College Football Schedule 2025-26

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Northern Illinois WESTMI 35 , NIU 19 Brady Davidson 73 Jalen Buckley 133 Rickey Taylor Jr. 53
team logo Bowling Green AKRON 19 , BGSU 16 Ben Finley 176 Austyn Dendy 110 Israel Polk 85
team logo Massachusetts OHIO 42 , UMASS 14 Grant Jordan 56 Sieh Bangura 196 Jacquon Gibson 21
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Buffalo MIA-OH 37 , BUFF 20 Ta'Quan Roberson 303 Jordan Brunson 123 Nik McMillan 147
team logo Kent State CMU 28 , KENTST 16 Dru DeShields 185 Gavin Garcia 77 Wayne Harris 56
Thursday, November 20, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Nicholls
@ team logo Southeastern Louisiana
SELA 38 , NICH 26 Ean Rodrigue 137 Jaedon Henry 93 Jaylon Domingeaux 45
team logo Arkansas State UL-LAF 34 , ARKST 30 Jaylen Raynor 256 Lunch Winfield 89 Corey Rucker 120
team logo Northwestern State
vs team logo Stephen F. Austin
SFA 62 , NWST 14 Sam Vidlak 207 Richard Reese 115 Kylon Harris 135
Friday, November 21, 2025
Saturday, November 22, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Missouri OKLA 17 , MIZZOU 6 Beau Pribula 231 John Mateer 60 Kevin Coleman Jr. 115
team logo Samford TEXA&M 48 , SAM 0 Marcel Reed 120 Amari Daniels 106 Ashton Bethel-Roman 61
team logo Kansas IAST 38 , KU 14 Rocco Becht 241 Carson Hansen 120 Boden Groen 76
team logo Louisville SMU 38 , LOU 6 Kevin Jennings 303 TJ Harden 90 Jordan Hudson 96
team logo Minnesota NW 38 , MINN 35 Preston Stone 305 Caleb Komolafe 129 Hayden Eligon II 127
team logo Army West Point TLSA 26 , ARMY 25 Baylor Hayes 267 Dominic Richardson 203 Zion Steptoe 76
team logo Delaware WAKE 52 , DEL 14 Robby Ashford 292 Chris Barnes 78 Carlos Hernandez 197
team logo Virginia Tech MIA-FL 34 , VATECH 17 Carson Beck 320 Marcellous Hawkins 72 Malachi Toney 146
team logo Rutgers OHIOST 42 , RUT 9 Julian Sayin 157 Bo Jackson 110 Max Klare 105
team logo Dartmouth
@ team logo Brown
BROWN 35 , DART 28 Grayson Saunier 274 Matt Childs 47 Chris Corbo 83
team logo Monmouth
vs team logo Albany
ALBANY 31 , MONM 24 Frankie Weaver 269 Rodney Nelson 69 Josh Derry 135
team logo Bryant
@ team logo Stony Brook
STNYBR 35 , BRYANT 28 Quinn Boyd 298 Elijah Elliott 80 Dez Williams 117
team logo Morgan State
vs team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 33 , MORGST 14 Walker Harris 264 Chris Mosley 86 Chris Mosley 71
team logo Mercyhurst
@ team logo Central Connecticut State
CENTCT 35 , MERCYH 28 Brady Olson 221 Brian Trobel 166 Rylan Davison 94
team logo Wagner
@ team logo LIU
LIU 24 , WAGNER 17 Ethan Greenwood 155 Ethan Greenwood 103 Jayden Simpson 93
team logo VMI
vs team logo Western Carolina
WCU 48 , VMI 6 Taron Dickens 330 Nana Utsey 137 James Tyre 69
team logo Harvard
@ team logo Yale
YALE 45 , HARV 28 Dante Reno 273 Josh Pitsenberger 143 Nico Brown 189
team logo Fordham
@ team logo Merrimack
MERRIM 27 , FORD 26 Gunnar Smith 252 Yohan-Li Louis 91 Troy Worrell 160
team logo Lafayette
vs team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 42 , LAF 32 Dean DeNobile 275 Luke Yoder 234 Mason Kuehner 99
team logo Charlotte UGA 35 , CHAR 3 Gunner Stockton 196 Nate Frazier 54 Noah Thomas 68
team logo Baylor ARI 41 , BAYLOR 17 Noah Fifita 183 Caden Knighten 100 Kris Hutson 133
team logo Morehead State
@ team logo Drake
DRAKE 17 , MOR 10 Carter Cravens 190 Nick Herman 253 Ryan Upp 90
