College Football Schedule 2025-26

Conference Schedules icon
Thursday, September 25, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Army West Point ECU 28 , ARMY 6 Katin Houser 251 Noah Short 127 Anthony Smith 87
Friday, September 26, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Florida State UVA 46 , FSU 38 Tommy Castellanos 254 J'Mari Taylor 99 Duce Robinson 147
team logo TCU ASU 27 , TCU 24 Sam Leavitt 278 Raleek Brown 147 Jordyn Tyson 126
team logo Oregon State HOU 27 , ORST 24 Conner Weigman 270 Cornell Hatcher Jr. 93 Amare Thomas 104
Saturday, September 27, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo South Alabama UNT 36 , USA 22 Drew Mestemaker 234 Caleb Hawkins 140 Devin Voisin 97
team logo Arkansas ND 56 , ARK 13 CJ Carr 354 Jadarian Price 86 Jordan Faison 89
team logo Kansas CIN 37 , KU 34 Jalon Daniels 445 Evan Pryor 90 Emmanuel Henderson Jr. 214
team logo UCF KSU 34 , UCF 20 Avery Johnson 168 Dylan Edwards 166 DJ Black 82
team logo USC ILL 34 , USC 32 Jayden Maiava 364 Waymond Jordan 94 Makai Lemon 151
team logo Rutgers MINN 31 , RUT 28 Drake Lindsey 324 Antwan Raymond 161 Jalen Smith 103
team logo Syracuse DUKE 38 , SYR 3 Darian Mensah 268 Nate Sheppard 168 Johntay Cook 103
team logo Wake Forest GT 30 , WAKE 29 Haynes King 243 Demond Claiborne 114 Eric Rivers 77
team logo Pittsburgh LOU 34 , PITT 27 Miller Moss 339 Duke Watson 47 Chris Bell 135
team logo Bowling Green OHIO 35 , BGSU 20 Parker Navarro 208 Sieh Bangura 115 Mason Williams 93
team logo Stetson
@ team logo Dayton
DAYTON 48 , STET 14 Bryce Schondelmyer 333 Levi Moell 46 Michael Mussari 169
team logo Georgetown
@ team logo Columbia
COLUM 19 , GTOWN 10 Chase Goodwin 151 Jayden Sumpter 92 Titus Evans 52
team logo Cornell
@ team logo Yale
YALE 41 , COR 24 Devin Page 267 Josh Pitsenberger 142 Ryder Kurtz 91
team logo Central Connecticut State
vs team logo Dartmouth
DART 35 , CENTCT 28 Grayson Saunier 407 D.J. Crowther 86 Grayson O'Bara 128
team logo Delaware State
@ team logo Sacred Heart
SHEART 35 , DELST 31 Jack Snyder 298 Marquis Gillis 123 Mitchell Summers 93
team logo Norfolk State
@ team logo Wagner
WAGNER 18 , NOR 13 Jordan Barton 183 Andre Hines Jr. 108 Malik Redd 89
team logo Penn
@ team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 44 , PENN 30 Liam O'Brien 316 Luke Yoder 173 Jared Richardson 141
team logo New Haven
@ team logo Duquesne
DUQ 44 , NEWHAV 18 AJ Duffy 184 Ness Davis 84 Kevonne Wilder 93
team logo Utah State VANDY 55 , USU 35 Diego Pavia 321 Diego Pavia 79 Broc Lane 98
team logo Eastern Michigan CMU 24 , EASTMI 13 Noah Kim 176 Angel Flores 135 Tommy McIntosh 59
team logo Marist
@ team logo Butler
BUTLER 31 , MARIST 28 Sonny Mannino 178 Reagan Andrew 57 Ethan Loss 59
team logo Morehead State
@ team logo Presbyterian
PRESBY 41 , MOR 0 Collin Hurst 137 Zach Switzer 158 Anthony Ice 68
team logo LIU
@ team logo Stonehill
