Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
Wow, thats pretty straight forward crappy scheduling. I guess we exasperate it by the way we schedule as well. Usually have one P5 early then usually roll off that into a conference favorite both on the road. Sometime that can create a hole that might be hard to climb out of.
I have some issues with CUSA scheduling overall, but not this. It's a funny coincidence but not really something they could do to us on purpose even if they tried.
I guess we could really push for a conference opener at home if that's a thing that matters, but other than that it's just our luck to be playing WKU cross-divisional for so long, and FAU the two years they've been good. You can't really count the Marshall game - you want to be playing in the conference championship game.
It is a strange coincidence. It also feels like we play at home after Thanksgiving a lot when students are on quarter break. Not that it matters too much since most schools are out at least Wednesday-Friday that week.
Yep, There is a 50% chance we will play the west division favorite on the road any given year. That is not particularly shocking.
The fact that we have played the east division favorite on the road each year is just an odd coincidence. Marshall shouldn't count as that was out of CUSA's control.
Our schedules always have North Texas and So. Miss. together- either at home (next year and last year) or away like this year. Unless UTSA comes up a notch or Rice and UTEP really improve the three contenders are likely to be us, NT or USM. So maybe on any other given year we will play the west division on the road.
I think the issue is opening conference play on the road at a contender. It's like we're being set up to start 0-1 and already be in a hole.
The flip side of this is winning that game!!! Now we are 1-0, one contender down, and we have USM to go. Win the conference games we should win, no WTFs, and we're already in a position to win the west.
I know! It is as if we are requesting to have a home game on every Thanksgiving weekend. It makes me wonder if the LA Tech schedule maker is taking their own personal Thanksgiving schedule into account more than what is best for our football team. If school is out we should definitely request AWAY games for those weekends, not home games.
I suppose Thanksgiving weekend is preferred for home games over the weekend before. The weekend before has the same issues of students being out and many residents out of town, but without some of the families that travel in for Thanksgiving.
I presume Tech could request to play the final two conference games on the road, but I doubt many of us see that as a good option either. I also recall that per CUSA all schools are to play one home and one away game for their final two conference games.
While I agree that Tech has been given no favors in conference scheduling, it appears to me to be as much bad luck as anything. The two cross-over games the past two years were determined after the 2016 season when FAU was 3-9. The continued series with WKU appeared to be largely about an early open date and wanting to avoid a week three bye. While it does seem odd the number of times Tech has started the conference season on the road, if Tech finishes the season at home it is more likely it will start the season on the road to avoid multi-week conference road trips during the middle of the season.
Wow! There's no way in hell that's fair.
Can't argue with the facts.
We never got a return trip from ODU either. UAB is also one up on us. We traveled there in 2014 then they quit.
If CUSA was really trying to screw us with a tough road opener, and using the preseason favorite criteria, they would have had us at FAU this weekend. Yeah, FAU has gotten off to rocky start and no longer appear to be the team to beat to win the conference, but CUSA could not have known that when the 2018 schedule was finalized.
But...YEAH!....I am sure CUSA is screwing us. Just take a look at conference hoops' scheduling. Second straight year WBB finish with three straight road games, and now, I think, MBB has the same crapola.