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
@ team logo Alabama State
ALST 44 , ARK-PB 13 Te'Sean Smoot 271 Jaylen Jennings 133 Dylan Djete 71
team logo UT Martin
@ team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 20 , TN-MAR 17 Kekoa Visperas 270 Q'Daryius Jennings 77 Brian Courtney 89
team logo Illinois State
vs team logo Southern Illinois
SIU 37 , ILLST 7 DJ Williams 159 Edward Robinson 145 Dylan Lord 67
team logo Georgia Southern ODU 45 , GASO 10 JC French IV 147 Colton Joseph 189 Marcus Sanders Jr. 88
team logo Washington State JMU 24 , WSU 20 Zevi Eckhaus 171 Wayne Knight 126 Tony Freeman 81
team logo Valparaiso
@ team logo Butler
BUTLER 27 , VALPO 20 Rowan Keefe 184 Gabe Passini 106 Devin Yeats 73
team logo Davidson
vs team logo Dayton
DAYTON 42 , DAV 14 Coulter Cleland 225 Luke Hansen 87 Gavin Lochow 188
team logo Marist
@ team logo Presbyterian
PRESBY 29 , MARIST 25 Collin Hurst 211 Zach Switzer 63 Lance Martinez 84
team logo Stetson
vs team logo San Diego
SD 42 , STET 8 Dom Nankil 102 Matt Colombo 129 Malachi Townsend 33
team logo Saint Francis U
@ team logo Stonehill
STONEH 20 , STF-PA 10 Adrian Mejia 105 Joshua Roberson 128 Brandon London 50
team logo Campbell
@ team logo Towson
TOWSON 35 , CAMP 31 Kamden Sixkiller 258 Ethan Lawrence 66 Randall King 121
team logo Hampton
@ team logo Rhode Island
URI 38 , HAMP 10 Conner Kenyon 258 Antwain Littleton, Jr. 148 Greg Gaines III 139
team logo Maine
@ team logo New Hampshire
UNH 33 , MAINE 27 Matt Vezza 266 Carter Peevy 114 Ty'ee Stephens 68
team logo Sacred Heart
@ team logo Villanova
VILL 34 , SHEART 10 Jack Snyder 286 Ja'briel Mace 165 Payton Rhoades 113
team logo William & Mary
vs team logo Richmond
RICH 28 , W&M 21 Kyle Wickersham 128 Kyle Wickersham 73 Ja'Vion Griffin 93
team logo Indiana State
vs team logo Murray State
MUR 31 , INST 17 Keegan Patterson 314 Jawaun Northington 232 Rashad Rochelle 120
team logo Cornell
vs team logo Columbia
COLUM 29 , COR 12 Garrett Bass-Sulpizio 225 Griffin Johnson 203 Brendan Lee 78
team logo Delaware State
vs team logo South Carolina State
SCST 28 , DELST 17 William Atkins IV 249 Marquis Gillis 159 Nigel Johnson 74
team logo Citadel
@ team logo ETSU
EASTTN 28 , CIT 26 Jacolby Criswell 244 Devontae Houston 125 Charlie Browder 55
team logo Bucknell
@ team logo Colgate
COLG 38 , BUCK 19 Zach Osborne 244 Marco Maldonado 120 Reed Swanson 133
team logo Princeton
@ team logo Penn
PENN 17 , PRINCE 6 Liam O'Brien 243 Donte West 37 Jared Richardson 95
team logo Gardner-Webb
vs team logo Western Illinois
WESTIL 29 , G-WEBB 24 Cole Pennington 356 Markell Holman 137 Chris Lofton 169
team logo Chattanooga
@ team logo Wofford
WOF 35 , CHAT 13 J.T. Fayard 244 Gerald Modest 76 Josh Williams 118
team logo Wyoming NEVADA 13 , WYO 7 Kaden Anderson 157 Caleb Ramseur 88 Michael Fitzgerald 53
team logo Portland State
@ team logo Northern Colorado
NORCOL 24 , PORST 13 Eric Gibson Jr. 94 Justin Guin 115 Terence Loville 48
team logo Montana
vs team logo Montana State
MONTST 31 , MONT 28 Keali'i Ah Yat 186 Eli Gillman 132 Brooks Davis 113
team logo Eastern Illinois BAMA 56 , EASTIL 0 Ty Simpson 147 Jam Miller 62 Jaylen Mbakwe 39
team logo Mercer AUBURN 62 , MERC 17 Deuce Knight 239 Deuce Knight 162 Malcolm Simmons 149
team logo North Dakota
vs team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 34 , NORDAK 31 Jerry Kaminski 292 Julius Loughridge 112 B.J. Fleming 123
