As we inch closer to the start of Fall camp, and the highly anticipated start of the 2018 Mean Green football season, I thought it would be a good time to look at the 2018 schedule of games, placing them in order of importance. I will be the first to say this list is arranged in the order of a fan's lens and will not follow the painfully boring coaching phrase, "the most important game is next game on the schedule".
1). SMU - It the home opener sure, but it also against a team North Texas Fans love to hate more than any other. Plus, we have not beaten them since 2014. Beating SMU to open the season would be music to a music schools ears.
2). @UT at San Antonio - OK I admit it; this game is late in the season and most do not see them as a Western division challenger this season. The bottom line is we hate these bastards and every chance we must beat them we must take advantage. They are our clear rival in the conference now and yes, we do recruit against them quite a bit. Also, we have not yet beaten them in San Antonio which would be fun.
3). @Arkansas - Typically a game on the road against an SEC team would be a let's get a check and avoid injuries. This one feels different. Arkansas has a new coach (former SMU HC Chad Morris) and is going from a power-based set to the spread. New coaching regimes are renown for some stumbles early as they evaluate personnel and playbooks. Most did not think we would have a chance against Georgia on the road back in 2013 but we were a TD down in the 3rd quarter before spitting the bit. Even a good showing here would provide some momentum heading into conference play.
4). Florida Atlantic - R-E-V-E-N-G-E. It's a home game and a chance for redemption after two drubbings last season. FAU is the cream of the C-USA field, and getting a win against Kiffy would be one of the most delightful home experiences we have had.
5). @UAB Blazers - UAB turned out to be one of our biggest wins in 2017, as they went on after that loss and won 6 C-USA games (including La. Tech, UTSA and MUTS) and got to a bowl. Pretty much everyone is back and the last time we played them on the road they demolished us. A win against UAB on the road this season would be a statement win.
6). La. Tech - Tech is one of those programs who sees 2017 UNT as sort of a flash in the pan. Beating them at home would be fun and would make it harder for them to pretend that they are better than us. Also, we recruit against Tech a lot. They have a good program and anytime we can beat them it is a good sign.
7). Southern Miss - Always a super tough game, and their fans feel like they were robbed last season due to a QB injury. I have a lot of respect for their program and it is a home game. I would put them up higher in the list if we recruited more against them (we don't).
8). @Old Dominion - This will be our 1st game in Norfolk and a chance to put the Monarchs in their place. Old Dominion is in the eastern division, so it won't be as important a game from a conference perspective. They just seem to have a high and might attitude ever since they joined C-USA, maybe not to the level of UTSA, but enough to irritate me.
9). @Rice - I would usually put this game higher on the list, but Rice appears to be a little down right now, so this should be a game we win. Whenever we have the golden opportunity of playing a game in talent laden Houston, we need to play well. We don't recruit against Rice as much as we do some other C-USA teams, but enough to matter.
10). @UTEP - much like Rice UTEP appears to be down after firing their coach so that puts them further down the list. Still, last time we played in El Paso they beat us like a drum, so we better not take them for granted. They would love to beat us because they could sell it to DFW area recruits.
11). @Liberty - My gut tells me this is a trap game but hopefully I am wrong. In terms of importance I just can't put it higher because it is a non-conference game against an opponent not many know about. I do think they are building a nice program with nice facilities there and just hope we are getting them in the early stages of the build.
12). Incarnate Word - This is a paycheck game for Incarnate Word which started playing football in 2009 as a DII program. If we don't have a comfortable lead at halftime it could be a long season.
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