Schedule's out | by Jay

'06 and '07 are now set in stone.

2006 Sept. 2 at Georgia Tech Sept. 9 Penn State Sept. 16 Michigan Sept. 23 at Michigan State Sept. 30 Purdue Oct. 7 Stanford Oct. 21 UCLA Oct. 28 at Navy * Nov. 4 North Carolina Nov. 11 at Air Force Nov. 18 Army Nov. 25 at USC * in Baltimore

2007 Sept. 1 Georgia Tech Sept. 8 at Penn State Sept. 15 at Michigan Sept. 22 Michigan State Sept. 29 at Purdue Oct. 6 at UCLA Oct. 13 Boston College Oct. 20 USC Nov. 3 Navy Nov. 10 Air Force Nov. 17 Duke Nov. 24 at Stanford

Notes:

• Army, which we heard rumblings about being the 12th game, is now official for the '06 season.

• Bye weeks: before UCLA in '06, before Navy (and just after USC) in '07.

• The beginning to '07 is fairly rough: eight straight games against decent competition without a breather, culminating with Southern Cal.

• "at UCLA" in '07 has the potential to be one of the better road trips in recent memory.

• How strong are these schedules? Tough to say, and too early to tell. '06 is a real cipher: the resurgent Penn State, UCLA, and Georgia Tech squads give the appearance of strength, but we saw what happened to our schedule this year, the most "brutal schedule in college football". Preseason AP had Southern Cal #1, Tennessee #3, Michigan #4, Purdue #15, and Pitt #23, with Notre Dame nowhere to be seen. Two of those teams have survived the top 25, one just barely.

• That said, I like our chances in '06. With almost every important cog returning for another year, things look good for a National Championship run. (2007, on the other hand, could be a little bit of a rebuilding year once Brady, et. al., graduate.)

If we win the NC in '06, remember, you heard it here first.