The Art of Scheduling
Of all the characters I’ve met in my career, few could match former football coach Frank Howard of Clemson for red-dirt country wit and wisdom. Problem is, most of what came out of Coach Howard’s mouth was either too profane or politically incorrect (or both) to pass muster in today’s more socially aware age.
One thing he said that I can repeat had to do with scheduling. Find somebody you can beat, Howard would say, and play them every Saturday.
A friend of mine agrees with Howard’s philosophy, at least when it comes to non-conference scheduing at Wake Forest. Dr. Richard Carmichael, the former basketball player for Bones McKinney, is today a mathematics professor at Wake. I’m happy to say he’s also the faculty athletics representative, because he’s a bright, engaging, big-hearted man who is fun to be around. More than once recently Dr. Carmichael has expressed strongly that, given the rigors of the ACC schedule, the program could make life much easier on itself by arranging a lighter non-conference slate.
My own take is that Wake should schedule one big-name opponent for the experience of it, and then comb the countryside for three cupcakes.
But what I think matters even less than what Dr. Carmichael thinks. That’s why I brought the subject up with a man who really does have a say in these matters, coach Jim Grobe, at Tuesday’s gathering to eat chicken and talk football. Grobe mentioned that Wake Forest and Miami are the only two ACC teams this season who scheduled three BCS schools for non-conference games. The Deacons, of course, played Syracuse and Notre Dame and will finish up the regular-season Saturday against Vanderbilt. Miami played Ohio State, Kansas State and South Florida.
“It’s kind of amazing,’’ Grobe said. “If you look at some of these so-called major schools, or power schools out of big conferences, and if you look at their non-conference schedules it’s kind of embarrassing. And they kind of cherry-pick teams year to year they think will be easy games for them.
“But it’s not a bad philosophy, and it’s not anything that most coaches wouldn’t like to be able to do when you play in a really tough conference. It’s hard to be playing in the ACC and then all of a sudden, bang, here’s Notre Dame. You’re playing really tough games and here comes a really good Vanderbilt team. You open on the road against a team in Syracuse that you just can’t make the mistakes we made and win.
“And you look at some of the teams that are ranked in the Top 10 or the Top 20 and you look at their non-conference schedule and it’s not much. It’s not much. They might play one, but most of those schools won’t play four or they won’t play three. And we’ve got to play three. Most of them won’t do it.
“But that’s OK. We talked about it before. We tell the players, `Guys that’s what you dreamed about and your dreams are coming true. We’re playing all these teams. So buckle up.’ ‘’
Grobe did point out that the long-range planning usually required while filling out a schedule can produce some at least short-term surprises, the kind of surprises a coach would rather avoid.
“What you almost have to be able to do is go year-to-year,’’ he explained. “You know who’s not going to be very good this year and you play them a million five and say `Come on and be brunch for homecoming.’ And that’s the way you get it done.
“If you schedule them too far out – I think we scheduled Northern Illinois when Coach (Joe) Novak was Oh-fer for a long time, when they had the nation’s longest losing streak. By the time we got them, he had Michael Turner and all those great players up there and they were really salty.
“I think if you’re going to pick teams you think you’ve got a great shot at, you almost have to do it overnight and not five, six, 10 years out.’‘
It also bears mentioning that scheduling at Wake Forest is not as easy as it once was. Grobe and his staff have only themselves to blame for that.
“A team may still see us as a win, but I don’t think they see us as an easy win,’’ Grobe said. “It’s not like `O.K. let’s play Wake and we’ll chalk up a W.’
“If they play us, they think they maybe have to work a little bit to get the job done.’‘
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 11/23/2011 (2:06 pm)
Comments
Miller- The sad fact is” the Vandy game was on National TV yesterday on ESPNU. Most Cable companies carry the “U”, so at least before the blow-out, there were probably many, many people tuning in across the country to see what everyone thought would be a competitive game.
Bobby on 11/27/2011 (12:25 pm)
Agreed, Dan. I don’t think anyone really remembers who you played, but the record on the season stands forever. Granted, Syracuse and Vanderbilt weren’t supposed to be difficult games. But if instead of scheduling Syracuse and Vandy they had scheduled someone a little easier, we could be 8-4 right now and celebrating a pretty decent season. And they still would have had their prime time game against Notre Dame.
I definitely understand the argument about selling tickets, but no one showed up for the Vanderbilt game either, and it wasn’t shown on TV…might as well have been playing Presbyterian.
