College Football Schedule 2025-26

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, November 04, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Massachusetts AKRON 44 , UMASS 10 Ben Finley 197 Jordan Gant 153 Marcel Williams 104
team logo Miami (OH) OHIO 24 , MIA-OH 20 Parker Navarro 201 Sieh Bangura 102 Cole Weaver 94
Wednesday, November 05, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Kent State BALLST 17 , KENTST 13 Dru DeShields 212 Gavin Garcia 59 Wayne Harris 87
team logo Northern Illinois TOL 42 , NIU 3 Tucker Gleason 309 Chip Trayanum 36 Junior Vandeross III 97
Thursday, November 06, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Appalachian State GASO 25 , APP 23 JC French IV 352 OJ Arnold 105 Jaden Barnes 160
team logo UTSA USF 55 , TX-SA 23 Byrum Brown 239 Byrum Brown 109 Keshaun Singleton 122
Friday, November 07, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Columbia
vs team logo Harvard
HARV 31 , COLUM 14 Jaden Craig 213 Xaviah Bascon 94 Cam Henry 68
team logo Morgan State
vs team logo Delaware State
DELST 14 , MORGST 12 Kaiden Bennett 169 James Jones 115 Maurice Clark 44
team logo UCF HOU 30 , UCF 27 Conner Weigman 223 Conner Weigman 82 Amare Thomas 103
team logo Northwestern USC 38 , NW 17 Jayden Maiava 299 King Miller 127 Makai Lemon 161
team logo Memphis TULN 38 , MEM 32 Jake Retzlaff 332 Javin Gordon 65 Cortez Braham Jr. 113
Saturday, November 08, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Arkansas State SOUMIS 27 , ARKST 21 Jaylen Raynor 331 Jeffery Pittman 75 Elijah Metcalf 143
team logo Mississippi State UGA 41 , MSST 21 Gunner Stockton 264 Nate Frazier 181 Brenen Thompson 92
team logo BYU TTU 29 , BYU 7 Behren Morton 219 Cameron Dickey 121 Chase Roberts 61
team logo Marshall JMU 35 , MARSH 23 Alonza Barnett III 270 Antwan Roberts 121 Jaylan Sanchez 86
team logo Temple ARMY 14 , TEM 13 Evan Simon 157 Cale Hellums 118 Peter Clarke 51
team logo Colorado WVU 29 , CU 22 Julian Lewis 299 Diore Hubbard 64 Omarion Miller 131
team logo Boston College SMU 45 , BC 13 Kevin Jennings 326 TJ Harden 130 Yamir Knight 162
team logo Penn State IU 27 , PSU 24 Ethan Grunkemeyer 219 Nicholas Singleton 71 Charlie Becker 118
team logo Brown
vs team logo Yale
YALE 34 , BROWN 22 James Murphy 366 Josh Pitsenberger 173 Trevor Foley 145
team logo Stonehill
@ team logo Central Connecticut State
CENTCT 40 , STONEH 10 Brady Olson 261 Elijah Howard 178 Joe Crifasi 52
team logo Monmouth
vs team logo New Hampshire
UNH 34 , MONM 13 Frankie Weaver 233 Myles Thomason 95 TJ Speight 89
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo Stony Brook
STNYBR 38 , NCA&T 12 Quinn Boyd 380 Roland Dempster 60 Jayce Freeman 140
team logo Duquesne
@ team logo LIU
LIU 29 , DUQ 11 Ethan Greenwood 122 O'Shawn Ross Jr. 92 O'Shawn Ross Jr. 51
team logo Robert Morris
vs team logo Wagner
WAGNER 24 , RMOR 20 Zach Tanner 185 Andre Hines Jr. 135 Jaqai Carter 141
team logo Saint Francis U
vs team logo Mercyhurst
MERCYH 16 , STF-PA 15 Adam Urena 234 Brian Trobel 93 Dylan Evans 138
team logo Holy Cross
@ team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 38 , HOLYCR 3 Dominic Campanile 195 Luke Yoder 142 Geoffrey Jamiel 66
team logo Furman
@ team logo Chattanooga
CHAT 45 , FURMAN 28 Trey Hedden 296 Ryan Ingram 94 Evan James 146
team logo Colgate
@ team logo Lafayette
LAF 59 , COLG 42 Jake Stearney 213 Kente Edwards 260 Reed Swanson 96
team logo Citadel MISS 49 , CIT 0 Trinidad Chambliss 333 Beau Herrington 53 Harrison Wallace III 87
team logo Drake
vs team logo St. Thomas (MN)
STTHMN 20 , DRAKE 13 Logan Inagawa 154 Andy Peters 66 Taj Hughes 55
team logo Valparaiso
vs team logo San Diego
SD 43 , VALPO 27 Rowan Keefe 234 Matt Colombo 121 Ryan Ricketti 58
team logo Eastern Illinois
vs team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 21 , EASTIL 9 Cole LaCrue 174 Charles Kellom 80 Alex Herrera 88
team logo Liberty
vs team logo Missouri State
MOSTU 21 , LIB 17 Jacob Clark 286 Evan Dickens 107 Tristian Gardner 80
team logo Purdue OHIOST 34 , PUR 10 Julian Sayin 303 Bo Jackson 70 Jeremiah Smith 137
team logo Bowling Green EASTMI 27 , BGSU 21 Noah Kim 210 Austyn Dendy 113 Nick Devereaux 79
team logo Butler
@ team logo Morehead State
MOR 31 , BUTLER 30 Carter Cravens 298 Reagan Andrew 74 Ryan Upp 154
