I agree, 5-4 wouldn't be a terrible start to the season, 6-3 or above would great and 7-2 fantastic.

91AggieLawyer said:

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LSU has made exactly ONE more CWS appearance in the last decade than we have, but yet they seem to always start the year in the top 5. We'll see how things play out, especially with them and Ole Miss at home. The thing is, if you want to win a championship, you have to beat good teams, so even if they are good, you might as well get used to beating them now and not worrying about them.

Otherwise, when do you expect to start beating them if not now?

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LSU had the number one transfer class and recruiting class, experts are saying they are more talented from a draft perspective than Tennessee was last year. Of course that Tennessee team didn't even make it to Omaha so who knows.

We have played LSU very tough since joining the SEC and it helps that we have them at home this year. I'm looking forward to that series the most for sure.

HoustonAg2106 said:

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BANA89 said:

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I agree, 5-4 wouldn't be a terrible start to the season, 6-3 or above would great and 7-2 fantastic.

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7-2 against those teams would be incredible and we would easily be number 1 at that point

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Not if we went 1-2 vs #1.

12thMan9 said:

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HoustonAg2106 said:

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BANA89 said:

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I agree, 5-4 wouldn't be a terrible start to the season, 6-3 or above would great and 7-2 fantastic.

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7-2 against those teams would be incredible and we would easily be number 1 at that point

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Not if we went 1-2 vs #1.

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Good point, but then you're talking about sweeping Tennessee on the road and then sweeping Ole Miss…still would be fantastic

I'm gonna predict we start out 5-4, but then get to 12-6 after the next three series.

The 12 game stretch from 3/14- 4/2 will be good baseball watching.

UH, lsu, Rice, UT, tu, & Ol' Miss. 3 of 6 preseason ranked.

Wonder if people will complain about our schedule........

My BAS flares up whenever I see the Ags ranked preseason top 5. Football has done a number on me, hopefully baseball can repeat last years success!

SEVEN OF THE TOP 10 😤 pic.twitter.com/2tXDloA522

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 17, 2023

12thMan9 said:

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The 12 game stretch from 3/14- 4/2 will be good baseball watching.

UH, lsu, Rice, UT, tu, & Ol' Miss. 3 of 6 preseason ranked.

Wonder if people will complain about our schedule........

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Yes, because our non-conference schedule is a joke…and it only got worse with the Minute Maid tourney schedule changes.

LSU transferred in two All Americans to go with the one already on the roster. They likely have three of the best 9 players in college baseball.

Luke The Drifter said:

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12thMan9 said:

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The 12 game stretch from 3/14- 4/2 will be good baseball watching.

UH, lsu, Rice, UT, tu, & Ol' Miss. 3 of 6 preseason ranked.

Wonder if people will complain about our schedule........

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Yes, because our non-conference schedule is a joke…and it only got worse with the Minute Maid tourney schedule changes.

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Quit whining. Our schedule is not much different than anyone else's non conference matchups.

12thMan9 said:

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Luke The Drifter said:

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12thMan9 said:

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The 12 game stretch from 3/14- 4/2 will be good baseball watching.

UH, lsu, Rice, UT, tu, & Ol' Miss. 3 of 6 preseason ranked.

Wonder if people will complain about our schedule........

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Yes, because our non-conference schedule is a joke…and it only got worse with the Minute Maid tourney schedule changes.

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Quit whining. Our schedule is not much different than anyone else's non conference matchups.

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Wrong.

Opening weekend when we're hosting Seattle (University...not the Mariners), Arkansas is in a tourney playing Texas, TCU, and Oklahoma State. Auburn is playing Indiana. Kentucky is hitting the road to play Elon. Granted, Elon isn't powerful, but at UK isn't scared to leave home. Missouri is in the same tourney as Arkansas, playing oSu, Texas, and TCU. Tennessee is heading to the desert to play Arizona State, San Diego, and Grand Canyon. Vanderbilt is also in Arlington playing TCU, oSu, and Texas.

The next weekend, we are hosing Portland. Alabama is at Pepperdine. Auburn is at Southern Cal. LSU heads to Round Rock to play K-State, Iowa, and Sam Houston. Ole Miss hosts Maryland. Mississippi State hosts Arizona State. Missouri travels to Florida International. Vanderbilt hosts UCLA.