Miller on 11/27/2011 (9:13 am)
Dan-The performsnce todsay csn not be attributed to scheduling. The schedule we played this year was exteremely hard. Playing a Vandy team fighting for bowl eligibility was not going to be easy. However, a 34 point loss is beyond explanation. The immaturity aspect of this team, an observation you made in an earlier post, seems to make sense but also there must be coaching issues as well. I am glad we are going bowling but I still am am at a lost to explain today. Like everyone else, I look forward to your analysis.
barrister of state road on 11/26/2011 (10:08 pm)
Grobe stated that teams may schedule WEAK Forest for a “W”, but it will not be an easy win as it once was?! How about Vandy today, Wake made that “W” pretty easy without any fight at all, and now Vandy has WEAK Forest to thank as an easy win now that they will be going to a bowl! Wake is back to the Caldwell days of being average at best!
Bobby on 11/26/2011 (10:01 pm)
Thanks for your take on Richard Carmichael. He was three years ahead of me at High Point High School,and we attended the same church. I caught rides with his parents to many games, and also was part of the “greeting party” when the team returned to Smith-Reynolds Airport after the 1962 final four. Richard was the consummate role model.
I didn’t realize that you are from Franklin. I live at Lake Junaluska ; would be glad to take you to Granny’s Chicken Palace if you would stop by on your way to Macon Co. GO DEACS!!
David Traynham on 11/24/2011 (11:11 pm)
Maybe Dan can shed light on this issue…. We have a few schools that still “owe” Wake home games like Tulane and Air Force. If Wake can’t get these schools to fulfill their “return game”, how can Wake strategically feel confident sbout their future scheduling?
Todd Emrick on 11/24/2011 (11:05 pm)
Thanks, Dan. The only problem with that philosophy is ticket sales. I know that up here, MD fans have complained in recent years about a completely unattractive non-conference home schedule—with the likes of Towson, Morgan State, FIU and others coming into Byrd Stadium. Notre Dame sells tickets, Gardner-Webb does not.
Chris on 11/24/2011 (3:42 pm)
Thanks Lee. I’m having fun with it, and I hope it shows.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Dan Collins on 11/23/2011 (11:01 pm)
Dan, I think Dettor is missing something. Grobe isn’t going to schedule wimps and shoo-ins. He’s not going to schedule the top twelve teams of last year, either. A balance is needed, of course, and there need to be a couple or three easier ones; we don’t want the entire team in splints and braces. Wake’s deciders will schedule interesting, tough, blue-collar and smart teams, as well as schools that year-in-year-out may not be as strong as the Deacs. I appreciate how our University does it, although losing is never a highlight of our week. Dan, you do a very good blog.
Lee Anglin on 11/23/2011 (9:49 pm)
Country,
Maybe Coach should schedule UNCC when they begin play in a couple years seeing his former asst. is running the show there. Would be a nice gesture…
Remember when Wake was scheduling Appalachian on a regular basis…Good $$$ game since Boone is just up Hwy 421 a few miles & a crowd was assured…that is until ASU got good and was turning the tables on Wake!
Tom Willis on 11/23/2011 (5:59 pm)
There is a thousand things I want to say on this subject but only limited space on Mr. Collins blog. First if we would all get the attitude we will play anyone anytime anywhere then we will become a better team. ( I say ” we” I’m just throwing us fans in like we are actually part of the team ) Second , I was just in this conversation on the phone last night—if we are going to pay for season tickets get me something to see as example Nebraska or Notre Dame..I gladly gave away the Gardner Webb tickets. Third—every single blame time no matter what when we schedule a team that is “down” lo and behold when they are on our schedule that is the year they “hit a lick” ...See Grobe’s point about Northern Illinois…So again why bother?... Lastly have you ever noticed on this board when I or just the last blog there is a couple of good short stories—when we remember the games we beat the good teams. Yes I remember playing Liberty in 2006 you know why because we left after the game and drove to DisneyWorld…...You know why I remember the Auburn game in 1979 because Auburn came in here and thought they were something and they went home with their tiger tail between their legs….I’m sure if we took a poll we would be split 50/50 on this thanks for reading my two cents worth.
Doug on 11/23/2011 (4:21 pm)
AMEN!!! I have been beating this drum for the last 5 years! Please, please, please build a schedule that gives us a realistic shot at a bowl game every year. The best way to do that is to schedule 2 low level, academically strong FBS programs (SMU/Rice), 1 FCS school (Carson-Newman/Liberty/Elon) and 1 academically strong BCS conference school (Vandy/Northwestern/Stanford.
Smart scheduling is the key to consistently reaching bowl games. Consistently reaching bowl games is key to improving recruiting. Improving recruiting is key to getting the players we need to compete for bowl games and conference championships. This, as they say, is a “virtuous circle”.
Here’s hoping Grobe gets the AD to see things his way as we schedule down the road.
Go Deacs!
Dettor on 11/23/2011 (3:23 pm)
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