team logo Presbyterian
@ team logo Davidson
DAV 14 , PRESBY 13 Coulter Cleland 97 Justin Montgomery 94 Ivan Hoyt 33
team logo Stetson
@ team logo Marist
MARIST 41 , STET 13 Sonny Mannino 187 Michael Dempsey 81 Connor Hulstein 92
team logo Albany
vs team logo Bryant
BRYANT 27 , ALBANY 24 Jack Shields 235 Elijah Elliott 70 Zyheem Collick 83
team logo Hampton
vs team logo Maine
MAINE 35 , HAMP 7 Carter Peevy 121 Donovan Shepard 61 Tae'Shaun Johnson 58
team logo Towson
vs team logo Villanova
VILL 28 , TOWSON 10 Andrew Indorf 156 Ja'briel Mace 291 Braden Reed 41
team logo Indiana State
vs team logo Illinois State
ILLST 52 , INST 20 Tommy Rittenhouse 314 Victor Dawson 116 Rashad Rochelle 103
team logo Penn
vs team logo Cornell
COR 39 , PENN 17 Garrett Bass-Sulpizio 265 Donte West 125 TJ Hamilton 123
team logo Princeton
@ team logo Dartmouth
DART 20 , PRINCE 17 Kai Colon 266 D.J. Crowther 96 Josh Robinson 70
team logo Georgetown
vs team logo Richmond
RICH 31 , GTOWN 24 Dez Thomas II 121 Savion Hart 128 Ja'Vion Griffin 106
team logo Fordham
vs team logo Bucknell
BUCK 37 , FORD 19 Gunnar Smith 170 Gunnar Smith 56 Sam Milligan 77
team logo Southeast Missouri State
@ team logo Gardner-Webb
G-WEBB 27 , SEMO 24 Jax Leatherwood 304 Quasean Holmes 70 Cam Pedro 141
team logo Howard
@ team logo South Carolina State
SCST 42 , HOW 12 William Atkins IV 213 Josh Shaw 64 Jalen Johnson 87
team logo VMI
vs team logo Wofford
WOF 52 , VMI 10 J.T. Fayard 365 Gerald Modest 59 Isaiah Scott 113
team logo UAB RICE 24 , UAB 17 Ryder Burton 213 Jevon Jackson 89 Iverson Hooks 89
team logo Tennessee State
@ team logo UT Martin
TN-MAR 26 , TENNST 7 Jonathan Palmer 89 Thomas Ansley 118 Snap Reed 50
team logo Lindenwood
@ team logo Western Illinois
WESTIL 24 , LINDEN 21 Nate Glantz 216 Markell Holman 172 Demari Davis 84
team logo Murray State
@ team logo UNI
UNI 31 , MUR 14 Jaxon Dailey 133 Bill Jackson 143 Darius Cannon 77
team logo North Dakota
vs team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 15 , NORDAK 10 Jerry Kaminski 170 Barika Kpeenu 73 Bryce Lance 61
team logo Northwestern State
vs team logo UIW
INCWOR 38 , NWST 3 EJ Colson 263 Timothy Carter 141 Jalen Walthall 178
team logo Campbell
vs team logo William & Mary
W&M 30 , CAMP 27 Tyler Hughes 282 Tyler Hughes 120 Armon Wright 63
team logo Elon
vs team logo Rhode Island
URI 34 , ELON 20 Devin Farrell 309 Antwain Littleton, Jr. 101 Aboraa Kwarteng 124
team logo Southern Illinois
@ team logo Youngstown State
YSU 48 , SIU 38 DJ Williams 361 Jaden Gilbert 149 Ryan Schwendeman 96
team logo Norfolk State
@ team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 31 , NOR 28 Walker Harris 265 Kevon King 149 Kam'Ryn Thomas 96
team logo Maryland RUT 35 , MD 20 Athan Kaliakmanis 229 Antwan Raymond 240 Ian Strong 88
team logo Western Carolina
vs team logo Mercer
MERC 49 , WCU 47 Taron Dickens 551 CJ Miller 91 Adjatay Dabbs 147
team logo UTEP JACST 30 , UTEP 27 Skyler Locklear 244 Caden Creel 134 Wondame Davis Jr. 166
team logo Eastern Washington
@ team logo Montana
MONT 29 , EASTWA 24 Jake Schakel 451 Eli Gillman 83 Miles Williams 136
team logo Weber State
@ team logo Montana State
MONTST 66 , WEB 14 Justin Lamson 117 Julius Davis 114 Marvin Session 65
team logo Middle Tennessee FIU 56 , MIDDTN 30 Joe Pesansky 257 Kejon Owens 68 Cam'ron Lacy 108
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
vs team logo Florida A&M
FLAA&M 31 , ARK-PB 28 Christian Peters 333 Thad Franklin Jr. 122 D'Avery Robinson 95
team logo Utah Tech
@ team logo Abilene Christian
ABICHR 31 , UTAHTE 10 Stone Earle 156 E.J. Wilson 96 J.B. Mitchell III 46
team logo Bethune-Cookman
@ team logo Grambling State
GRAM 31 , B-C 23 Timmy McClain 224 Andre Crews 130 Maleek Huggins 122
team logo Houston Christian
vs team logo Stephen F. Austin
SFA 50 , HOUCHR 3 Reilly Garcia 132 Braden Lewis 57 Isaiah Davis 49
team logo Alabama A&M
vs team logo Prairie View A&M
PVA&M 48 , ALAA&M 5 Cameron Peters 394 Shadrick Byrd 75 Jyzaiah Rockwell 183
team logo Texas Southern
@ team logo Alabama State
ALST 42 , TXSO 24 KJ Cooper 220 Athean Renfro 145 Jalen Jones 148
team logo Mississippi Valley State
vs team logo Jackson State
JKST 42 , MSVL 3 Jared Lockhart 241 Ahmad Miller 87 Nate Rembert 97