team logo North Alabama
vs team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 36 , NORTAL 34 Bronson Barron 236 Joshua Dye 108 Tanaka Scott 114
team logo Southeast Missouri State
vs team logo Lindenwood
LINDEN 30 , SEMO 13 Johnny Weber 161 Jared Rhodes 87 Cam Pedro 50
team logo UNI
vs team logo Youngstown State
YSU 35 , UNI 32 Jaxon Dailey 352 Beau Brungard 143 Bill Jackson 115
team logo Missouri State KENNST 41 , MOSTU 34 Amari Odom 387 Shomari Lawrence 173 Gabriel Benyard 127
team logo Ball State TOL 38 , BALLST 9 Tucker Gleason 218 Chip Trayanum 128 Junior Vandeross III 127
team logo Tennessee State
@ team logo Charleston Southern
CHSOU 7 , TENNST 6 Byron McNair 155 Ke'Marion Baldwin 114 Quay Kindell 83
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo Elon
ELON 55 , NCA&T 17 Landen Clark 231 Landen Clark 105 Isaiah Fuhrmann 111
team logo Robert Morris
vs team logo Duquesne
DUQ 20 , RMOR 17 Tyler Riddell 214 Ness Davis 179 Joey Isabella 108
team logo Marshall APP 26 , MARSH 24 Carlos Del Rio-Wilson 146 Jaquari Lewis 175 Demarcus Lacey 134
team logo UTEP NMST 34 , UTEP 31 Adam Damante 253 Ashten Emory 181 Donovan Faupel 78
team logo Northern Arizona
@ team logo Weber State
WEB 48 , NOARI 28 Kingston Tisdell 277 Spencer Ferguson 102 Kolbe Katsis 135
team logo UAB USF 48 , UAB 18 Byrum Brown 353 Nykahi Davenport 121 Mudia Reuben 174
team logo Liberty LATECH 34 , LIB 28 Ethan Vasko 141 Evan Dickens 228 Caleb Ryan 72
team logo Sam Houston MIDDTN 31 , SAMHOU 17 Landyn Locke 281 Jekail Middlebrook 106 Grady O'Neill 89
team logo Houston Christian
vs team logo UIW
INCWOR 31 , HOUCHR 10 Richard Torres 184 Kobe Dillon 109 Ja'Ryan Wallace 130
team logo Alabama A&M
@ team logo Texas Southern
TXSO 24 , ALAA&M 7 Jordon Davis 158 Lawrence Butler 101 Daveon Walker 100
team logo Mississippi Valley State
@ team logo Prairie View A&M
PVA&M 59 , MSVL 6 Cameron Peters 234 Chase Bingmon 71 Jyzaiah Rockwell 100
team logo Florida Atlantic UCONN 48 , FLAATL 45 Caden Veltkamp 494 Cam Edwards 101 Dominique Henry 157
team logo USC ORE 42 , USC 27 Jayden Maiava 311 Noah Whittington 104 Tanook Hines 141
team logo Southern Miss USA 42 , SOUMIS 35 Braylon Braxton 393 Kentrel Bullock 187 Carl Chester 128
team logo East Carolina TX-SA 58 , ECU 24 Owen McCown 248 Will Henderson III 146 Anthony Smith 143
team logo Arkansas TEX 52 , ARK 37 Arch Manning 389 Mike Washington Jr. 105 Parker Livingstone 104
team logo Kentucky VANDY 45 , UK 17 Diego Pavia 484 Diego Pavia 48 Tre Richardson 159
team logo Michigan State IOWA 20 , MSU 17 Alessio Milivojevic 255 Kamari Moulton 80 Jack Velling 88
team logo St. Thomas (MN)
@ team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 62 , STTHMN 7 Cole Payton 279 Barika Kpeenu 107 Bryce Lance 106
team logo Alcorn State
@ team logo Jackson State
JKST 27 , ALC 21 Jaylon Tolbert 234 Reggie Davis 120 Nate Rembert 120
team logo Jacksonville State FIU 27 , JACST 21 Joe Pesansky 196 Cam Cook 138 Alex Perry 109
team logo North Carolina DUKE 32 , UNC 25 Gio Lopez 204 Nate Sheppard 90 Jeremiah Hasley 85
team logo Syracuse ND 70 , SYR 7 Joseph Filardi 83 Jeremiyah Love 171 Dan Villari 30
team logo Norfolk State
@ team logo Howard
HOW 44 , NOR 15 Tyriq Starks 279 Anthony Reagan Jr. 113 Montrell Walker 103
team logo Florida A&M
vs team logo Bethune-Cookman
B-C 38 , FLAA&M 34 Timmy McClain 274 Thad Franklin Jr. 118 Javon Ross 82
