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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.        
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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!