I recently did a series looking back on my strength of schedule for each conference and in the Power 4 each schedule was a MAJOR force in the leagues overall finish. The Group of Five leagues last year did not have the same impact with more teams going from worst to first and vice versa from first to worst. moves should be just as sharp on the G6 teams as I was on the Power Four teams.
The 7th conference I am looking at is the CUSA. Most Group of Six league suffered heavy attrition. In the offseason these teams not only lose their Seniors but most of the all-conference players that have not graduated generally leave for greener pastures. Most Group Six coaches tell me that they now get better freshmen recruits as the P4 schools do not sign as many freshmen anymore but they realize once a player turns into a star he will be bought by a team with more money.
As you see the CUSA records add up to 336-304 so you may think the math is not correct. CUSA lost two teams in UTEP and Louisiana Tech and they were 1-7 and 5-3 respectively. If you take those two teams combined 6-10 and multiply it by 8 games the total would be 48-80 and if you add that to the 336-304 it comes out to 484-484 so the numbers do indeed match.
For CUSA I did not just go by last year’s records. Missouri St was 5-3 last year but lost their head coach and good percentage of the team and figure to be down some. Liberty was better than their record last year and has a much more veteran team. I listed 3 teams in RED and they are Liberty, Jax St and WKU. I had 4 teams. Listed in blue are Delaware, Kennesaw St, New Mexico St and FIU as they figure to be in the middle. The GREEN teams are Sam Houston St, Missouri St and Middle Tenn St.
CUSA plays an eight-game schedule, so each league team has four home games and four away games, so I do not have an extra column added as there are no teams that have the advantage of an extra home game or a fewer road game.
Based strictly on last year’s records FIU and WKU draw the most manageable schedules with their foes 31-33 last year in CUSA play. The toughest schedule based on that criterion goes to Sam Houston St and Delaware with their CUSA foes going 37-27 58% in conference play last year.
In my configurations, Middle Tenn St and Missouri St draw the leagues toughest schedule. Since they so not face each other both teams face just one GREEN team this year. Jax St and Liberty draw my EASIEST schedule nod. Since those two do not play each other, both face just one RED team.
This years magazine is 376 pages and the biggest and best ever. Here are the different ways you can order the magazine.
Option #1 – Pick one up at your local Barnes and Noble or Books-a-Million store. When you go into a Barnes and Noble you get two different cover choices in each store! The official on sale date is July 4th but it is hitting some stores sooner. It is also available at Books-a-Million which all have the national cover. These two distributors are our exclusive vendors of the magazine, and they are not available at Walmart’s, Walgreens, Grocery Stores, other bookstores or drug stores so save your gas. The only two brick and mortar store they are available are Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million.
Option #2 – Buy the Hard copy of the magazine at philsteele.com or call 1-866-918-7711. The total cost depends on where you live and which of the four types of shipping you choose. It will cost you in the ballpark of $10 for shipping and tax. The biggest advantage of buying online is that When you buy the Hard copy you GET the DIGITAL version of the magazine ($19.99) for FREE and it is updated thru September. Your digital access begins immediately when you purchase. You also get your choice of covers (National, SEC, Midwest, Southwest, West or East Coast) as these are generally mailed out the same or next business day as the order. Order Here!
Option #3 – Buy the digital magazine. The best thing about the digital magazine is that it is updated all the way thru the month of September. If a coach gets fired (that has happened the last couple of years) we update it. If a player is injured and out for the year we CIRCLE him in the magazine. If a player is added late (very rare) we put him in. Any changes to the team from the start of June thru the month of September is updated in the digital version. When you go to the philsteele.com store you will not see a picture there, you need to click on Digital Editions and order it there. It will be activated immediately giving you instant access. Order the Digital Here!
Option #4 – Order the VIP Bundle – The price of the VIP bundle is $44.95. With the VIP bundle you get the National Cover of the magazine. All VIP’s received EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the digital version of the magazine for one week, but that bonus is gone as the digital is now available for everyone. You receive two magazines PLUS the Digital Magazine. You also receive FOUR Free issues of my Inside the Pressbox Newsletter ($20 per issue – $80 value) which gives you my Forecast and my computers forecast on EVERY FBS game each week. You also receive access to Phil Steele Plus ($25 per month) for the months of June, July, August and September! The VIP Bundle also includes SHIPPING so it is basically just $10 more than ordering the magazine by itself! Order the Reg VIP Bundle Here!!
Option #5 – THE BEST BUY – Order the Super VIP Bundle – The price of the SUPER VIP bundle is $74.95. With the Super VIP Bundle you receive
TWO magazines INCLUDING SHIPPING ($69 value!), EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the digital version for one week (that happened already), order shipped next business day. Use the 2nd magazine when your first one gets dogeared or sell/give it to a friend.
Digital magazine ($19.95 value) FREE – The digital magazine is updated thru September (see option 3) and you get immediate access to the digital version upon purchase.
Four Issues of my Inside the Pressbox newsletter ($80 value) which gives you my forecast and my COMPUTERs forecast on EVERY FBS games each week (including FBS vs FCS) the same bonuses that the VIP’s get. You also receive…
FCS Digital Magazine ($25) FREE – Two full pages on Every FCS team laid out the same way the pages are for the FBS magazine. There are 128 FCS teams so over 250 pages!
NFL Digital Magazine ($15) FREE – Four full pages on Every NFL team and a Fantasy Football section!
Phil Steele Plus ($99 value) ENTIRE SEASON FREE – This is a tremendous addition. If you purchase the full year access to Phil Steele Plus it is $99 but you get it included in the Super VIP Bundle Purchase the Super VIP Bundle now and get the entire year of Phil Steele Plus FREE!! Here is a link to all the great info available on Phil Steele Plus including the schedule predictor! Order the Super VIP Bundle Here!!
