Hello Followers. Well, the schedule came out a few short moments ago. If you compare what's above to what I wrote a few hours ago here, I'd say things came out pretty favorable. The big downer for me is the placement of Oregon–since I don't see how our D will mature fast enough to have a real shot in that one. That said, Oregon plays Michigan State at home a few weeks earlier, and, depending on what's happening elsewhere (and IF we win our non-conference games), that one could be a GAMEDAY opportunity.
On the bright side, there are some nice pieces to our schedule. For instance, our game against Utah follows their trip to the Big House in Michigan. And, as I noted in the post below, our FRIDAY NIGHT contest with Stanford follows their trip to South Bend and precedes a rematch of the Pac-12 Title game @ASU. So, the Trees figure to be a bit fatigued for that one, will have a shorter week of prep, and might be poised for a let-down. What else could we ask for?
We got two byes and they both precede contests against the Arizona schools. While I don't like Graham having two weeks to prepare for us, I like going down there when its nice but not super hot. I also like the idea of USC coming to Pullman for a cold night game. Although, as I noted in the post-below, I would have REALLY liked our game with them to have been switched with Oregon. At the same time, SC should have depth issues again, so if the injury bug bites them, playing them late might be a good thing for us. Moreover, by the time we play the Beavs, our young secondary should be plenty seasoned.
Anyhow, when you look at the schedule as a whole, this much is clear: IF we win our three non-conference games, this team should find its way back to a bowl. So, the first two games figure to be CRITICAL to our season's fortunes.
Weigh in with your thoughts as time allows.
All for now. Go Cougs!
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