The 3rd weekend of the season, we're playing Louisville, Rice, and Texas Tech in Houston. Florida is hosting Miami (Fla.). Georgia is hosting Georgia Tech. Ole Miss will be in a tourney with Maryland, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Mississippi State will be at a tournament in Berkley playing Ohio State Oklahoma, and Cal. South Carolina is playing a split series with Clemson. Tennessee is hosting perennial regional contender Gonzaga. Vandy will be in the same tourney as Ole Miss playing Nebraska, Maryland, and Minnesota

The final weekend of non-conference play, A&M will be hosting Northern Kentucky. Arkansas will be hosting Louisiana Tech (who made a regional last year). Kentucky will be hitting the road to play a regional team in Southern Illinois. Ole Miss is hosting Purdue.

There are literally dozens of better non-conference games throughout the SEC better than almost anything we have the first 4 weekends of the year.

As far as mid-week match ups go, it's good that we host Texas and Texas State. Other SEC schools have:

Alabama - nothing real exciting
Arkansas - UNLV (x2), at Missouri State
Auburn - Georgia Tech (1 home, 1 away)
Florida - at South Florida, Jacksonville (1 home, 1 away), FAU (x2), Florida State (1 home, 1 away)
Georgia - Clemson (1 home, 1 away)
Kentucky - Indiana, at Western Kentucky, Louisville (1 home, 1 away)
LSU - at Texas, Tulane, UL-Lafayette
Mississippi - Louisiana Tech (x2), Southern Miss (x2), at Memphis, Mississippi State (non-conference game)
Mississippi State - Southern Miss, UL-Lafayette, Ole Miss (non-conference game), Memphis
Missouri - Kansas (x2), Illinois, Missouri State (1 home, 1 away)
South Carolina - at North Carolina
Tennessee - Boston College
Vanderbilt - Western Kentucky, at Louisville

So...of the 14 SEC baseball teams, I'd say we have about the 12th or 13th best non-conference schedule. We play a bunch of weak teams at home, and the only time we hit the road we go to Houston. That is weak, weak, weak when you compare it to our SEC brethren.

Understood. Losers always look backwards.

You would prefer to play tu, Baylor, TCU, Tech, DBU, UH, Rice, UTSA, SHSU, SFA,.

Okay. Get appointed AD & you can make that schedule. We look forward to your promotion.

What I don't like about our non-conference schedule is that it leaves us no room for error in SEC play. Even if we sweep our entire OOC slate, our RPI and SoS heading into SEC play will be putrid. I know there are revenue considerations, but why we're consistently adverse to making a true non-conference road trip baffles me. Heck, why we won't go to Arizona or Florida or California for a tournament is strange.

Maybe there were some legacy agreements Schloss couldn't get out of or maybe there were some unexpected last minute changes, but hosting Seattle, Portland, and Northern Kentucky is a pitiful home slate, no matter how you slice it.

I'll be interested to see what Schloss's strategy is next season in year 3. You'd think by then the schedule is all his doing. Our best hope this year is for Portland/Seattle/N. Kentucky to get hot in league play, pile up a bunch of wins, and maybe sneak into the NCAAs.

Luke The Drifter said:

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What I don't like about our non-conference schedule is that it leaves us no room for error in SEC play. Even if we sweep our entire OOC slate, our RPI and SoS heading into SEC play will be putrid. I know there are revenue considerations, but why we're consistently adverse to making a true non-conference road trip baffles me. Heck, why we won't go to Arizona or Florida or California for a tournament is strange.

Maybe there were some legacy agreements Schloss couldn't get out of or maybe there were some unexpected last minute changes, but hosting Seattle, Portland, and Northern Kentucky is a pitiful home slate, no matter how you slice it.

I'll be interested to see what Schloss's strategy is next season in year 3. You'd think by then the schedule is all his doing. Our best hope this year is for Portland/Seattle/N. Kentucky to get hot in league play, pile up a bunch of wins, and maybe sneak into the NCAAs.

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In 2021 TCU played in the Shriners and also a tournament in Arlington against all SEC teams. They also went in the road against ULL.

