College Football: Ranking the 10 most difficult FBS schedules in 2017
By Zach Bigalke
East Carolina had a rough year in 2016, their third season in the AAC. The Pirates missed a bowl game for the second straight year, and a difficult schedule could make it tough to get back to the postseason in 2017. They start the year at home with a deceptively taxing test against FCS national champion James Madison (14-1 in 2016).
Things don’t get any easier over the next fortnight, as they head to Morgantown the following week to face West Virginia (10-3) and then return home for the annual clash with defending ACC Coastal champ Virginia Tech (10-4).
Right off the bat, they have to play South Florida (11-2) and defending AAC champ Temple (10-4) in conference play. A trip to Orlando to play UCF (6-7) precedes a visit from BYU (9-4). If they can get past Houston (9-4) on the road to end October, things ease up in November. ECU’s first sub-six-win opponent finally comes at the beginning of the final month with a visit to UConn (3-9). The Pirates host Tulane (4-8) and Cincinnati (4-8) before closing the regular season at Memphis (8-5)
The postseason drought could extend to a third year in Greenville unless East Carolina can get at least one Power Five win and take down the best FCS team in the country. BYU is another tough test that could spell the difference between bowling and sitting home over winter break.