Scheduling has a huge effect on conference outcomes, as we are all very well aware.
I looked at it this way, I feel there are 6 teams that we can likely put into the "have a chance to be good" category this year: MSU, UM, Idaho, UC Davis, Sac, and Weber. I'm sure one of these teams will probably disappoint, and one of the other 6 teams might surprise and end up in the top 6, but for now I'm going with these schools.
There's a fairly steep difference in schedules among these top teams. UC Davis and Weber only play 3 of these other 5 top teams, while the cats play 4 of the other top teams, but ALL of their games are on the road. I apologize to Griz til I Die here, that is pretty brutal, although I still think they win all of those except the Brawl.
Us and Sac also play 4 of these teams, with us splitting home and away games, while Sac has 3 on the road and 1 at home.
For anyone thinking NAU or CP might make a run this year, they both play 5 of these top 6 teams.
Weber actually got the best schedule this year, having all 3 of their other games against "good" schools at home (MSU, Idaho and UC Davis). UC Davis, the team I think will win the conference, has 2 home games and only 1 on the road, and the hardest conference game for them will likely be against us at home.
Here's how it shakes out for anyone chewing over their rankings:
4 - MSU (@Idaho, @Weber, @Sac, @UM)
4 - Sac State (@Idaho, MSU, @UM, @UCD)
4 - UM (@UC Davis, @Idaho, Sac, MSU)
4 - Idaho (Sac, UM, MSU, @Weber)
3 - UCD (UM, @Weber, Sac)
3 - Weber (MSU, Idaho, UCD)