In the rapidly changing landscape of college football, and with a berth in the 4-team College Football Playoff being the ultimate goal for 128 division one FBS teams, a premium has been placed on strength of schedule. Certain teams are taking advantage of the opportunities to schedule exciting games and challenge their athletes with tough games week in and week out. Other teams spend a couple weeks each season padding the stats, positioning a player for a Heisman run, or trying to remain undefeated for the watchful eyes of the selection committee. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the teams who will spend a lot of time in the spotlight this season and how their schedules compare to the Trojans. First up, our week 1 opponent and reigning champion, Alabama.
| Week | USC | Alabama | Weaker Game |
| 1 | Alabama | USC | – |
| 2 | v. Utah State | v. W. Kentucky | Bama |
| 3 | @ Stanford | @ Ole Miss | Bama |
| 4 | @Utah | v. Kent State | Bama |
| 5 | v. Arizona St. | v. Kentucky | Bama |
| 6 | v. Colorado | @ Arkansas | USC |
| 7 | @ Arizona | @ Tennessee | USC |
| 8 | v. California | v. Texas A&M | USC |
| 9 | v. Oregon | @ LSU | USC |
| 10 | @ Washington | v. Mississippi St. | Bama |
| 11 | @ UCLA | v. Chattanooga | Bama |
| 12 | v. Notre Dame | v. Auburn | Bama |
Based on a combination of preseason rankings, conferences in which the teams play, and records of opponents last year, I have USC playing a harder matchup on 7 occasions this year, and Alabama having a tougher game only 4 times.
Notable Alabama cupcakes include: Chattanooga (FCS), Kent State…
Next let’s take a glance at ACC powerhouse, Clemson.
| Week | USC | Clemson | Weaker Game |
| 1 | Alabama | @Auburn | Clemson |
| 2 | v. Utah State | v. Troy | Clemson |
| 3 | @ Stanford | v. S.C. State | Clemson |
| 4 | @Utah | @Georgia Tech | Clemson |
| 5 | v. Arizona St. | v. Louisville | USC |
| 6 | v. Colorado | @ Boston College | USC |
| 7 | @ Arizona | v. NC State | – |
| 8 | v. California | @ Florida State | USC |
| 9 | v. Oregon | v. Syracuse | Clemson |
| 10 | @ Washington | v. Pitt | Clemson |
| 11 | @ UCLA | @ Wake Forest | Clemson |
| 12 | v. Notre Dame | v. South Carolina | Clemson |
Notable Clemson Cupcakes: Troy (FCS), S.C. State (FCS)….
On to the Big 10 with Ohio State.
| Week | USC | Ohio State | Weaker Game |
| 1 | Alabama | v. Bowling Green | OSU |
| 2 | v. Utah State | v. Tulsa | OSU |
| 3 | @ Stanford | @ Oklahoma | – |
| 4 | @Utah | v. Rutgers | OSU |
| 5 | v. Arizona St. | v. Indiana | OSU |
| 6 | v. Colorado | @ Wisconsin | USC |
| 7 | @ Arizona | @ Penn State | – |
| 8 | v. California | v. Northwestern | USC |
| 9 | v. Oregon | v. Nebraska | – |
| 10 | @ Washington | @ Maryland | OSU |
| 11 | @ UCLA | @ Michigan Sate | USC |
| 12 | v. Notre Dame | v. Michigan | – |
This one was more difficult, and I found about 4 games to be a push, with the only cupcake being Tulsa who is FCS.
So how does this all tie together, and what do these silly charts mean? To me, it means that week-to-week, USC will face a tougher opponent than these three big programs on 20 occasions. They will have an even quality game on 6 outings, and play the easier game 10 times. To further belabor the point, enjoy Cowherd’s take on this subject, which admittedly sparked the creation of this post, and I just say cupcake for what he calls creampuffs…good stuff from The Herd.
In some cases…a coach can get a little sensitive on these type of games
This is just my take on what is a bold and aggressive USC schedule. It’s up to us to settle the SEC/Pac 12/ACC/Big 10 debate, wouldn’t that be nice…
Fight On
The Late Game 
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