The Pac-12 has officially released its schedule for the 2011 football season, sending shockwaves through the storied rivalries of both Arizona and the Bay Area.
The conference has decided to eschew the rivalry games, scheduling California and Arizona State on November 26th, just one week before the conference championship game.
The Sun Devils will take on Arizona on November 19th, and Stanford will play Cal that same day. Fans are sure to be remiss about this scheduling deficiency, but it was most likely the only way the schedule would fit together correctly.
If this all goes back to normal in 2012, no one will notice. If this is a permanent change, we're seeing the first broken promise of the Pac-12.
Without further ado:
The 2011 ASU Football Schedule
9/3 UC Davis
9/10 Missouri
9/17 at Illinois
9/24 USC
10/1 Oregon State
10/8 at Utah
10/15 at Oregon
10/22 Bye week
10/29 Colorado
11/5 at UCLA
11/12 at Washington State
11/19 Arizona
11/26 California
12/3 Pac-12 Championship
This is a very difficult schedule for Arizona State. Not only did they schedule two good FCS schools (Missouri and Illinois), they picked up Utah and Colorado at the expense of Stanford and Washington. That is not a wash, despite what people may believe: a road trip to Utah will not be easy in early October, though it will make for excellent traveling conditions.
ASU is fortunate to get a bye week in the seventh week of play, resting up for their three game stretch of mediocrity against Colorado, UCLA and Washington State.
With this schedule, the Sun Devils are likely to win between 5 and 7 games unless they are able to improve on this season's lessons.