The MW did away with divisions in 2023 and went into the tie breaker to see which teams qualified for the title game and who got home edge. Boise traveled to and beat UNLV in ’23 while a deserving San Jose St team which beat UNLV in the final did not play in the title game.
Last year Boise was 7-0 and got the home field edge. UNLV and Colorado St both were 6-1 and UNLV got the tiebreaker to get back to the title game again.
Last year the MW had a unique schedule. Each MW team played a 7-game schedule as they agreed to play extra games vs Oregon St and Wash St the remaining teams from the former Pac 12 conference. With a 7-game schedule 6 teams have 4 home games in MW play and just 3 on the road while the other 6 have four MW road games and just three at home.
This year they are back to an even 8 game schedule, so all teams have 4 home games and 4 away games this year so no advantage there.
The next category to look at is conference records from last year. The MW has the same 12 teams they had last year the records should all equal at the end and they do at 336-336 so my calculations are correct.
Air Force draws the toughest schedule based on last year’s win loss records for their opponents at 33-23 58.9%. There are 3 teams tied for the next toughest at 30-26 and they are New Mexico, Coloraod St and Nevada. San Jose St is at the other end of the spectrum with their foe just 20-36 in MW play last year. The next closest is quite a bit away with Fresno St at 26-30 46.4%.
I have the chart color coded. Now, you may disagree with my ratings, but these colors correspond to my Power Poll which consider all 9 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 are UNLV, Boise, San Jose St and Air Force.
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. I did rate 3 teams down here who combined for just a 6-15 record last year with both New Mexico and Utah St going thru coaching changes which should make it a rebuilding year.
Ironically New Mexico and Utah St are the two teams that face all 4 of the MW’s top teams this year. Five teams face 3 of the top teams. Four teams only face two of the top 4 teams and UNLV and Boise are among those. San Jose St avoids UNLV, Boise St and does not play itself so they only face one RED team and are one of 3 teams that face all three GREEN teams.
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.
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