Southland Conference

In looking at the 2013 schedules of FCS teams, you sometimes find yourself saying, "What were they thinking?"Some schedules are too demanding, others not challenging enough (Pepto-Bismol or cupcakes, you can have plenty of either).It is a season in which teams are allowed to play 12 regular-season games instead of the usual 11 because the calendar has 13 weekends between the Thursday before Labor Day (opening night on Aug. 29) and the Saturday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 23).The conference schedules are set, of course, so there's not a lot teams can do about their opponents - and that's a good thing.Of course, teams should be lauded for challenging themselves in their non- conference games.But it's also easy to think in the long run some will lament taking too big of a bite - ala Northern Iowa last season when a 1-5 start led to its first losing season in 10 years.Conversely, some teams take too much of a breather out of conference, which doesn't necessarily prepare them in the long run,...

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