team logo Charlotte ECU 48 , CHAR 22 Grayson Loftis 279 London Montgomery 85 Sean Brown 119
team logo Tulsa FLAATL 40 , TLSA 21 Caden Veltkamp 265 Ajay Allen 118 Jayshon Platt 114
team logo Louisiana Tech
@ team logo Delaware
DEL 25 , LATECH 24 Nick Minicucci 304 Clay Thevenin 64 Sean Wilson 107
team logo Eastern Kentucky
vs team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 27 , EASTKY 17 Bronson Barron 256 Joshua Dye 221 Shane Carr 124
team logo Kansas ARI 24 , KU 20 Jalon Daniels 199 Jalon Daniels 74 Emmanuel Henderson Jr. 65
team logo Missouri TEXA&M 38 , MIZZOU 17 Marcel Reed 221 Jamal Roberts 110 KC Concepcion 84
team logo TCU IAST 20 , TCU 17 Josh Hoover 302 Carson Hansen 108 Jordan Dwyer 108
team logo Iowa ORE 18 , IOWA 16 Mark Gronowski 138 Noah Whittington 118 Jacob Gill 43
team logo Samford
vs team logo ETSU
EASTTN 38 , SAM 14 Jacolby Criswell 261 Devontae Houston 151 Xavier Gaillardetz 113
team logo Duke UCONN 37 , DUKE 34 Joe Fagnano 317 Nate Sheppard 100 Reymello Murphy 110
team logo Syracuse MIA-FL 38 , SYR 10 Carson Beck 247 Yasin Willis 63 Keelan Marion 116
team logo Merrimack
@ team logo New Haven
NEWHAV 41 , MERRIM 31 AJ Duffy 311 AJ Duffy 70 Jonathan Lawson 114
team logo New Mexico State KENNST 24 , NMST 21 Logan Fife 241 Coleman Bennett 86 Gabriel Benyard 74
team logo Auburn VANDY 45 , AUBURN 38 Diego Pavia 377 Jeremiah Cobb 115 Cam Coleman 143
team logo South Dakota State
@ team logo South Dakota
SOUDAK 24 , SDAKST 17 Aidan Bouman 158 L.J. Phillips Jr. 168 Larenzo Fenner 68
team logo Central Arkansas
@ team logo Austin Peay
APSU 41 , CENARK 38 Chris Parson 301 Landen Chambers 155 Shemar Kirk 144
team logo North Alabama
vs team logo West Georgia
WESTGA 24 , NORTAL 17 Davin Wydner 274 Latrelle Murrell 128 Bryce Dickerson 81
team logo Southeastern Louisiana
@ team logo Lamar
LAMAR 14 , SELA 12 Robert Coleman 86 Deantre Jackson 146 Jaylon Domingeaux 43
team logo Southern University
@ team logo Alcorn State
ALC 35 , SOU 17 Ashton Strother 168 Reggie Davis 110 Darren Morris 81
team logo Georgia State COASTC 40 , GAST 27 TJ Finley 177 Samari Collier 123 Ted Hurst 165
team logo Washington WISC 13 , UW 10 Demond Williams Jr. 134 Gideon Ituka 73 Denzel Boston 62
team logo Stanford UNC 20 , STAN 15 Elijah Brown 284 Micah Ford 68 Caden High 102
team logo Portland State
vs team logo Sacramento State
SAC 52 , PORST 24 Cardell Williams 188 Rodney Hammond Jr. 191 Terence Loville 106
team logo Texas State UL-LAF 42 , TXST 39 Brad Jackson 360 Lincoln Pare 89 Beau Sparks 186
team logo East Texas A&M
vs team logo McNeese
MCNE 35 , ETA&M 20 Jake Strong 171 Jake Strong 136 Christian Jourdain 104
team logo San Jose State AF 26 , SJSU 16 Walker Eget 334 Owen Allen 109 Leland Smith 144
team logo Cal Poly
@ team logo Idaho State
IDAST 27 , CALPLY 17 Jordan Cooke 275 Ty Dieffenbach 142 Michael Briscoe 81
team logo Northern Colorado
@ team logo Northern Arizona
NOARI 49 , NORCOL 10 Ty Pennington 225 Kolbe Katsis 51 Isaiah Eastman 84
team logo Nicholls
@ team logo UT Rio Grande Valley
UTRGV 28 , NICH 21 Eddie Lee Marburger 247 Nathan Denney 120 Tavian Cord 84
team logo Idaho
vs team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 28 , IDAHO 14 Joshua Wood 297 Jordan Fisher 103 Michael Graves 112
team logo Louisville CAL 29 , LOU 26 Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 323 Keyjuan Brown 136 Jacob De Jesus 155
team logo Florida State CLEM 24 , FSU 10 Tommy Castellanos 250 Adam Randall 48 Duce Robinson 124
team logo Virginia WAKE 16 , UVA 9 Daniel Kaelin 145 J'Mari Taylor 98 Trell Harris 60
team logo Nevada USU 51 , NEVADA 14 Bryson Barnes 288 Chubba Purdy 45 Brady Boyd 117
team logo LSU BAMA 20 , LSU 9 Ty Simpson 277 Harlem Berry 66 Germie Bernard 79
team logo Navy ND 49 , NAVY 10 CJ Carr 218 Braxton Woodson 101 Malachi Fields 97
team logo Florida UK 38 , FLA 7 Cutter Boley 168 Dante Dowdell 104 Kendrick Law 44
team logo UCLA NEB 28 , UCLA 21 TJ Lateef 205 Emmett Johnson 129 Emmett Johnson 103
team logo Colorado State UNLV 42 , CSU 10 Anthony Colandrea 251 Jai'Den Thomas 131 Troy Omeire 68
team logo Oregon State SAMHOU 21 , ORST 17 Gabarri Johnson 286 Anthony Hankerson 166 David Wells Jr. 112
team logo San Diego State HAWAII 38 , SDSU 6 Micah Alejado 256 Lucky Sutton 78 Jackson Harris 130

