2014 Preview Questions: How difficult is the schedule?

One of the less mentioned aspects to last season's bounce back year was our manageable schedule. Three very winnable games in Army, New Mexico State and Villanova, gave Addazio a good base for bowl eligibility. This year the schedule is not as friendly. But how difficult is it?

The experts think BC's got a challenging slate. Phil Steele ranks our Schedule Difficulty at 28 (second most difficult in our division behind Syracuse). As Steele points out, the NCAA's metric considers BC's schedule the 15th most difficult. Most of the computer models also factor in replacing Maryland with Louisville, a road MAC game and playing USC again. On paper it seems like this will be tough. However, when you break things down, I don't know if it is that much worse than last year.

The UMass game in place of New Mexico State is huge boost. NM State was a terrible team, but we traveled to them and their staff had a familiarity with our personnel. UMass is a road game where we don't have to travel and where half the crowd will be BC fans. Colorado State is respectable but we will be favored. USC at home is tough, but they will be breaking in a new staff and travelling a long way early in the season.

As for the ACC schedule...things seem manageable too.  We have winnable road games at NC State and Wake. Toss up games like Pitt and Syracuse are at home. Winning games under any circumstances is tough, but I think we could be favored in at least six of our games. For a young team with a new QB, that doesn't seem too daunting.

If you break it down into parts, the schedule looks fine. Go 3-0 in the "cupcakes," split with the ACC peer programs like Wake, Cuse, Pitt and NC State, and then steal one from the big boys of Clemson, VT, Louisville, and Florida State. That is a respectable six wins, especially in a transition year for a young team. 

Gut reaction to 2014 Schedule

We've known who BC was going to play for some time. But today BC and the ACC released the official schedule with dates. Here are my initial reactions:

• The schedule is much more balanced than last year. There is no killer stretch. If you had to pick the toughest area it would probably be three road games in four weeks with Clemson in the middle.
• Having an off week before Florida State is nice.  The defending champs are going to be really good next year too. We will be underdogs, but at least we have a week off to prepare.
• Another Friday game to open the home slate. I know I like Friday games more than actual ticket holders, but Pitt on a Friday after playing in Gillette is not bad. 
• We can go bowling with this schedule. Because of all the departures, expectations will be low. But seeing the schedule on paper and how it plays out, this team can get to six wins. UMass and Maine are near automatics. We will probably be favored against Colorado State. I don't expect to beat FSU. If we can split with Wake, Pitt, Syracuse and NC State and steal one from the VT, Clemson Louisville, USC group, we can be in the post season again.