Sometimes it is not just the best teams that play in the title game. Who you play and where you play them can sometimes determine teams with the best record.
Today we look at Conference CUSA. CUSA plays an 8-game schedule so all teams have 4 home and 4 away games so there is no advantage there.
The next category to look at is conference records from last year. This year two new teams were added to the league in Delaware and Missouri St. Both teams had winning records last year but neither team defeated an FBS team. I decided to put each team with two conference wins just like Kennesaw St which joined the league last year. This has uneven records with the teams’ foes combining for a 352-416 record. It should be a 64 deficit at 2-6 is -4 wins times 8 games time 2 teams would be 64. Therefore, the math matches.
Now using Delaware, and Missouri St each at 2-6 the team that faces the toughest schedule is Delaware as they face teams that were 36-28 56% last year while the next closest is FIU at 32-32 50%. The easiest schedule goes to Liberty at 25-39 39%.
The above category has some flaws. For example, both Sam Houston and Jax St had great records last year at 6-2 and 7-1. Both teams are practically brand new this year losing the majority of their starters and have new head coaches. Also, Liberty last year was 5-3 so you would get credit for playing a middle of the pack team this year but Liberty was a couple of plays away from playing in the title game and do look like the top team in the league this year.
I have the chart color coded. Now, you may disagree with my ratings, but these are my Power Poll numbers which consider all nine sets of my power ratings . I have put the teams in three colors.
The top level of teams are the powers. I list those teams in RED for you do not want to play them. That top level category in no particular order is Liberty, WKU and Louisiana Tech.
The next level is in Blue and they are teams that look like bowl teams or bowl caliber teams for this year.
The bottom level is Green for teams that you want to draw. In my preliminary rankings right now the bottom 3 teams in the CUSA are Kennesaw St, Delaware and Missouri St and those teams are in Green.
Delaware draws the toughest schedule facing all of the top 3 teams and have zero GREEN opponents. Missouri St and New Mexico St also face all 3 of the top teams. Liberty faces just one of the top 3 teams (can’t play themselves) and draw all 3 of the bottom teams and Middle Tenn St draws the same type of schedule.
Here is the chart and here is how I grade this year’s CONFERENCE schedules, keep in mind non-conference games are not included in this strength of schedule.
I know many of you order the magazine in advance so that you can be the FIRST in the country to receive one. The VIP’s have had access to the digital version of the magazine since June 9th and we mailed out all VIP’s their magazine on June 11th.
When you purchase the VIP deal you get the magazine before it hits the bookstores, you get the digital magazine for FREE, you get 4 weeks of my Inside the Pressbox newsletter for FREE, and you get my FCS magazine for FREE as well. That is over $200 worth of football info for just $39.95. That deal closed on May 30th as it is the only way to ensure all our VIP got taken care of on time.
The VIP digital bonus was even better than expected once again as all VIP members had access to the magazine three days after we sent it to the press and were reading it for close to a full week before it was even printed (3 weeks before it hit the newsstand). Also, we did not open access to the digital magazine to anyone but VIP members for a full week after that! All VIP members had a full week of EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the digital version!
I have opened a Second Chance VIP. There are a couple of minor differences in the Second Chance VIP. Naturally right now people that sign up for the digital or buy a magazine through us online all get immediate access to the digital version so you will not have the EXCLUSIVE access that the VIP’s had but you will have immediate access to the digital magazine.
The pre-May 30th VIP’s signed up well in advance (some in December) so they got that $39.95 price. Your price is still a great one and just a little more at $45 but you get over $200 worth of stuff included! The early bird does get the worm.
The VIP DEAL gets you FOUR free issues of my Inside the Pressbox Newsletter which sells for $20 per issue. The newsletter gives you my personal analysis of every game for the weekend and supplies you with my computer’s forecast for each game projecting each team’s rush yards, pass yards and points. Your second chance comes with 4 Free College Issues (Week 0, 1, 2, 3) plus one bonus NFL week the exact same that the pre-May 30th VIP’s receive.
The VIP DEAL also will get you my 2025 Phil Steele FCS magazine (digital only) FREE and this is a $25 value! This year there are 126 games between FCS and FBS teams and you can become an instant expert on all 128 FCS teams getting the magazine in much the same format as the FBS magazine. You get two FULL pages on EVERY FCS team! Keep in mind most states have legalized gambling, and they post numbers on FCS vs FCS games, and you will have remarkable line value on these games being an expert while the majority of folks know very little about the FCS teams.
To get my second chance VIP Click here.
Last year I added a SUPER VIP deal. The price is just $25 more or basically the cost of one magazine mailed to you. In the SUPER VIP you get TWO magazines and also access to Phil Steele Plus ($99) for a FULL year thru the Super Bowl! If you are thinking of subscribing to Phil Steele Plus again for 2025, just get the SUPER VIP deal and save $30 plus get two magazines and all the other bonuses. To get the SUPER VIP membership CLICK HERE.
Click here to pre-order magazine. You can also order by calling 1-866-918-7711.