team logo Temple TULN 37 , TEM 13 Jake Retzlaff 231 Jamauri McClure 122 Shazz Preston 96
team logo Idaho
vs team logo Idaho State
IDAST 37 , IDAHO 16 Jordan Cooke 212 Dason Brooks 103 Tsion Nunnally 86
team logo Sacramento State
@ team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 31 , SAC 27 Caden Pinnick 306 Rodney Hammond Jr. 140 Samuel Gbatu Jr. 127
team logo Kansas State UTAH 51 , KSU 47 Devon Dampier 259 Joe Jackson 293 JJ Buchanan 74
team logo Utah Tech
vs team logo Eastern Kentucky
EASTKY 33 , UTAHTE 10 Bronson Barben 130 Brayden Latham 113 Tru Tanner 45
team logo Georgia State TROY 31 , GAST 19 Goose Crowder 356 Jordon Simmons 67 Javon Robinson 146
team logo Houston TCU 17 , HOU 14 Josh Hoover 293 Conner Weigman 114 Joseph Manjack IV 95
team logo Lamar
vs team logo McNeese
MCNE 21 , LAMAR 19 Aiden McCown 135 Xavier Coleman 141 Nyir Jones 50
team logo Oklahoma State UCF 17 , OKST 14 Tayven Jackson 271 Rodney Fields Jr. 87 Dylan Wade 145
team logo Maryland MICH 45 , MD 20 Bryce Underwood 215 Bryson Kuzdzal 100 Shaleak Knotts 82
team logo Georgetown
@ team logo Holy Cross
HOLYCR 42 , GTOWN 7 Jack Johnson 82 Sam Slade 88 Hassan Mahasin 51
team logo Coastal Carolina SCAR 51 , COASTC 7 LaNorris Sellers 274 LaNorris Sellers 82 Jayden Sellers 127
team logo Furman CLEM 45 , FURMAN 10 Trey Hedden 179 Chris Denson 106 Kerry King 71
team logo Eastern Washington
@ team logo Cal Poly
CALPLY 43 , EASTWA 34 Anthony Grigsby Jr. 341 Tyrei Washington 99 Logan Booher 126
team logo Louisiana-Monroe TXST 31 , UL-MON 14 Brad Jackson 201 Brad Jackson 88 Beau Sparks 68
team logo Austin Peay
@ team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 45 , APSU 44 Victor Gabalis 311 Tylan Hines 215 Cody Jackson 116
team logo Central Arkansas
vs team logo Abilene Christian
ABICHR 49 , CENARK 28 Caleb Koger 326 E.J. Wilson 138 Javon Gipson 188
team logo East Texas A&M
@ team logo UT Rio Grande Valley
UTRGV 33 , ETA&M 14 Eddie Lee Marburger 141 Nathan Denney 158 Christian Jourdain 89
team logo Air Force NM 20 , AF 3 Jack Layne 105 Damon Bankston 61 Keagan Johnson 55
team logo Colorado State BOISE 49 , CSU 21 Darius Curry 293 Sire Gaines 149 Rocky Beers 94
team logo Georgia Tech PITT 42 , GT 28 Haynes King 257 Ja'Kyrian Turner 186 Kenny Johnson 91
team logo Nebraska PSU 37 , NEB 10 TJ Lateef 187 Kaytron Allen 160 Jacory Barney Jr. 55
team logo California STAN 31 , CAL 10 Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 269 Micah Ford 150 Trond Grizzell 104
team logo Rice UNT 56 , RICE 24 Drew Mestemaker 469 Caleb Hawkins 97 Wyatt Young 295
team logo Illinois WISC 27 , ILL 10 Luke Altmyer 248 Darrion Dupree 131 Collin Dixon 62
team logo Florida TENN 31 , FLA 11 Joey Aguilar 204 DeSean Bishop 116 Ethan Davis 72
team logo Western Kentucky LSU 13 , WESTKY 10 Michael Van Buren Jr. 202 Harlem Berry 80 Zavion Thomas 47
team logo Colorado ASU 42 , CU 17 Jeff Sims 206 Raleek Brown 255 Derek Eusebio 87
team logo Cincinnati BYU 26 , CIN 14 Brendan Sorsby 300 LJ Martin 222 Cyrus Allen 51
team logo Fresno State USU 28 , FRES 17 E.J. Warner 187 Bryson Barnes 113 Braden Pegan 79
team logo San Jose State SDSU 25 , SJSU 3 Tama Amisone 104 Lucky Sutton 79 Danny Scudero 79
team logo UCLA UW 48 , UCLA 14 Demond Williams Jr. 213 Adam Mohammed 108 Dezmen Roebuck 96

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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