Maze Games

Here we go again, it is that time of the year. Things are now getting real, with recruiting starting and getting your non conference schedule sorted. That non conference schedule is key in my opinion, but what do i know. Getting the non conference schedule right can get you a long way. I hope your favorite real life college team is signing all the recruits they want and maybe you also get yours in this recruiting cycle, unless you are battling me for the recruit.

Emails have been sent for invitations for non conference games. So please remember to check your inbox because there could be one waiting for you. Remember not to just delete those emails, it might cost you a dearly, and we might have to get some questionable folks involved to get them back. Read through the emails and make sure you fully read them and see who the invitation is from.

For non conference games I think you should try to get some winnable games scheduled and some non winnable games scheduled. You want the winnable games because well, they are winnable. With said games, they do not necessarily have to be Sim AI games, they could be some human coaches too. I have lost games to Sim AI at a BCS school and it sucked, so those are not always winnable. I would suggest get a mix of human and Sim AI games for your winnable games as this allows you to see what your team can do well and you also chalk up some wins for yourself. With these winnable games on top of the exhibition games you can try out new game plans and test your freshman players. You get the chance to see what areas you might need to work on during the season. You might note that your team this year is better at passing than they are at running the rock. Though there are some coaches who just believe in their systems and do not worry about much.

You should definitely have some non winnable games on your non conference schedule. You want those games to challenge yourself and your team. These games get to really test what you have for the year. They give you a chance to test that new game plan to see if it will really work for you this season or maybe you should do what you know. These games give you a chance to see were you measure up against the coaches you consider better than yourself and they can allow you to pick up somethings from their game plan when you play them. They will allow you also to see weaknesses in your game plan which you can try to rectify during the season or through recruiting the next season. Now with these non winnable games you can get them by scheduling elites, or BCS schools or even mid majors. What matters in this case I think is the coach you will be facing and the game plans you are likely to face in the games. With the world filling up I feel like every game will be a non winnable game soon. At least for me I consider all the games non winnable.

Since we do not have a play off system at the D1A level, might I dare suggest that those who feel like they have a shot at the national title game face each other in the non conference games. So in this case you will have your usual suspects, the elites, and some BCS schools, such as our current champs. I believe elites should play more elites in their non conference games just to see who the top elite is. Have a round robin system, somewhat similar to what is done at the D1AA level were people play each other and they keep a table of the winners. I believe this would be interesting to see. With the elites I think all games are winnable games because well you are an elite. When you face another elite, then maybe that could be your version of a non winnable game. Let us take Texas as an example, they already face Oklahoma in their conference and possibly Nebraska so that is 2 elites they will face, then for the non conference why not pick 3 elites to play, one from the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten for this year and switch it up next year. Playing 4 or 5 elites in a season would be tough but as an elite I think it would be fun as you challenge yourself and see how you do. It will also allow you to knock those schools out of the running for the national title game, so i think playing other elites increases your chances of going to the big dance.

With the non conference games at a rebuild I would not try to get too many non winnable games scheduled because, well, it is a rebuild but once the team is in the image you want then try to get some good games scheduled. Having a good non conference schedule might help down the line with that SOS, with a lot of coaches now in the world that might be a way to get further up the rankings. Schedule good coaches who will win after you play them so that your SOS is a good one and you can get yourself a good ranking at the end of the season. Better non conference games means better SOS which in turn means higher ranking which means better bowl games which means more recruiting money which means you can recruit better talent as you can spend more and you improve your teams, you schedule better teams again, so it just is all round a good thing to schedule good teams.

Again with all I have said just remember I do not know much of anything so do not take me too serious because these are just rumblings from the maze that is my brain. I would not mind hearing from the great coaches in our world on how to get the non conference right or if there is a way to get it right. Again thanks for traveling with me in the maze and good luck with recruiting.