The most disappointing aspect of the schedule isn't just the East opponents....

ETA: Ok I'm gonna be a poon here, so DWI or GTFO.

This isn't just another thread complaining about how Bama and A&M dodge the Big 3 from the East while LSU gets 2. The SEC was going to do what the SEC was going to do as far as the bridge schedule.

But I really think our AD or whoever had input on the schedule really dropped the ball and didn't represent the interests of the program in the order that the games are played.

The 5 game SEC stretch in the middle of the season is simply unmanageable IMO. Everyone is focused on the Bama and A&M games, but the reality is that LSU could beat both of those teams and still not win the West.

The difficulty of playing in the SEC isn't just about the opponents. It's the grind of playing against SEC talent week in and week out without reprieve. And that is where the real advantage of Bama and A&M's schedule comes in.


LSU's longest SEC stretch without a bye:
Sep. 21 Auburn
Sep. 28 at Georgia
Oct. 5 at Mississippi St.
Oct. 12 Florida
Oct. 19 at Ole Miss


A&M's longest SEC stretch without a bye:
Oct 12 at Ole Miss
Oct 19 Auburn
Oct 26 Vanderbilt



Bama's longest SEC stretch without a bye:
Oct. 12 at Kentucky
Oct. 19 Arkansas
Oct. 26 Tennessee


I mean, there just isn't a stretch where either of those two teams have a realistic chance to get worn down. Both teams follow up road trips with two home games against non-bowl teams or Vandy.

LSU has 3 road trips against bowl teams mixed in with home games against Auburn and Florida.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not bashing A&M or Bama. On the contrary, their ADs deserve a ton of credit for doing such a great job putting their teams in such enviable position. It's LSU's AD that failed this team and our fans IMO.

Once the opponents were selected, however that happened, LSU should have kicked up a lot of dust to at least have the schedule be more equitably spread out for our team given that we clearly had the most challenging opponents.

Just a simple suggestion that could have made our schedule much more reasonable would have been to move the Ole Miss game back a week.

Ole Miss is another team that kind of got screwed, and I think they would have jumped at that suggestion as well.

OM's longest SEC stretch without a bye:
Sep. 28 at Alabama
Oct. 5 at Auburn
Oct. 12 Texas A&M
Oct. 19 LSU


Now that's a brutal stretch as well. Here's where I think the ADs of both schools could have gone to the SEC for a simple compromise.

OM:
Oct. 19 LSU
Oct. 26 Idaho
Nov. 2 BYE


LSU:
Oct. 19 at Ole Miss
Oct. 26 Furman
Nov. 2 BYE


Move the LSU OM game to Oct. 26, and reschedule the non-conf game to 10/19.

Idaho had a bye 10/19 anyway, and Furman either accommodates the move by shuffling their lineup or GTFO and we find some other scrub to pay for a scrimmage.

That would give BOTH teams a huge break from what is a minefield of a schedule.

No clue how they or the SEC didn't recognize this huge disparity and correct it. Unfortunately the players and fans of those teams will be the ones to suffer.