All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone.

College Football Schedule

Rose Bowl

The United States probably has the biggest following with respect to any college sport in the world. In fact, there are plenty of people in America who are not as gung ho about the professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. as they are about the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) sports. There could be several reasons for this but the one thing that stands out is the passion individuals have for their school and the respective college team.

The college football season typically starts from the end of August to the early part of January. Teams generally play anywhere between 8 to 12 games a year. They play an equal number of home and away games throughout the season but the scheduling process is quite complex to understand.

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Understanding how the NCAA runs college football games can be quite confusing. The NCAA for instance does not control all aspects of college football games. It only has control over the rules and compliances on the field, apart from that everything else including the money and the tournaments is managed by the respective conferences of college football.

NCAA Football Conferences

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The NCAA football constitutes first and foremost of four divisions which are Division 1 FBS, Division 1 FCS, Division 2, and Division 3. Most of the college football teams belong to either one of these divisions. Although not everything is set in stone, it is generally considered that playing college football for a Division 1 school will get you the maximum chance of going professional in the future.

We will check out only the Division 1 FBS in this article as it is the most important one and really the only one that matters. FBS stands for Football Bowl Subdivision and within this division, we have a total of 10 different conferences. The four teams of Notre Dame, Brigham Young University, Army, and Navy do not belong to any of the conferences despite being in the FBS.

Out of these ten, there are five conferences known as the Power Five Conferences, which are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC).

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The remaining five conferences which are at times referred to as the Non-Power Five (Group of 5) Conferences are the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA Conference, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).

NCAA Football Schedule Process

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This is where things start getting tricky because every conference in college football has its individual freedom. That means all conferences have the autonomy to create their own schedules, but it is not as simple as just assigning two teams to play each other within their own conference.

Every conference has its own set of rules and guidelines which they use to schedule games. In addition to that, some conferences have more pull than others thereby directly impacting which teams get to play the best games. To create one national schedule from this is one tough ask.

It may come as a surprise that in today's day and age when the simplest of simple things are done with the help of an algorithm run by software, that college football schedules are drawn up by speaking to one another and agreeing to terms. The conference officials and the athletic directors all must come together and work out a possible schedule that works for everyone and which also allots an equal number of home and away games to each team.

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There are three main factors which go into consideration during the scheduling of college football games. They are conference scheduling, non-conference scheduling, and TV broadcasting.

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Conference scheduling

Since each conference has its own method of scheduling games, the process remains unique to all conferences. Generally, all the schools will play the other schools within their conference at least once a year. The Power Five conferences also play a few cross-divisional games in addition to their conference games.

Non-conference scheduling

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These are the games that each team needs to play outside of their own conference against other teams. As each team must figure out with whom they will play and when and where, this can get a bit complicated, especially for the smaller school.

Power Five teams will normally play one or two non-conference games with other Power Five conferences as well as one or two games with teams from Group of Five conferences. Since the reward is greater for Group of Five teams when they go up against the Power Five competition, teams from the former conferences will generally try to play more games with the latter. In doing so, Group of Five teams will get a significantly more amount of revenue.

TV Broadcasting

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The third factor that goes into scheduling college football games is that of TV broadcasting. This is because all top networks want to show the best possible games at the best time slots on their respective networks. Therefore, many times the TV networks will also have a say in the scheduling matters and may request any changes or modifications as they see fit.

Power 5 and Group of 5 Conferences

Typically, the best of the best teams are all in the Power 5 conferences. They are the ones who receive the maximum media attention, the maximum revenue, and boast of the maximum fan following as well. The teams in these conferences have a long-standing history of winning and producing the best talent that will carry forward to the professional league.

Each conference in the Power Five has its own rules for scheduling and not all conferences play the same number of games within their own conference. For example, teams in the Big Ten conference will play nine conference games and three non-conference games, but the same is not the case with the SEC as they play only eight conference games and four non-conference games.

