Ranking 2024 College Football Schedules
• My formula calculates each FBS team based on my personal rankings (1-134). It calculates playing FCS teams and playing Top 25 FCS teams. Playing on the road is a factor and playing a Top 5, Top 10 and Top 25 team is also taken into affect. With all of that being said let’s take a look at some of the TOUGHEST & EASIEST schedules in CFB.
Hardest to Easiest
1. Florida
• Florida has the TOUGHEST schedule in CFB according to my formula and it’s not even close. The Gators have just one “Should be Win” against Samford. Florida has an eight game stretch to end the season where they play UCF, at Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia in Jacksonville, at Texas, Ole Miss and at Florida State. The Opener vs Miami is very crucial for many reasons and the Gators have to win vs Mississippi State and UCF if they have any hopes of making a bowl game. I haven’t made an official prediction yet but I’m in the 4-8/5-7 range.
Full Schedule
Miami
Samford
Texas A&M
@ Mississippi State
UCF
@ Tennessee
Kentucky
Georgia (Jacksonville)
@ Texas
LSU
Ole Miss
@ Florida State
2. USC
• The USC Trojans have the second HARDEST schedule in CFB according to my formula, only behind the Florida Gators. They start the season off vs LSU playing in Las Vegas. Utah State in Week 2 seems to be the most winnable game on the schedule but you can’t sleep on the Aggies. Week 3 the Trojans travel to Michigan to face the defending champions and week 4 they play Wisconsin. The Trojans actually miss Ohio State and Oregon but they’re schedule consist of many solid teams and they dont play FCS programs so that helps with the strength of schedule. The OOC games vs LSU & Notre Dame really strengthen this schedule. I haven’t made an official prediction yet but I’d lean 7-5.
Full Schedule
LSU (Las Vegas)
Utah State
@ Michigan
Wisconsin
@ Minnesota
Penn State
@ Maryland
Rutgers
@ Washington
Nebraska
@ UCLA
Notre Dame
3. UCLA
• UCLA has the third toughest schedule in CFB this season according to my formula making first year HC DeShaun Fosters task a tough one. The Bruins open vs Hawaii which is the easiest game on their schedule then open BigTen play vs Indiana before going through a brutal three game stretch at LSU, vs Oregon and at Penn State. The Bruins also travel to Rutgers, Nebraska and Washington while getting Iowa, USC and Fresno State at home. I haven’t made an official prediction yet but I’m leaning 4-8/5-7.
Full Schedule
@ Hawaii
Indiana
@ LSU
Oregon
@ Penn State
Minnesota
@ Rutgers
@ Nebraska
Iowa
@ Washington
USC
Fresno State
4. Houston
• Houston has the fourth toughest schedule in CFB in 2024 according to my formula. The Cougars don’t play a FCS team and Rice is considered their most winnable game. They open the season vs a UNLV team who will be really good this season and compete for the #MountainWest Championship. In week two they travel to Oklahoma. Week three and four are must wins vs Rice and Cincinnati and then they have a TOUGH six game stretch vs Iowa State, at TCU, at Kansas, vs Utah, vs Kansas State and at Arizona. I haven’t made any official predictions yet but I’m leaning 5-7.
Full Schedule
UNLV
@ Oklahoma
Rice
@ Cincinnati
Iowa State
@ TCU
Utah
Kansas State
@ Kansas
@ Arizona
Baylor
@ BYU
5. Michigan
• The National Champions have the fifth toughest schedule in CFB according to my formula. Michigan opens the season vs Fresno State who is a solid MountainWest team then they face Texas at home in a Top 10 matchup. Michigan has two incredibly tough games in the BigTen vs Oregon and at Ohio State. Michigan doesn’t play a FCS team so that helps with their SOS and games at Washington and vs USC can’t be overlooked. I haven’t made any official predictions but I’m leaning 9-3.
Full Schedule
Fresno State
Texas
USC
Minnesota
Arkansas State
@ Washington
@ Illinois
Michigan State
Oregon
@ Indiana
Northwestern
@ Ohio State
6. Colorado
• Colorado has the sixth toughest schedule in CFB according to my formula. They start the season off playing FCS juggernaut North Dakota State which won’t be an easy task. Week two they travel to Nebraska who should be a much improved team. Week 3 & 4 are must wins vs Colorado State and Baylor. They have tough road games vs UCF, Arizona, Texas Tech and Kansas and get Kansas State, Utah and Oklahoma State at home. I haven’t made any official predictions but I’m leaning 6-6.
