That SP+ stat is a total mirage, and you know it. Last year's rankings don't mean a thing for this season, especially when you look at who those teams actually are. They're playing a depleted Florida State, a Louisville team that lost its coach and quarterback, and a Texas A&M squad with a brand new staff. Calling that "tough" is a stretch. Their non-conference is a joke outside of that road game, and the ACC is down across the board. Compare that to a real schedule like USC's, where we're going into the Big Ten gauntlet. We'll see more top-30 teams by October than they'll see all season. Their path is set up for them to pad their record, and everybody in the recruiting world sees it. It's hard to sell croots on big games when your marquee opponents are in a down year. Our future schedules are loaded with perennial powers, not just teams riding last year's analytics.