(12-11-2018 10:22 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote: Did you know...
...last year FSU played what could be the toughest schedule in college football history. The evidence:
...Their opponents were a combined 87-46
...They only played ONE team with a losing record all year (Louisville)
...FSU played 2 of the 4 CFP playoff teams - half! - for the 2nd year in a row
...FSU faced 5 consecutive top 25 ranked teams* - they'd never played more than 3 in a row before.
Quite possibly the toughest schedule EVER.
https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2018/...-ever.html
* ranked at the time FSU played them.
I don't think so.
The current record of Pitt's FBS opponents:105-51(0.671); or with the FCS team added, 108-59 (0.647).
By comparison, FSU's FBS opponents were 88-46 (.657); or including their FCS team (.648).
The Sagarin rating for Pitt's schedule is 76.8 (or ranked 3rd); FSU's is 75.75 (ranked 10th). At least three other Strength of Schedule rankings (every one I checked and four in total) had FSU behind Pitt.
There were 6 common opponents: Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Miami, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Clemson.*
They both played at home vs a 9-win, in-state, non-conference FBS opponent: Pitt vs PSU and FSU vs Florida.
They both played a 2 win ACC opponent: Pitt @UNC and FSU @Louisville
Differences in ACC opponents were Pitt played Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Duke; while FSU played BC and NC State.
Pretty similar until you get to a very major difference in the non-conference schedule: Pitt's non-FBS opponent was @UCF, while FSU played at home vs Northern Illinois.
FSU's FCS opponent, Samford, was a better team than Pitt's FCS opponent, Albany, if you consider that of consequence, but Pitt will also face Stanford in its bowl game.
Pitt's schedule this year may be the first schedule in history where a program will have played 12 bowl teams in a single season.
Pitt also played 3 teams that finished the regular season undefeated (@UCF, @Notre Dame, and Clemson), which might also be a record.
Conclusion: FSU's schedule was not only
not the toughest ever, it wasn't even the toughest this season, nor was it the toughest among ACC members.
*Pitt went 3-3 vs the common opponents while FSU went 1-5.