Full Schedule
North Dakota State
@ Nebraska
@ Colorado State
Baylor
@ UCF
Kansas State
@ Arizona
Cincinnati
@ Texas Tech
Utah
@ Kansas
Oklahoma State
7. West Virginia
• West Virginia has the seventh toughest schedule in CFB according to my formula. They do play a FCS team but it’s a Top 25 FCS team in Albany. They open the season vs Penn State then travel to Pitt in week 3. The Mountaineers have a brutal five game stretch in the middle of the season vs Kansas, at Oklahoma State, vs Iowa State, vs Kansas State and at Arizona. They also end the season vs UCF and at Texas Tech. I believe WVU is a Top 25 team heading into the season but this schedule could limit their ceiling. I haven’t made any official predictions yet but I’m leaning 8-4/9-3.
Full Schedule
Penn State
Albany
@ Pittsburgh
Kansas
@ Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Kansas State
@ Arizona
@ Cincinnati
Baylor
UCF
@ Texas Tech
8. Arizona State
• This schedule doesn’t set up well for Kenny Dillingham and ASU heading into the Big12. The Sun Devils open up vs Wyoming which is never an easy game and they face another tough G5 opponent week 3 in Texas State who I project to do very well this season. Week 2 they play a SEC opponent in Mississippi State and week 4 they open up Big12 play vs Texas Tech. ASU has to play Kansas, Utah, UCF & BYU at home and Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Arizona on the road.
9. Georgia
• A lot of times fans forget that the top teams in CFB usually don’t have the hardest schedule because they don’t have to play themselves. 12 other schools have to play the number 1 ranked team in CFB but when you’re number 1 then you obviously can’t play the best team in CFB. Georgia also doesn’t play the number 2 team which is Ohio State in my opinion. However the Dawgs do play Clemson to open the season, they travel to Kentucky, Alabama, Texas & Ole Miss. They get Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia Tech at home.
Full Schedule
Clemson (Atlanta, GA)
Tennessee Tech
@ Kentucky
@ Alabama
Auburn
Mississippi State
@ Texas
Florida (Jacksonville, FL)
@ Ole Miss
Tennessee
Massachusetts
Georgia Tech
10. Oklahoma
• The Sooners head to the SEC and get no favors when it comes to the schedule. OU opens up vs Temple which should be a guaranteed win and week 2 vs Houston should be a Win. Week 3 vs Tulane won’t he easy but I expect the Sooners to win. Week 4 is where it gets tough, The Sooners welcome Tennessee into Norman and the sooners also get South Carolina & Alabama at home. The Sooners face Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU on the road.
Full Schedule
Temple
Houston
Tulane
Tennessee
@ Auburn
Texas (Dallas, TX)
South Carolina
@ Ole Miss
Maine
@ Missouri
Alabama
@ LSU
11. Missing State
12. Alabama
13. Baylor
14. BYU
15. Florida State
16. Georgia Tech
17. Wisconsin
18. LSU
19. Texas
20. Arkansas
21. Vanderbilt
22. Purdue
23. Illinois
24. South Carolina
25. UVA
26. Oregon
27. Clemson
28. Stanford
29. Washington
30. Kansas State
31. Kentucky
32. Iowa State
33. Northwestern
34. Boston College
35. Iowa
36. Maryland
37. Oklahoma State
38. TCU
39. Penn State
40. Ole Miss
41. Michigan State
42. Minnesota
43. Tennessee
44. Texas A&M
45. Ohio State
46. Auburn
47. California
48. Duke
49. Pittsburgh
50. Louisville
51. UCF
52. Cincinnati
53. Arizona
54. Kansas
55. Miami
56. Rutgers
57. Texas Tech
58. Nebraska
59. Virginia Tech
60. Utah
61. Wake Forest
62. Notre Dame
Notre Dame has the seventh easiest schedule among P4 teams according to my formula. The Irish don’t play any FCS teams but they have seven games my formula considers almost certain wins. The toughest games are home vs Florida State, at Texas A&M, vs Louisville, vs Georgia Tech and at USC. I haven’t made any official predictions yet but I’d lean 10-2.