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However, a lot of mixing up and shaking up of the conferences and their rules keep taking place and therefore not everything can be attributed to a permanent way of functioning. For instance, some teams are looking to jump from one conference to another while some conferences that are playing eight inter-conference games want to move to nine.

Therefore, for the various conferences to make their schedules, a lot of attention must be given to all the guidelines and a committee needs to monitor all the intricacies such as the competitive balance between the teams, broadcast terms and conditions, an equal number of home and away games, and more.

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As for the Group of Five conferences, most of them will play eight inter-conference games and four non-conference games. The same level of thought process must go into making the schedule for these conferences as well. But one disadvantage for the Group of 5 teams is that they must strive harder to get a matchup with some of the Power 5 teams.

Conference Scheduling

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Since all conferences have their unique ways of creating a schedule, not all teams will play each other from their respective conference on an annual basis. Such a case arises because there are a greater number of teams in conferences than the number of games a team can play. Therefore, each conference needs to resort to a rotation-based design to ensure that teams will play each other once every few years.

For example, if we look at the Big 12 conference, it has a total of ten teams. This conference plays 9 conference and 1 non-conference game throughout the season. Thus, as per the rotation policy, each team will play all other teams in the conference at least once in two years.

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Taking the example of the SEC, which is probably the most popular conference today, it has fourteen teams within the conference and it is also subdivided into two divisions, namely: the East and the West. Each team will play a total of eight conference games out of which six are from their own division and the other two are from the other division. This conference also has 1 permanent rival for each team and it rotates the other seven conference games every year.

Non-Conference Scheduling

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Scheduling the non-conference games does not require any rotational policy as teams are free to select their opponents mutually. However, teams will want to play games against top-quality opposition to ensure they remain at a high level when they play their conference games. Also, the Group of 5 conference teams can take this opportunity to not only see where they are in terms of performance with the top tier teams, but they can also generate much more income from these games as more media and revenue are associated with the Power 5 teams.

When it comes to non-conference scheduling, there are many teams that have created matchups with one another years in advance. This is done as careful planning is required to generate proper revenue for home games and to maintain steady competition. Teams will alternate between easy and difficult games every other year as a way of balancing out their schedules.

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FBS Power 5 Conferences

ACC Scheduling

From 2023, the ACC will play their games with the newly introduced 3-5-5 format. That means that each team will play three of their rivals on a permanent basis which leaves ten teams. These ten teams will be separated into two groups of five and they will be flipped every other year. Therefore, within the conference the ACC will play eight teams and then they will play a further four teams outside of their conference as well.

As of 2023, the ACC consists of 14 schools in the conference which are as follows:

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  1. Boston College Eagles
  2. Clemson Tigers
  3. Duke Blue Devils
  4. Florida State Seminoles
  5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
  6. Louisville Cardinals
  7. Miami Hurricanes
  8. North Carolina Tar Heels
  9. North Carolina State Wolfpack
  10. Pittsburgh Panthers
  11. Syracuse Orange
  12. Virginia Cavaliers
  13. Virginia Tech Hokies
  14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The permanent matchups for the ACC teams are as below:

UniversityRival 1Rival 2Rival 3
Boston CollegeMiamiPittsburghSyracuse
ClemsonFlorida StateGeorgia TechNC State
DukeNorth CarolinaNC StateWake Forest
Florida StateClemsonMiamiSyracuse
Georgia TechClemsonLouisvilleWake Forest
LouisvilleGeorgia TechMiamiVirginia
MiamiBoston CollegeFlorida StateLouisville
North CarolinaDukeNC StateVirginia
NC StateClemsonDukeNorth Carolina
PittsburghBoston CollegeSyracuseVirginia Tech
SyracuseBoston CollegeFlorida StatePittsburgh
VirginiaLouisvilleNorth CarolinaVirginia Tech
Virginia TechPittsburghVirginiaWake Forest
Wake ForestDukeGeorgia TechVirginia Tech

Big 10 Scheduling

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The Big 10 which is divided into the East and West division follows a nine game conference schedule. Seven teams are placed in both divisions based upon their locality. The Big 10 schedules six divisional games and three cross divisional games. The Indiana and Perdue game is an annual cross division game which is a permanent fixture. Apart from this, each team will face three non-conference teams as well.

As of 2023, the Big Ten’s two divisions and their respective teams are as follows:

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EastWest
Ohio State BuckeyesMinnesota Golden Gophers
Rutgers Scarlet KnightsIowa Hawkeyes
Maryland TerrapinsWisconsin Badgers
Michigan WolverinesIllinois Fighting Illini
Michigan St. SpartansPurdue Boilermakers
Penn St. Nittany LionsNorthwestern Wildcats
Indiana HoosiersNebraska Cornhuskers

Big 12 Scheduling

The Big 12’s current scheduling system is a 14 team round robin event. Upon its conclusion, the top two teams in the conference will fight it out in the Championship game to declare the eventual winner of the conference.

The current teams playing in the Big 12 conference are:

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  1. BYU Cougars
  2. Cincinnati Bearcats
  3. Houston Cougars
  4. Iowa State Cyclones
  5. Kansas Jayhawks
  6. Kansas State Wildcats
  7. Oklahoma Sooners
  8. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  9. Texas Longhorns
  10. UCF Knights
  11. Baylor Bears
  12. TCU Horned Frogs
  13. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  14. West Virginia Mountaineers

PAC-12 Scheduling

The PAC-12 which once followed divisions of two has done away with them and now hold a round robin system similar to that of the Big 12. Once the season comes to an end the top two teams in the conference will play the Championship game.

