We played essentially a MW schedule in 2017 and it was our worst year imaginable. people still think we were bad because of how tough it was. 6 MW teams, 1 FCS, 2 bottom 10 teams(UMass and ECU), a .500 Utah team and a losing record USU team etc.
Washington was the only P5 that finished ranked last season.
Michigan State was a 3-win team when we played them, Tennessee lost to Georgia st. Etc.
While the schedule layout may not be ideal, Big names won’t always equal quality and we aren’t losing games to UMass, NIU, and USU because the schedule is too tough.