Obviously we play more of them, but I think the Cincinnati, ECU, Boise and USU are going to be, collectively, a better group of football teams this year than Nebraska, Michigan, UCLA, and Missouri. Also, we play them later in the year, which means we likely won't be at full strength.
I might be wrong, but it would be unsurprising to me to go 3-1 in September and then lose a game or two in October, once injuries start to take a toll at key positions (secondary, QB, etc).