The PAC-12 football conference is made up of the following teams:

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  1. USC Trojans
  2. Arizona Wildcats
  3. Arizona State Sun Devils
  4. California Golden Bears
  5. Colorado Buffaloes
  6. Oregon Ducks
  7. Oregon State Beavers
  8. Stanford Cardinal
  9. UCLA Bruins
  10. Utah Utes
  11. Washington Huskies
  12. Washington State Cougars

SEC Scheduling

Considered by many to be the best conference in college football at least since the past few years, the SEC operates in a division format with two divisions of seven teams each. However, with more teams joining next year, it is expected that the current system will undergo a change to better accommodate the expansion of the conference. At present though, each team within the conference plays eight conference games.

From the division itself, each team plays all the other six teams every year. Then, each team has a permanent cross division rival for the seventh game and the eighth game is a cross divisional rotation.

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The SECs permanent cross-divisional matchups are:

  1. Alabama vs. Tennessee
  2. Arkansas vs. Missouri
  3. Auburn vs. Georgia
  4. LSU vs. Florida
  5. Mississippi State vs. Kentucky
  6. Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt
  7. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina.

The teams participating in the SEC conference as of 2023 are:

EastWest
Vanderbilt CommodoresAlabama Crimson Tide
Georgia BulldogsArkansas Razorbacks
Kentucky WildcatsAuburn Tigers
Missouri TigersOle Miss Rebels
Tennessee VolunteersMississippi State Bulldogs
Florida GatorsTexasA&M Aggies
South Carolina GamecocksLSU Tigers
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FBS Group of Five Conferences

AAC Scheduling

The AAC scheduling system has just recently undergone a change which is expected to be continued till 2026. Featuring a conference of 14 teams, each team is set to play 8 conference games. As per this schedule, each team within the conference will face every other team twice in a period of four years getting one home game and one away game respectively. The ACC has also included six annual matchups which are as follows:

  1. North Texas vs. SMU
  2. UAB vs. Memphis
  3. Rice vs. UTSA
  4. Charlotte vs. East Carolina
  5. Florida Atlantic vs. South Florida
  6. Navy vs. Temple
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The 14 members of the AAC are as follows:

  1. Memphis Tigers
  2. Charlotte 49ers
  3. Florida Atlantic Owls
  4. Navy Midshipmen
  5. Rice Owls
  6. SMU Mustangs
  7. South Florida Bulls
  8. Temple Owls
  9. Tulane Green Wave
  10. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
  11. UAB Blazers
  12. UTSA Roadrunners
  13. East Carolina Pirates
  14. North Texas Mean Green

C-USA Scheduling

This conference has been quite unstable since its formation. Several teams have left to join different conferences while new teams are making their way to the C-USA. This conference is set to expand further by next year making it one of the most unpredictable conferences in college football. As a result, the current schedule is in place only for the 2023 season and is expected to undergo some type of modification before the 2024 season. As for now, all nine teams from the conference will play each other in a round robin format.

The nine teams which make up the C-USA conference are:

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  1. Liberty Flames
  2. Jacksonville State Gamecocks
  3. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
  4. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
  5. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
  6. Sam Houston Bearkats
  7. FIU Panthers
  8. New Mexico State Aggies
  9. UTEP Miners

MAC Scheduling

The MAC conference is quite simple as it is divided into divisions featuring six teams each. Teams in this conference are set to play eight conference games which includes five divisional games and three cross divisional games.

The divisions of the MAC are as below:

EastWest
Ohio BobcatsCentral Michigan Chippewas
Akron ZipsEastern Michigan Eagles
Bowling Green FalconsNorthern Illinois Huskies
Miami (OH) RedHawksToledo Rockets
Buffalo BullsWestern Michigan Broncos
Kent State Golden FlashesBall State Cardinals
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MWC Scheduling

The MWC has made a change from 2023 onwards. Earlier this conference had a divisional system but now that has been scrapped. The twelve-team conference will play a 2-6 format wherein the 2 games will be against fixed opponents every year. The remaining six games will be rotation based and will be flipped every other year.

The teams making up the Mountain West Conference are:

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  1. Air Force Falcons
  2. Fresno State Bulldogs
  3. Wyoming Cowboys
  4. San Diego State Aztecs
  5. New Mexico Lobos
  6. UNLV Rebels
  7. Utah State Aggies
  8. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
  9. San Jose State Spartans
  10. Colorado State Rams
  11. Boise State Broncos
  12. Nevada Wolf Pack

The two permanent fixtures per team are as below:

UniversityRival 1Rival 2
Air ForceColorado StateWyoming
Boise StateNew MexicoUtah State
Colorado StateAir ForceWyoming
Fresno StateNevadaSan Jose State
HawaiiSan Diego StateUNLV
NevadaFresno StateUNLV
New MexicoBoise StateSan Jose State
San Diego StateHawaiiUtah State
San Jose StateFresno StateNew Mexico
UNLVHawaiiNevada
Utah StateBoise StateSan Diego State
WyomingAir ForceColorado State

SBC Scheduling

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The SBC conference is another one divided into two divisions of seven teams each. According to their scheduling, each team will play two cross divisional games, one at home and one away. Furthermore, each team will play against all six divisional opponents every year for a total of eight conference games.