STONEH 10 , LIU 3 Jack O'Connell 162 Jarel Washington 54 Zachary Kim 68
team logo Albany
@ team logo New Hampshire
UNH 24 , ALBANY 6 Matt Vezza 190 Myles Thomason 77 Chase Wilson 74
team logo Bryant
vs team logo Towson
TOWSON 26 , BRYANT 24 Brennan Myer 218 Elijah Elliott 100 Aldrich Doe 57
team logo Holy Cross
@ team logo Fordham
FORD 26 , HOLYCR 21 Gunnar Smith 254 Ricky Parks 85 Max Mosey 70
team logo Georgia Southern JMU 35 , GASO 10 JC French IV 165 Wayne Knight 151 Camden Brown 111
team logo Utah Tech
@ team logo Austin Peay
APSU 42 , UTAHTE 10 Chris Parson 204 Chris Parson 82 Kamari Maxwell 71
team logo South Dakota
@ team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 51 , SOUDAK 13 Cole Payton 273 Cole Payton 102 Bryce Lance 98
team logo Hampton
@ team logo Elon
ELON 41 , HAMP 20 Braden Davis 194 Jimmyll Williams 172 Isaiah Fuhrmann 135
team logo Howard
@ team logo Richmond
RICH 13 , HOW 12 Tyriq Starks 84 Anthony Reagan Jr. 129 Breylin Smith 27
team logo Northern Colorado
vs team logo Idaho State
IDAST 26 , NORCOL 18 Eric Gibson Jr. 396 Dason Brooks 161 Carver Cheeks 93
team logo Arkansas State UL-MON 28 , ARKST 16 Jaylen Raynor 288 Zach Palmer-Smith 84 Chauncy Cobb 126
team logo Mercyhurst
@ team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 51 , MERCYH 7 Chase Mason 321 James Basinger 53 Grahm Goering 101
team logo Alabama A&M
@ team logo Bethune-Cookman
B-C 41 , ALAA&M 34 Eric Handley 355 Khamani Robinson 78 Franck Pierre 156
team logo Florida A&M
vs team logo Alabama State
ALST 42 , FLAA&M 14 RJ Johnson III 133 Jamarie Hostzclaw 135 Jalen Jones 43
team logo Washington OHIOST 24 , UW 6 Julian Sayin 208 Bo Jackson 80 Jeremiah Smith 81
team logo Northern Illinois SDSU 6 , NIU 3 Jayden Denegal 110 Lucky Sutton 88 Jordan Napier 52
team logo Auburn TEXA&M 16 , AUBURN 10 Marcel Reed 207 Le'Veon Moss 139 KC Concepcion 113
team logo LSU MISS 24 , LSU 19 Trinidad Chambliss 313 Kewan Lacy 87 Cayden Lee 69
team logo Oklahoma State BAYLOR 45 , OKST 27 Sawyer Robertson 393 Trent Howland 84 Josh Cameron 98
team logo Iowa IU 20 , IOWA 15 Fernando Mendoza 233 Roman Hemby 86 Elijah Sarratt 132
team logo UCLA NW 17 , UCLA 14 Nico Iamaleava 177 Caleb Komolafe 119 Griffin Wilde 98
team logo Samford
vs team logo Furman
FURMAN 31 , SAM 13 Trey Hedden 272 Gavin Hall 65 Preston Bird 97
team logo Rice NAVY 21 , RICE 13 Blake Horvath 172 Blake Horvath 110 Alex Tecza 53
team logo West Virginia UTAH 48 , WVU 14 Devon Dampier 237 Jarod Bowie 68 Ryan Davis 107
team logo Boston College CAL 28 , BC 24 Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 254 Turbo Richard 169 Trond Grizzell 78
team logo Buffalo UCONN 20 , BUFF 17 Joe Fagnano 155 Lamar Sperling 106 Victor Snow 74
team logo Akron TOL 45 , AKRON 3 Tucker Gleason 237 Chip Trayanum 75 Junior Vandeross III 122
team logo Lindenwood MIA-OH 38 , LINDEN 0 Henry Hesson 208 Kenny Tracy 134 Kam Perry 122
team logo Campbell
vs team logo Western Carolina
