Unbalanced Schedule - Whining

[Klemnop]

With the buzz from football NSD still lingering in Tiger Territory I thought I'd venture over here and vent my frustrations to a group that might actually give a damn.

I realize that every season is different and the scheduling is done years in advance...so it really does turn out to be a "luck of the draw" situation, but the following disparity between the schedules of Clemson and VaTech is abominable.

Assuming Duke, MD, Wake and FSU/Tech (it really doesn't matter which of the two of those you pick - furthering the argument) will finish the conference slate 1-4 and that NCState, Miami, UNC and BC will finish 9-12 - we have the following schedule outcome:

Clemson will have played 7 out of a possible 8 games against the Top 4 (Duke, MD and FSU/Tech x2 plus Wake x1). VaTech will have played 4 out of a possible 8 (Each of the Top 4/5 x1 - doesn't matter if you make FSU or Tech #4 it's the same outcome. In fact I considered comparing games vs. the Top 5 but that would have been trying to arbitrarily skew the argument in my own favor.)

Meanwile Clemson will have played 5 out of a possible 8 vs. the Bottom 4 (BC x2, UNC, Miami and NCState x1) while VaTech gets a whopping 8 out of 8 vs. the bottom 4.

VaTech could finish the year 10-6 while Clemson could finish 8-8 and I would make a strong argument that Clemson had the more successful conference regular season.

The unbalanced schedule sucks.

Klem

[Lord Ash]

Yes it absolutely does, and when NCAA selections come along, I HOPE that they are smart enough to take that into consideration.

And this WOULD be the one year Clemson doesn't go to UNC... what crap.

[hood7]

My snarky side wants to point out: You don't have to play as many games against the top 4 if you win enough games to be IN the top 4 (you'd max out at 6 games).

That said, I know I join a chorus of people who hate the unbalanced schedules in the ACC. I don't have the stats, but I'm pretty sure Duke has also had a couple years where our schedule was top-heavy/bottom-light (after all, we play MD and UNC twice each EVERY year). Regardless of which team(s) get stuck with an 'unfairly' tough schedule in a given year, it diminishes the conference as a whole.

[bird]

My wife and I were talking last night, and she asked if there was a ACC football championship game.

The double round robin, with an eight team league, was about as close to perfection as we can achieve in this mortal coil, and the ACC sold it for trinkets.

[Mal]

Lord Ash hit on it already: Klem, is this just an indirect way of saying "OF ALL THE STINKIN' YEARS, THEY PICKED THIS ONE TO NOT GIVE CLEMSON A GAME IN CHAPEL HILL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Us oldtimers who remember a certain promise of yours will join in that lament, for sure. :eek:

[Klemnop]

Lord Ash hit on it already: Klem, is this just an indirect way of saying "OF ALL THE STINKIN' YEARS, THEY PICKED THIS ONE TO NOT GIVE CLEMSON A GAME IN CHAPEL HILL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Us oldtimers who remember a certain promise of yours will join in that lament, for sure. :eek:

As an "oldtimer" you'll know that I find none of this out of the ordinary. The cosmos was built around certain guiding principles. Clemson Shalt Not Defeat UNC In Chapel Hill is one of those fundamental things that holds the universe together. I'm OK with it. I'm at peace. You all should be too.

The cosmos knows when it might be putting itself at risk. It takes steps to prevent The Apocalypse. The scheduling quirk only further cements my belief in this Truth.

Klem - who I absolutely positively guaran-damn-tee nobody should be "exposed" to.

[hurleyfor3]

The cosmos was built around certain guiding principles. Clemson Shalt Not Defeat UNC In Chapel Hill is one of those fundamental things that holds the universe together. I'm OK with it. I'm at peace. You all should be too.


Yeah, it's the freaking Schrödinger Wave Equation of the ACC.

We all have beefs about the scheduling. You guys whine about not getting to play unc in chapel hill, we whine about having to play a non-rival twice every year, unc fans whine about not getting to beat up Wake twice every year, Florida State fans whine about all this basketball talk diverting attention away from spring football practice and Wake fans whine about... well, everything. Repeat after me: Expansion sucked.

[BlueintheFace]

K is not a fan of the scheduling either...

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/bluedevils/story/1233958.html

[pfrduke]

In related news, thanks to the DC/VA snowpocalypse, Maryland is now another team we'll be playing that has substantially more rest heading into our game.

[Jderf]

Yeah, it's the freaking Schrödinger Wave Equation of the ACC.

Yes... just, yes.

- jderf

[roywhite]

What's the deal with playing some teams twice (Duke vs Clemson and Duke vs GaTech, for example) before playing other teams once (Duke vs UNC or Duke vs MD, for example)?

The unbalanced schedule itself was not strange enough; I missed the explanation as to why this development (just beginning this year?) has been introduced...

[91_92_01_10_15]

What's the deal with playing some teams twice (Duke vs Clemson and Duke vs GaTech, for example) before playing other teams once (Duke vs UNC or Duke vs MD, for example)?

The unbalanced schedule itself was not strange enough; I missed the explanation as to why this development (just beginning this year?) has been introduced...

IIRC, ESPN has traditionally saved the Duke-UNC game for the first Wednesday after the Super Bowl (last year may have been an exception), so they could market it heavily as a launching pad into their coverage of college basketball (with no competition from the NFL).

With the Super Bowl being played a bit later this year, my guess is that the scheduling changes were made to accommodate TV.

[Highlander]

IIRC, ESPN has traditionally saved the Duke-UNC game for the first Wednesday after the Super Bowl (last year may have been an exception), so they could market it heavily as a launching pad into their coverage of college basketball (with no competition from the NFL).

With the Super Bowl being played a bit later this year, my guess is that the scheduling changes were made to accommodate TV.

I thought the same thing. No way ESPN lets Duke/UNC get overshadowed in the pre-super bowl hype; It's always been their game to turn the country's attention firmly towards college basketball.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Lord Ash hit on it already: Klem, is this just an indirect way of saying "OF ALL THE STINKIN' YEARS, THEY PICKED THIS ONE TO NOT GIVE CLEMSON A GAME IN CHAPEL HILL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Us oldtimers who remember a certain promise of yours will join in that lament, for sure. :eek:

Ahh, but even in Carolina's 8-20 season, Clemson couldn't get it done.

[BD80]

I don't give a sh*t about the unbalanced schedule. Part of the problem is the ACC scheduling to get Duke on TV as much as possible. I'm OK with that, personally and from a recruiting standpoint and a Duke revenue standpoint.

More important, let's make it as tough as possible, trial by fire sort of thing. The team gets stronger through adversity and I look for the team to be tough in March and April.

[camion]

I'm all for playing a solid schedule, but I'm not one of those who believes it's always true that, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Too much of adversity can be a bad thing even for those with an ultra-positive outlook.

http://www.ibeatyou.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/monty-python-black-knight.bmp

[91_92_01_10_15]

I'm all for playing a solid schedule, but I'm not one of those who believes it's always true that, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Too much of adversity can be a bad thing even for those with an ultra-positive outlook.

http://www.ibeatyou.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/monty-python-black-knight.bmp

LOL. True, but what choice do you have, really, when facing adversity? I mean, we might as well try to make the best of it.

[BD80]

I'm all for playing a solid schedule, but I'm not one of those who believes it's always true that, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Too much of adversity can be a bad thing even for those with an ultra-positive outlook.

http://www.ibeatyou.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/monty-python-black-knight.bmp


LOL. True, but what choice do you have, really, when facing adversity? I mean, we might as well try to make the best of it.

Like the Black Knight, we could call it a draw!