When the Big Ten admitted Nebraska into the conference, they had them scheduled against the Grand Poobahs of Big Ten schools. Nebraska faced trips to Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan, and had the daunting task of hosting Ohio State and Michigan State. The funny thing is that despite this tough schedule, Nebraska was picked by quite a few to win the Big Ten.
Much of this was due to a lack of familiarity. Nebraska had enjoyed a lot of success in the Big XII and people believed that they could bring that to the Big Ten. That perception has proven to be false. While Nebraska went a respectable 3-2 against those teams, they finished third in the Big Ten Legends Division, taking two beatings from Wisconsin and Michigan.
I bring this up as a precursor to the SEC schedules as they welcome Missouri and Texas A&M to the conference.
It appears that neither is getting the murderer's row of schedules. While each will face the tough teams in their division, as every team has to, neither is facing the top teams in the other division. Texas A&M, being placed in the West Division, will have to face Arkansas, Alabama, and LSU, but it misses out on both Georgia and South Carolina. Similarly, Mizzou only has to face LSU of the three best West Division teams. Their schedules are, at worst, manageable.
Neither of these teams should be expected to win the SEC any time soon, but their transition should be a lot easier than Nebraska's transition to the Big Ten. While they adjust to their new opponents, they won't have to worry about playing the depth of competition that Nebraska has faced. This is one thing that Missouri and Texas A&M can keep a sound mind over.
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