The divisions of the SBC conference are as below:

EastWest
Old Dominion MonarchsLouisiana-Monroe Warhawks
Georgia Southern EaglesSouth Alabama Jaguars
Georgia State PanthersSouthern Miss Golden Eagles
James Madison DukesTexas State Bobcats
Marshall Thundering HerdTroy Trojans
Appalachian State MountaineersArkansas State Red Wolves
Coastal Carolina ChanticleersLouisiana Ragin' Cajuns

Independents (FBS) Scheduling

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The Independent programs in college football are very few today with only four of them left. Most of the independent schools from earlier have joined other conferences as they can then earn revenue from television broadcasting. In addition to that, joining a conference makes their scheduling worries easier. However, the independent schools do get more flexibility to schedule their matchups as they are not conference bound. This gives them added advantage in having interesting games throughout the year.

The four independent football schools that are remaining are:

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  1. Army West Point Black Knights
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  3. Connecticut Huskies
  4. Massachusetts Minutemen

The Army has fixed annual games against the Navy and Air Force. They also have a rivalry game with Notre Dame but it is not on an annual basis and is scheduled quite randomly. As for Notre Dame, they have many long-standing rivalry matchups throughout the year and they also have a deal with the ACC which gives them five games every year.

UConn was earlier part of the AAC but their other sports faced some issues due to which they had to leave the conference in 2020. Nowadays, as their football program is not so strong, many FBS schools play against them in order to fill out their schedules.

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FCS Conferences

The conferences in the FCS division of college football are undergoing regular changes with new conferences coming up and teams leaving and joining every passing year. As a result of which the scheduling format for these conferences keep on changing and information pertaining to the same is scantily available.

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Big Sky Scheduling

The Big Sky Conference consists of twelve teams currently. Their schedule from 2022 to 2024 is set at eight league games which comprises two fixed annual opponents and six rotating ones. This new format was put into action to make sure that teams would get to play other teams in the conference more frequently than earlier. Teams have also been afforded the flexibility to choose at least one of their permanent opponents.

The Big Sky’s twelve-member conference is as follows:

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  1. Idaho Vandals
  2. Montana Grizzlies
  3. Sacramento State Hornets
  4. Weber State Wildcats
  5. Cal Poly Mustangs
  6. Montana State Bobcats
  7. UC Davis Aggies
  8. Eastern Washington Eagles
  9. Idaho State Bengals
  10. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
  11. Northern Colorado Bears
  12. Portland State Vikings

Big South Scheduling

The Big South Conference is one of the newest conferences in college football. Initially starting out with nine teams, it has quickly been reduced to only four at present. This conference has decided to merge with the Ohio Valley Conference in 2026 as both conferences do not have sufficient teams. Due to so many ongoing changes, the exact scheduling format for the Big South Conference is not available.

The four teams in the Big South Conference are as below:

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  1. Bryant Bulldogs
  2. Charleston Southern Buccaneers
  3. Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
  4. Robert Morris Colonials

Coastal Athletic Association Conference Scheduling

The CAA conference which consists of fifteen teams has each team playing eight games in the conference. Moreover, each team has been allotted two permanent rivals annually while the remaining six games are on rotation basis. This means each team will play every other team at home and away at least once in eight years.

The fifteen members of the CAA conference are:

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  1. William & Mary Tribe
  2. Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
  3. Monmouth Hawks
  4. Rhode Island Rams
  5. Villanova Wildcats
  6. Hampton Pirates
  7. New Hampshire Wildcats
  8. Albany Great Danes
  9. Elon Phoenix
  10. Maine Black Bears
  11. North Carolina A&T Aggies
  12. Richmond Spiders
  13. Campbell Fighting Camels
  14. Towson Tigers
  15. Stony Brook Seawolves

Independents (FCS) Conference Scheduling

In the FCS division of college football, the Kennesaw State Owls are the only team which are playing as an independent conference. The Owls are slowly beginning their transition from the FCS to the FBS as they are moving to Conference USA football conference in 2024.

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Ivy League Conference Scheduling

There are a total of eight Ivy League Schools featuring in the college football program. The Ivy League Conference usually starts a little later than the other conferences, mostly near mid-September. These schools play ten games each which include a complete round-robin system where each team plays all the other seven teams. The remaining three games are scheduled against non-conference teams.

Ivy League Conference teams include:

  1. Dartmouth Big Green
  2. Harvard Crimson
  3. Columbia Lions
  4. Princeton Tigers
  5. Cornell Big Red
  6. Penn Quakers
  7. Yale Bulldogs
  8. Brown Bears
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Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Scheduling

The MEAC is a conference consisting of six football teams. As per their schedule for the 2023 season, teams will play non-conference games at the start and the end of the season with conference games being sandwiched in between.

The six participating teams in MEAC are”

  1. North Carolina Central Eagles
  2. Howard Bison
  3. Morgan State Bears
  4. Norfolk State Spartans
  5. Delaware State Hornets
  6. South Carolina State Bulldogs

Missouri Valley Conference Scheduling

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The Missouri Valley Conference is one of those which has somewhat of a complex history. It has undergone a couple of name changes over the years as well. This conference uses a simple round robin system to decide the eventual conference champion. The first three weeks are usually reserved for non-conference matchups while the remaining nine weeks are for conference games. Teams are also allowed to make changes to their schedule provided both teams have a written agreement in place.