In 2020 they played Kentucky, at Minnesota, and a tournament in California. They also had a series against Maryland scheduled but then Covid shut down the season.

In 2019 they played the Shriners again and also another tournament where they played Cal State Fullerton, Virginia, and Vandy. They also played a series at Long Beach State

Schloss is not afraid of a challenge in the non conference, my guess is most of this year was already locked in before he got here.

Quote:

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Heck, why we won't go to Arizona or Florida or California for a tournament is strange.

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There are four solid tournaments held in Texas every year. Minute Maid, Globe Life Field, Frisco and Round Rock. Each gives the average Aggie baseball fan a good chance to catch the team against quality competition at excellent venues at a reasonable price.

HoustonAg2106 said:

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Luke The Drifter said:

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What I don't like about our non-conference schedule is that it leaves us no room for error in SEC play. Even if we sweep our entire OOC slate, our RPI and SoS heading into SEC play will be putrid. I know there are revenue considerations, but why we're consistently adverse to making a true non-conference road trip baffles me. Heck, why we won't go to Arizona or Florida or California for a tournament is strange.

Maybe there were some legacy agreements Schloss couldn't get out of or maybe there were some unexpected last minute changes, but hosting Seattle, Portland, and Northern Kentucky is a pitiful home slate, no matter how you slice it.

I'll be interested to see what Schloss's strategy is next season in year 3. You'd think by then the schedule is all his doing. Our best hope this year is for Portland/Seattle/N. Kentucky to get hot in league play, pile up a bunch of wins, and maybe sneak into the NCAAs.

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In 2021 TCU played in the Shriners and also a tournament in Arlington against all SEC teams. They also went in the road against ULL.

In 2020 they played Kentucky, at Minnesota, and a tournament in California. They also had a series against Maryland scheduled but then Covid shut down the season.

In 2019 they played the Shriners again and also another tournament where they played Cal State Fullerton, Virginia, and Vandy. They also played a series at Long Beach State

Schloss is not afraid of a challenge in the non conference, my guess is most of this year was already locked in before he got here.

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Excellent. I hope he carries that strategy with him going forward. Thanks for the info!

Last year we played six teams with an RPI below 200 (Fordham x 3, Tarleton St., at Rice, and UTA. We had to cancel the Incarnate Word game late in the season to protect our RPI.

Based off of final '22 RPI rankings we play ELEVEN games against teams this year who finished with an RPI below 200 last year.
#204 Rice x 3
#233 Seattle x 3
#250 Northern Kentucky x 3
#260 Tarleton St.
#271 Prairie View

We also play # 180 Houston Baptist, # 183 Incarnate Word.

No other way to put it, we play a very weak non-conference schedule that hopefully won't come back to haunt us.

D1Baseball posted an SEC schedule analysis today. I don't have a subscription, but if one of you does, maybe you could post the Cliff's Notes version.

Bullpen Chias said:

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Easy schedule...
9 games against Top 3 teams in country
1 neutral site game against number 5
6 more against the last two National Champions
7 more against teams ranked 11-25

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We are discussing the non conference schedule

But you already knew that

And to your point about TCU going out and finding better OOC opponents, they had to. Just based on the poll above, they'd get 3 games against against 15 and 3 against 21 in conference. They pick up 4 more Top 25 via OOC.

In summary, TCU plays a better OOC schedule and that nets them 10 total games on the year vs preseason Top 25. A&M plays 10 against preseason Top 5. And another 10 vs 6-25.

Bullpen Chias said:

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And to your point about TCU going out and finding better OOC opponents, they had to. Just based on the poll above, they'd get 3 games against against 15 and 3 against 21 in conference. They pick up 4 more Top 25 via OOC.

In summary, TCU plays a better OOC schedule and that nets them 10 total games on the year vs preseason Top 25. A&M plays 10 against preseason Top 5. And another 10 vs 6-25.

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So it evens out right? If you have a weak conference schedule you need to schedule stronger non conference, and if you have a strong conference schedule it's not as necessary.

HoustonAg2106 said:

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Bullpen Chias said:

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And to your point about TCU going out and finding better OOC opponents, they had to. Just based on the poll above, they'd get 3 games against against 15 and 3 against 21 in conference. They pick up 4 more Top 25 via OOC.

