College Football season keeps creeping closer and we are taking a closer look at the schedules put together by each of the Power 5 teams. We gave more information about the ten toughest.
- Michigan– It is entirely possible that the Wolverines may play four games with teams in the Top 10 of the country. Also, Jim Harbaugh needs to make his fanbase feel better than 8 wins so this will be tough as they open with Notre Dame, travel to Northwestern, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
- Nebraska– Welcome to the Big Ten, Coach Scott Frost. Now he faces tough competition almost every week. His Cornhuskers travel to Michigan for their first conference test on September 22nd. The end of the season finds them on the road at Ohio State with Purdue, Wisconsin and Northwestern sandwiched in-between.
- Rutgers– It is really tough when your team isn’t really good and you have one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Scarlet Knights go to Wisconsin and Michigan State in November and play Penn State and Michigan at home. Oh, don’t forget the conference opener at Ohio State.
- Notre Dame– This schedule is brutal and if they survive with a decent record they may play on New Year’s Day. However, their schedule finds Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Florida State and USC on it.
- Pittsburgh– The real rivalry begins on the second week of the schedule when they take on Penn State. Then they take on Georgia Tech and take to the road to play North Carolina and UCF. The defense will be the key to winning this season for the Panthers.
- Texas A&M– Right from the start of the season, Coach Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies will find Clemson and Alabama on their schedule in September. Later they face Ole Miss, LSU, Auburn, and Mississippi State.
- Indiana– Hard to pinpoint the tough spots but let’s just make it easy and say they don’t play Wisconsin in the Big Ten.
- Northwestern– There is nothing shy about this schedule as they come out of the game with the first contest facing Purdue and then Duke right away. Then conclude with Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Iowa.
- LSU- The SEC is already a tough conference but the Tigers find they have the toughest of the tough schedule. They travel to Auburn, Florida, come home for Alabama and then face Miami at a neutral site.
- Maryland– The Terrapins round out a slew of Big Ten teams that have tough schedules. They begin with the Texas Longhorns (11th on this list). They travel on the road to Michigan State and Iowa and finish with Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State.
That rounds out the Top Ten toughest schedule for 2018. Here is the complete list of strength of schedule. For fun, look at some of the top teams and where they fall.
11. Texas
12. Auburn
13. UCLA
14. Florida State
15. Ohio State
16. Oregon State
17. Kansas
18. Arizona State
19. Georgia Tech
20. Michigan State
21. Oklahoma
22. TCU
23. Tennessee
24. Texas Tech
25. Penn State
26. Purdue
27. Kansas State
28. West Virginia
29. Missouri
30. Boston College
31. Iowa State
32. Oklahoma State
33. Baylor
34. Mississippi State
35. Louisville
36. Ole Miss
37. Stanford
38. Duke
39. Arkansas
40. Minnesota
41. Utah
42. Florida
43. USC
44. Iowa
45. Illinois
46. Wisconsin
47. California
48. North Carolina
49. Syracuse
50. South Carolina
51. Kentucky
52. Vanderbilt
53. N.C. State
54. Washington
55. Washington State
56. Miami (FL)
57. Alabama
58. Wake Forest
59. Georgia
60. Colorado
61. Virginia
62. Virginia Tech
63. Clemson
64. BYU
65. Arizona
66. Oregon
Does scheduling tough really help or is the bottom line just getting to a Bowl Game? Let us know your College Football thoughts!