In the thick of the College Football Playoff race, Alabama will play Charleston Southern this weekend. Naturally, this leads to plenty of questions.
Why doesn’t Alabama schedule anyone? How could they possibly think this is okay to play an FCS team, especially in November? Shouldn’t they be dinged for playing such a bad team?
Those are all valid questions (minus the scheduling one; Alabama opened the season against Wisconsin). But the counterpoint to all of them: Through 10 games, Alabama has played college football’s third-toughest schedule, according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings.
They deserve a break.
To date, only Iowa State and Maryland have played tougher schedules, and those teams are a combined 5-15. Kansas, which has played the fourth-toughest schedule, is 0-10. At No. 5 is Texas (4-6); No. 6 is South Carolina (3-7). Finally, when we get to the 7th toughest schedule do we find an Arkansas team that, at 6-4, is over .500.
Among the College Football Playoff contenders, Clemson’s strength of schedule ranks 34th, Ohio State’s is 67th, Oklahoma’s is 44th, Notre Dame’s is 25th, Iowa’s is 55th, Baylor’s is 76th, Oklahoma State’s is 58th and Florida’s is 31st.
And Alabama’s is third. Third! That makes it even more impressive that Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide are 9-1 and playing like the best team in college football. In the last five weeks, they’ve played Arkansas, at Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU and at Mississippi State. That’s five consecutive top-35 teams by Sagarin’s ratings.
Alabama had to fill a break in its schedule this week. Its bye week came on Halloween weekend, between those games against Tennessee and LSU. That’s a far more ideal time to have a week off than a week before the end of the regular season, with players afforded a longer stretch to rest up during the week instead of running through practice and gameplanning for an opponent (which still happens against these FCS teams).
And really, would things be different if Alabama scheduled a low-level FBS opponent for this week? Charleston Southern ranks No. 121 in Sagarin, ahead of plenty of the dregs of the FBS level. No matter FBS or FCS, Alabama likely will get to sub in its second/third-team offense and defense and give its starters -- like running back Derrick Henry -- a rest with an eye on a trip to Auburn and the SEC Championship game coming up.
So it’s fine that Alabama is playing an FCS opponent this weekend. Saban’s team certainly has earned the break with two critical games against a historic rival and top-10ish Florida team separating it from the College Football Playoff.