In summary, TCU plays a better OOC schedule and that nets them 10 total games on the year vs preseason Top 25. A&M plays 10 against preseason Top 5. And another 10 vs 6-25.

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So it evens out right? If you have a weak conference schedule you need to schedule stronger non conference, and if you have a strong conference schedule it's not as necessary.

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Why not both? Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida manage to pull it off.

Out of 26 possible non-conference games, we have a max of four (4) decent opponents...Louisville, Texas Tech, Texas, and Texas State. That leaves 22 absolute cupcake games on the docket.

Luke The Drifter said:

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Out of 26 possible non-conference games, we have a max of four (4) decent opponents...Louisville, Texas Tech, Texas, and Texas State. That leaves 22 absolute cupcake games on the docket.

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We play 20 Baseball America preseason Top 25 teams. Miss State has 24. A couple more SEC teams have 20 or 21. Most of the SEC has fewer than 19. Tennessee has 15.

You can put our schedule strength up against any team in the country.

Bullpen Chias said:

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Luke The Drifter said:

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Out of 26 possible non-conference games, we have a max of four (4) decent opponents...Louisville, Texas Tech, Texas, and Texas State. That leaves 22 absolute cupcake games on the docket.

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We play 20 Baseball America preseason Top 25 teams. Miss State has 24. A couple more SEC teams have 20 or 21. Most of the SEC has fewer than 19. Tennessee has 15.

You can put our schedule strength up against any team in the country.

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Agreed if you look at the overall schedule. Problem is, there are 13 other schools in our own league that have the EXACT SAME SCHEDULE. What do we have, schedule-wise, that separates us from the other 13 SEC schools? You know…the schools who will be competing against us for regional host spots and national seeds?

If we go 20-10 in SEC play, this is all a non-starter. But if we only win 17 SEC games, we have no strong non-conference strength of schedule to fall back on.

Bullpen Chias said:

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And to your point about TCU going out and finding better OOC opponents, they had to. Just based on the poll above, they'd get 3 games against against 15 and 3 against 21 in conference. They pick up 4 more Top 25 via OOC.

In summary, TCU plays a better OOC schedule and that nets them 10 total games on the year vs preseason Top 25. A&M plays 10 against preseason Top 5. And another 10 vs 6-25.

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BDF schools also have two more non-conference weekends available to them compared to the SEC. TCU, t.u., Baylor usually schedule two weekends (occasionally 3) against strong completion and the rest with teams fairly much like the Aggies. Only Tadlock at tech seems to go out of his way to find excellent midweek opponents, mostly because he needs to be creative in Lubbock or they would be playing New Mexico, New Mexico St. or Abilene Christian every Tuesday.

HoustonAg2106 said:

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Bullpen Chias said:

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And to your point about TCU going out and finding better OOC opponents, they had to. Just based on the poll above, they'd get 3 games against against 15 and 3 against 21 in conference. They pick up 4 more Top 25 via OOC.

In summary, TCU plays a better OOC schedule and that nets them 10 total games on the year vs preseason Top 25. A&M plays 10 against preseason Top 5. And another 10 vs 6-25.

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So it evens out right? If you have a weak conference schedule you need to schedule stronger non conference, and if you have a strong conference schedule it's not as necessary.

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If TCU scheduled 10 more games against Top 5 opponents, it would even out.

On one hand I agree. I would love to see our non-conference schedule be 2 home series, 1 neutral tourney, 1 home/away series against a good team. Mostly I want that just because that would be fun as a fan to get a quality home series against a good team from the ACC or PAC every other year that we don't see that often. I personally think that is worth trading a home series every other year (but I know some others don't agree).

On the other hand, we seem to have these conversations about weak non-conference schedules every year and we have never really been hurt by our non-conference scheduling in the past. Maybe this year will be different, but we mostly have gotten what we got based on our conference play. In years with really high RPI but finishing 4th in the conference, we have gotten skipped over. Last year we had a low RPI but jumped over others due to conference finish. Our overall schedule is plenty strong enough to show the committee who we are. If we don't end up where we want to it will be because we didn't win enough not because of who we scheduled in non-conference play.