Full Schedule
@ Texas A&M
NIU
@ Purdue
Miami (OH)
Louisville
Stanford
Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA)
Navy (East Rutherford, NJ)
Florida State
Virginia
Army (Bronx, NY)
@ USC
63. NC State
• NC State has the sixth easiest schedule among P4 teams according to my formula. The Wolfpack have three OOC matchups where they’ll be big favs vs Western Carolina, Louisiana Tech and NIU. They do play Tennessee week 2 in Charlotte which should be an outstanding and close game. In ACC play they open up at Clemson but the rest of the ACC slate they should be the favorite. They don’t have to play Florida State, Miami, Louisville, SMU or Virginia Tech. I haven’t made any official predictions yet but I’m leaning towards 10-2/9-3. The Wolfpack have a real shot to win the ACC and I consider them a Darkhorse CFP team.
Full Schedule
Western Carolina
Tennessee (Charlotte, NC)
Louisiana Tech
@ Clemson
NIU
Wake Forest
Syracuse
@ California
Stanford
Duke
@ Georgia Tech
@ North Carolina
64. Missouri
• Missouri has the fifth easiest schedule among P4 teams according to my formula and the easiest overall schedule among SEC teams. I’m very high on Missouri heading into 2024 and the schedule favors a BIG season ahead. The Tigers Non Conference schedule of Murray State, Buffalo and UMass is laughable if we’re being honest and should be three big wins. In SEC play Missouri does have to play Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma but they miss on Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. I haven’t made any official predictions yet but I’m leaning towards 11-1 and a CFBPLAYOFF appearance.
Full Schedule
Murray State
Buffalo
Boston College
Vanderbilt
@ Texas A&M
@ UMass
Auburn
@ Alabama
Oklahoma
@ South Carolina
@ Mississippi State
Arkansas
65. Indiana
• The Indiana Hoosiers have the fourth easiest schedule among P4 teams according to my formula and the easiest overall schedule among BigTen teams. The Hoosiers non conference schedule is extremely weak playing FIU, Western Illinois and Charlotte. In BigTen play they do play at Ohio State and get Michigan at home but they avoid Oregon, USC, Iowa, Wisconsin and PSU. First year Head Coach Curt Cignetti should be able to take advantage of this and while I haven’t made any official predictions yet I’m leaning towards 7-5.
Full Schedule
FIU
Western Illinois
@ UCLA
Charlotte
Maryland
@ Northwestern
Nebraska
Washington
@ Michigan State
Michigan
@ Ohio State
Purdue
66. Syracuse
• Syracuse has the third easiest 2024 CFB schedule among P4 teams according to my formula. The Orange avoid Clemson, Florida State and Louisville in ACC play. Out of Conference they get a FCS team in Holy Cross, games vs UConn, UNLV & Ohio can’t be overlooked but the Orange will be favorites. This schedule is very manageable for Fran Brown year 1 and if he can get the most from Kyle McCord this team will definitely go bowling. I haven’t made any official predictions yet but I’m leaning towards 8-4.
Full Schedule
Ohio
Georgia Tech
Stanford
Holy Cross
@ UNLV
@ NC State
@ Pittsburgh
Virginia Tech
@ Boston College
@ California
UConn
Miami
67. UNC
• UNC has the second EASIEST P4 schedule in 2024 according to my formula. The Tar Heels play a FCS team in NC Central and get Charlotte, Minnesota & JMU in OOC play. In ACC play they avoid Clemson, Miami, SMU, Louisville and Virginia Tech. The toughest two games are at FSU and home vs NC State. The Tar Heels should be able to capitalize on such an easy schedule and while I haven’t made any official predictions yet I’m leaning towards 8-4 / 9-3.
Full Schedule
@ Minnesota
Charlotte
NC Central
JMU
@ Duke
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech
@ Virginia
@ Florida State
Wake Forest
@ Boston College
NC State
68. SMU
SMU has the EASIEST schedule among P4 teams according to my formula. The Mustangs open the season vs Nevada and FCS Houston Christian. In the ACC they play Florida State but miss out on Clemson, Miami, Virginia Tech and UNC. With this schedule being very manageable and Preston Stone being a really good QB you’d like to see Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs take advantage. I haven’t made any official predictions but I’m leaning 9-3.
Full Schedule
@ Nevada
Houston Christian
BYU
TCU
Florida State
@ Louisville
@ Stanford
@ Duke
Pittsburgh
Boston College
@ Virginia
California
