I thought the timing is right to pull this subject back up and bang it around a little more.
We are now set for 2017 with Tennessee (at Atlanta United FC's stadium), the Cesspool and Jax State at BDS, and traveling to UCF.
We have not one, but TWO, openings in the 2018 schedule. Seems like we should be filling those spots soon. Well, at least one of them. The likely cupcake can be filled later on. But, with only at Cesspool and home vs Tulane booked, we should see one other P5 opponent I'd guess (with emphasis on the word "guess" because it is getting late in the process and most other programs are booked up already. More on that below.
2019 has us traveling to Tulane while hosting the Cesspool and Notre Dame. We can schedule a home cupcake some time later on so no worries there.
Then, in 2020 we have some work to do. We only have at Georgia and home vs UCF booked. It would make sense that we find another strong opponent to fill the 2018 & 2020 schedules home-and-away. All of this assumes we are not playing in a neutral game some place to open the season against a non-conference opponent which I think is a safe assumption considering we are schedule to face the Vols in '17 and likely won't do that again for a while.
For '21 & '22 we are in pretty good shape. We have USF along with Notre Dame and Ole Miss in there. Just have 1 opening in each season to complete and that can be filled later with a cupcake. Stopping here. We can worry over '23 and beyond later on.
So, for now, doing some research at http://www.fbschedules.com/ I was able to look at which schools may have openings - whether they make sense for Tech or not - in '18 and '20. Keeping in mind the Big 10 is soon moving to 9 conference games, the Pac 12 and Big 12 are and have been already there, and the SEC requires that each school play at least 1 P5 (or exceptions) program each year, and so forth. Further, there is always the chance that Tech could schedule an ACC member if push comes to shove and just designate it as a non-conference game that doesn't count in the standings as the Cheaters and Wake have done for the future, for example.
Let's take a look focusing on just '18 & '20 openings... (red text means very unlikely option, gold means still unlikely but possible...and green text means best possibility)
SEC
Alabama - already playing Louisville in '18, while '20 is open at the moment it is unlikely they would play 2 P5 non-conference games in the same season in '18
Arkansas - already playing Michigan in '18
Auburn - already have California on the schedule in '20
Florida - already have FSU annually and are playing Colorado State in '18
Kentucky - already have Louisville annually...otherwise appears open...doubtful they would play 2 P5 teams is my guess when they don't have to
LSU - already have Miami in '18 (as well as completely booked up that year) and Tejas in '20...forget it
Miss State - already have Kansas State in '18 and NC State in '20
Ole Miss - completely open in '18 and in need as we are, but already scheduled to play Baylor in '20...plus, we are already scheduled to face one another in '22 and '23...could be a possibility for a neutral site game in '18 to fill one season opening
South Carolina - already have Clemson annually...unlikely to play a 2nd P5 team...but could be an opportunity as they appear open in '18 and '20
Tennessee - already playing us in '17 at neutral site...already scheduled to face West Va in Charlotte in '18
Texas A&M - '20 is already booked up and '18 they face Clemson...not an option
Vanderbilt - open in '18 but already has Kansas State in '20...playing us in '16 at BDS...unlikely
Other conference reviews to follow in replies...
We are now set for 2017 with Tennessee (at Atlanta United FC's stadium), the Cesspool and Jax State at BDS, and traveling to UCF.
We have not one, but TWO, openings in the 2018 schedule. Seems like we should be filling those spots soon. Well, at least one of them. The likely cupcake can be filled later on. But, with only at Cesspool and home vs Tulane booked, we should see one other P5 opponent I'd guess (with emphasis on the word "guess" because it is getting late in the process and most other programs are booked up already. More on that below.
2019 has us traveling to Tulane while hosting the Cesspool and Notre Dame. We can schedule a home cupcake some time later on so no worries there.
Then, in 2020 we have some work to do. We only have at Georgia and home vs UCF booked. It would make sense that we find another strong opponent to fill the 2018 & 2020 schedules home-and-away. All of this assumes we are not playing in a neutral game some place to open the season against a non-conference opponent which I think is a safe assumption considering we are schedule to face the Vols in '17 and likely won't do that again for a while.
For '21 & '22 we are in pretty good shape. We have USF along with Notre Dame and Ole Miss in there. Just have 1 opening in each season to complete and that can be filled later with a cupcake. Stopping here. We can worry over '23 and beyond later on.
So, for now, doing some research at http://www.fbschedules.com/ I was able to look at which schools may have openings - whether they make sense for Tech or not - in '18 and '20. Keeping in mind the Big 10 is soon moving to 9 conference games, the Pac 12 and Big 12 are and have been already there, and the SEC requires that each school play at least 1 P5 (or exceptions) program each year, and so forth. Further, there is always the chance that Tech could schedule an ACC member if push comes to shove and just designate it as a non-conference game that doesn't count in the standings as the Cheaters and Wake have done for the future, for example.
Let's take a look focusing on just '18 & '20 openings... (red text means very unlikely option, gold means still unlikely but possible...and green text means best possibility)
SEC
Alabama - already playing Louisville in '18, while '20 is open at the moment it is unlikely they would play 2 P5 non-conference games in the same season in '18
Arkansas - already playing Michigan in '18
Auburn - already have California on the schedule in '20
Florida - already have FSU annually and are playing Colorado State in '18
Kentucky - already have Louisville annually...otherwise appears open...doubtful they would play 2 P5 teams is my guess when they don't have to
LSU - already have Miami in '18 (as well as completely booked up that year) and Tejas in '20...forget it
Miss State - already have Kansas State in '18 and NC State in '20
Ole Miss - completely open in '18 and in need as we are, but already scheduled to play Baylor in '20...plus, we are already scheduled to face one another in '22 and '23...could be a possibility for a neutral site game in '18 to fill one season opening
South Carolina - already have Clemson annually...unlikely to play a 2nd P5 team...but could be an opportunity as they appear open in '18 and '20
Tennessee - already playing us in '17 at neutral site...already scheduled to face West Va in Charlotte in '18
Texas A&M - '20 is already booked up and '18 they face Clemson...not an option
Vanderbilt - open in '18 but already has Kansas State in '20...playing us in '16 at BDS...unlikely
Other conference reviews to follow in replies...
