Wildcats and beleaguered coach Mike Stoops halfway to the program's first bowl game since 1998. It's also sort of annoying for our purposes here because the only Pac-10 team with a terrible non-conference schedule is first in the alphabet and therefore is too close to our trash talking above. But please note that Arizona has played LSU (twice), Purdue, Wisconsin, Utah and BYU in recent years, and, in fact, this is the Wildcats first truly weak non-conference slate.
Arizona State
Opponents: Northern Arizona, UNLV, Georgia
Rating it: 5th
What it means: High marks for the Georgia game -- it's one of the best non-conference games of the year. But all three are at home and two should be sure-things.
California
Opponents: Michigan State, at Maryland, Colorado State
Rating it: 7th
What it means: Shows how tough the Pac-10 non-conference schedules are -- two BCS opponents, one on the road, only ranks seventh. But the Bears will be favored in each of these games.
Oregon
Opponents: Utah State, at Purdue, Boise State
Rating it: 9th
What it means: It's a respectable though fairly strategic slate -- the Ducks should win all three. Little is expected from Purdue this year and Boise State isn't the same away from home.
Oregon State
Opponents: at Penn State, Hawaii, at Utah
Rating it: 4th
What it means: Three quality games. Penn State has 18 starters back and Happy Valley can be intimidating. Utah might become a non-BCS darling (again) ... like Hawaii was a year ago.
Stanford
Opponents: at TCU, San Jose State, at Notre Dame
Rating it: 6th
What it means: Two road games and a rivalry game make this a fairly tough slate, but the Cardinal could win all three. That would go a long way toward getting them to a bowl game.
UCLA
Opponents: Tennessee, at BYU, Fresno State
Rating it: 2nd
What it means: Welcome back to Westwood, Coach Neuheisel! You've got an opener against an SEC power and then two other ranked teams. What's worst: No matter that BYU and Fresno State likely will get preseason rankings; most folks will view a UCLA loss to either as an embarrassment.
USC
Opponents: at Virginia, Ohio State, Notre Dame
Rating it: 3rd
What it means: Just business as usual at USC, with Notre Dame and at least one other marquee non-conference game. Of course, Ohio State's visit figures to be one of the two or three biggest games in 2008. The winner could immediately rise to No. 1 in the national rankings, and if Ohio State wins, its path through a middling Big Ten to a third consecutive national title game doesn't appear arduous.
Washington
Opponents: BYU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame
Rating it: 1st
What it means: It means Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham, who probably needs a winning record to save his job, didn't get any favors from the schedule-makers. And remember Washington's opener is a rivalry game at Oregon.
Washington State
Opponents: Oklahoma State (Seattle), at Baylor, at Hawaii
Rating it: 8th
What it means: This is a thoroughly respectable slate, but it shows the depth of the tough non-conference schedules that this one ranks eighth (really struggled to distinguish between Oregon, Stanford, Cal and Washington State).
Ted Miller has been covering college football since 1997, starting with Auburn and then heading West to Washington and the Pac-10. His columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer won first place in 2007 APSE Best Writing contest. The Atlanta native and University of Richmond graduate presently lives with his wife in Scottsdale, Ariz.
