Why does Michigan ALWAYS get screwed on B10 schedule, and then compounds with out of conference idiocy?

let me guess, you are not a season ticket holder.  shell out $125 for the ticket plus another $100 per game for the "donation" to watch all of the SMUs.  screw that.

If you want to play all MAC teams go join it.

Goddammit man, why do we continue to whine so much? Nobody cares.

Michigan was 7 pts from beating Notre Dame.  Army will be good and a tough opponent next year.

Michigan doesn't need marshmallow opponents to wipe their ass with.

When Michigan finally wins a BIG10 title and beats Ohio State and MSU on the regular, then yes, the Wolverines can begin to schedule body bag games versus Mercer and Stony Brook and against the Presbyterian Blue Hoses to come to Ann Arbor for an Apocalypto-esque sacrifice scene at the 50 year line before 16th century Spaniard Conquistadores roll up in their cutlasses on State.

Dumb Athletic Directors is the answer

Exhibit A that a large part of our fanbase are morons.

The B1G schedule rotates. There is no one getting screwed.

Our conference schedule next year is far from daunting. We avoid Nebraska completely who handicappers have as a potential national player next year. We get MSU and OSU at home. Our only road games of concern are PSU and Wisconsin. 2 total road games of concern all year where you will likely be - at worst - a couple point dog is nothing to complain about.

In theory, I get the gripe regarding non-conference scheduling, but our loss to ND last year had no impact on our season at all beyond the game itself. We had everything still to play for going into OSU. Had we beaten some scrub team and still lost to OSU at year's end, we wouldn't have made the playoffs and also would've been trounced against Florida. We're playing one good program (that's clearly not beyond our depth) out of conference each year. This year we get them at home.

I think the schedule isn't the problem. The inability to beat good teams reliably is the problem. And the main problem - above anything else - is we can't beat OSU at home or on the road. Until we can do that, the scheduling strategy is nothing but a lot of speculation that I think is largely unfounded.

The schedule is not the problem for Michigan. Beating highly RANKED opponents is what the problem is. Better to be exposed (Like Michigan against OSU) than be placed in the Big 10 title game this year against a 5 loss Northwestern team and then face Clemson or Alabama in the first game where you know it's a 60 point blowout loss on the big stage. Ask yourself how the MSU embarrassment against Alabama a few years back helped that program. They haven't been the same since. 

It ain't just y'all.

2 years in a row here recently we had to play MSU and you guys bckb to back.

Next year we have to play PSU and you guys back to back.

That sucks and is definitely not a favor from the B1G.

No Chickenshit Saturdays here.

Cincinnati is a geographic rival (11-2 last season) and OSU has a home/home with Oregon starting in 2020.

IMO the problem isn't Michigan's schedule at all, it's other schools' scheduling that's a joke.

As others have said, if Michigan scheduled 3 OOC cupcakes, people would be pissed off - with good reason.

The only explanation for dumbing down the schedule is to maximize the chance for a playoff berth. That's a great argument AGAINST the playoff.

Alabama's schedule this year was terrible, and their stadium was 2/3 full for some of those games as National Champions. (don't know if they sold out or not, just saw vast stretches of empty seats).

Why be in a conference when you hardly play some of your conference members? 8 game conference schedule is absurd in a 14 team conference.

Why bother playing completely non-competitive games? The season is short, not like a 30 game basketball schedule. I can understand one lesser opponent (EMU, CMU, WMU for example) to work out the kinks, but scheduling 3 of them? Awful. Playing FCS teams is absurd. 

Who in their right mind would rather Alabama play The Citadel instead of a conference opponent? Would you really rather have Michigan play Bowling Green than Minnesota?

I live in Cali, and won't fly across the country to watch Michigan play Middle Tennessee State. What a complete bore.

Personally, I love that we play ND, and 9 conference opponents. It's fun. I'd prefer another decent OOC opponent rather than a service academy, only because of their style of play. That said, I'd much rather watch Michigan play Army than Arkansas St. 

The singular focus on making the playoff, especially by intentionally weakening schedules, makes CFB much less fun. So many early-season weekends with almost no good games. Yawn.

Wait, a bunch of people are arguing in favor of playing cupcakes all year long? Like we've all complained the SEC does? Hypocritical much? Also, yeah, that sounds fun, watching us beat a bunch of scrubs 50-10 all year so we are overconfident and get stomped by OSU again.

Michigan has almost ALWAYS played a tough Schedule..and I go back a long long ways..I remember many years theyd have 2 top 20 teams on their non conf schedules and it was GREAT..Yes they didnt always win them all but it built the brand and made our reputation as not afraid of anyone what it was....one cupcake a year is allowable but that should be it

Having a marquee non conference game was important when we only played 8 conference games and 4 out of conference. Now that we play 9 conference games, we don't need to Notre Dame or any other top 25 caliber team.  Hell Alabama only plays 8 conference games and they don't play anyone tough out of conference.

From the looks of it each team in the East alternates playing the other top 3 teams: One Year its 2 home games & 1 away game. Then 1 home game & 2 away games. The B1G is not screwing us over. For example this upcoming season PSU will face OSU & MSU on the road and UM at home.

Bottom line is that this schedule is not the problem. The problem is the in-balance of schedules across the landscape that is college football. Then a mindlessly narrow playoff system that supposedly crowns a National Champion only adds insult to injury. Conference divisions and the subsequent "Champions" further pollute this matter. Either construct a valid end-of-the-year playoff or just return to the old mythical champion with the bowl system. Here the playoff needs to be at least 8 teams but would better serve the players/teams if it were 16.

Another way of looking at the Army game. They played Oklahoma last year, Ohio State in 2017, Notre Dame in 2016, Penn State in 2015. It is obvious they try to schedule a game with one traditional power each year. It is an honor that such a tradition rich program run by the United States, also one of the best public schools in the United States, would schedule Michigan. Rise to this challenge.