  1. Teams participating in this conference currently are:
  2. Illinois State Redbirds
  3. North Dakota Fighting Hawks
  4. North Dakota State Bison
  5. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
  6. Southern Illinois Salukis
  7. Murray State Racers
  8. South Dakota Coyotes
  9. Youngstown State Penguins
  10. Indiana State Sycamores
  11. Missouri State Bears
  12. UNI Panthers
  13. Western Illinois Leathernecks
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Northeast Conference Scheduling

The Northeast Conference features eight teams which will all play each other. Each team will get four home games and three away games in the conference. Each team will also play three away non-conference games for the 2023 season.

The eight teams making up the Northeast Conference are:

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  1. Stonehill Skyhawks
  2. Duquesne Dukes
  3. LIU Sharks
  4. Merrimack Warriors
  5. Sacred Heart Pioneers
  6. Saint Francis U Red Flash
  7. Wagner Seahawks
  8. Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

Ohio Valley Conference Scheduling

The Ohio Valley Conference has joined forces with the Big South Conference as both conferences had lost several teams. Now the two conferences together have a total of ten teams and will play a schedule consisting of six conference games. As prior commitments with teams are still prevalent, more conference games cannot be played currently.

The Ohio Valley Conference teams are:

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  1. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
  2. Eastern Illinois Panthers
  3. Tennessee State Tigers
  4. UT Martin Skyhawks
  5. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
  6. Lindenwood Lions

Patriot League Conference Scheduling

The Patriot League Conference features seven teams which are as follows:

  1. Georgetown Hoyas
  2. Fordham Rams
  3. Bucknell Bison
  4. Holy Cross Crusaders
  5. Lafayette Leopards
  6. Lehigh Mountain Hawks
  7. Colgate Raiders

Pioneer League Conference Scheduling

This conference is truly a one-of-a-kind conference given the fact that it has teams from both coasts and many more through the heart of the country. The eleven team conference boasts teams such as:

  1. Stetson Hatters
  2. Butler Bulldogs
  3. Dayton Flyers
  4. Morehead State Eagles
  5. Presbyterian Blue Hose
  6. St. Thomas (MN) Tommies
  7. Marist Red Foxes
  8. Davidson Wildcats
  9. Drake Bulldogs
  10. San Diego Toreros
  11. Valparaiso Beacons
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Southern Conference Scheduling

The Southern Conference is a nine-team conference which is comprised of the following teams:

  1. Western Carolina Catamounts
  2. Mercer Bears
  3. Chattanooga Mocs
  4. ETSU Buccaneers
  5. Furman Paladins
  6. VMI Keydets
  7. Citadel Bulldogs
  8. Wofford Terriers
  9. Samford Bulldogs

Southland Conference Scheduling

With eight teams featuring in the Southland Conference, each team will play against the other teams in a round-robin format in 2023. This is the first time since 2013 that the round-robin format has been implemented. Apart from these seven games, teams will also play non-conference games.

The Southland Conference is made up of the following eight teams:

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  1. Houston Christian Huskies
  2. UIW Cardinals
  3. Lamar Cardinals
  4. McNeese Cowboys
  5. Nicholls Colonels
  6. Northwestern State Demons
  7. Southeastern Louisiana Lions
  8. Texas A&M-Commerce Lions

Southwestern Athletic Conference Scheduling

The SWAC has been divided into two divisions and since 2021, it has implemented the following schedule to its football program. Each team will play five divisional and three non-divisional games. Three teams from the other division will be rotated every two years. The team with the best record in the conference will get the chance to host the Championship game.

The two divisions of the SWAC are as follows:

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EASTWEST
Florida A&M RattlersPrairie View A&M Panthers
Mississippi Valley State Delta DevilsAlcorn State Braves
Alabama A&M BulldogsArkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions
Alabama State HornetsGrambling State Tigers
Bethune-Cookman WildcatsSouthern University Jaguars
Jackson State TigersTexas Southern Tigers

United Athletic Conference Scheduling

The United Athletic Conference is a newly formed conference with the merger of two previously independent conferences, namely, the ASUN Conference and the Western Athletic Conference. Having nine teams currently as part of its membership, the UAC will be limited to six conference games for the 2023 season before it switches to a full round-robin system in 2024.

The UAC teams at present include:

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  1. Tarleton State Texans
  2. Abilene Christian Wildcats
  3. Central Arkansas Bears
  4. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
  5. Austin Peay Governors
  6. Eastern Kentucky Colonels
  7. Southern Utah Thunderbirds
  8. Utah Tech Trailblazers
  9. North Alabama Lions

Conclusion

In short, college football scheduling is not the same for each team as it has more flexibility. This is the case because the NCAA does not have a say in scheduling matters which is being handled by the respective conferences. Furthermore, each conference has its own set of rules that it follows to prepare its unique schedule taking into consideration various factors such as home and away games, conference, and non-conference games, and of course the broadcasting terms and conditions.

Sometimes, another issue which crops up during scheduling is the lack of availability of a stadium due to various factors beyond the team’s control. Considering all these factors, the committee members of each conference come out with a schedule which is then overseen by the NCAA.

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