WCU 42 , CAMP 35 Taron Dickens 427 Kamden Sixkiller 55 Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox 124
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo Maine
MAINE 37 , NCA&T 30 Carter Peevy 298 Sincere Baines 98 Nick Laughlin 100
team logo Merrimack
@ team logo Stony Brook
STNYBR 35 , MERRIM 10 Chris Zellous 167 Chris Zellous 117 Jayce Freeman 75
team logo William & Mary
@ team logo Villanova
VILL 31 , W&M 24 Tyler Hughes 233 David Avit 133 Luke Colella 88
team logo Lafayette
vs team logo Princeton
PRINCE 38 , LAF 28 Dean DeNobile 256 Ethan Weber 76 Elijah Steward 81
team logo St. Thomas (MN)
@ team logo San Diego
SD 30 , STTHMN 27 Dom Nankil 265 Adam Criter 120 Josh Heverly 149
team logo Air Force HAWAII 44 , AF 35 Micah Alejado 457 Liam Szarka 139 Jackson Harris 144
team logo New Mexico State NM 38 , NMST 20 Jack Layne 303 Scottre Humphrey 41 Keagan Johnson 117
team logo Eastern Washington
@ team logo Montana State
MONTST 57 , EASTWA 3 Justin Lamson 270 Adam Jones 72 Taco Dowler 64
team logo Tulsa TULN 31 , TLSA 14 Baylor Hayes 246 Javin Gordon 78 Omari Hayes 89
team logo Western Illinois
vs team logo Eastern Illinois
EASTIL 31 , WESTIL 23 Cason Carswell 118 Jacarre Fleming 111 Tristin Duncan 78
team logo Mississippi State TENN 41 , MSST 34 Joey Aguilar 335 Fluff Bothwell 134 Mike Matthews 118
team logo Tennessee State
vs team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 35 , TENNST 8 Jonathan Palmer 127 Quintell Quinn 107 Noah Robinson 86
team logo Portland State
vs team logo Northern Arizona
NOARI 31 , PORST 17 Ty Pennington 262 Quran Gossett 112 Kristian Ingman 73
team logo Mississippi Valley State
vs team logo Texas Southern
TXSO 23 , MSVL 20 Josh Brown 252 Josh Brown 91 Evens Valcourt 62
team logo ETSU
vs team logo Mercer
MERC 38 , EASTTN 34 Cade McNamara 398 CJ Miller 172 Hakeem Meggett 119
team logo Liberty ODU 21 , LIB 7 Colton Joseph 271 Trequan Jones 89 Ja'Cory Thomas 114
team logo Middle Tennessee KENNST 24 , MIDDTN 16 Nicholas Vattiato 305 Jekail Middlebrook 109 Cam'ron Lacy 96
team logo Brown
@ team logo Harvard
HARV 41 , BROWN 7 Jaden Craig 317 DJ Gordon 73 Cam Henry 81
team logo Nicholls
@ team logo Eastern Kentucky
EASTKY 27 , NICH 7 Deuce Hogan 213 Brady Hensley 148 Miequle Brock Jr. 67
team logo South Carolina State
@ team logo Charleston Southern
CHSOU 31 , SCST 24 Zolten Osborne 198 Ke'Marion Baldwin 122 Chris Rhone 106
team logo Saint Francis U
@ team logo Bucknell
BUCK 30 , STF-PA 23 Nick Whitfield Jr. 377 Tariq Thomas 95 DJ Maultsby 141
team logo Chattanooga
vs team logo Citadel
CIT 28 , CHAT 10 Camden Orth 201 Quentin Hayes 103 Jamarii Robinson 89
team logo Rhode Island WESTMI 47 , URI 14 Devin Farrell 229 Ofa Mataele 60 Marquis Buchanan 141
team logo Jacksonville State SOUMIS 42 , JACST 25 Braylon Braxton 152 Caden Creel 160 Cam Cook 77
team logo Missouri State WESTKY 27 , MOSTU 22 Maverick McIvor 317 La'Vell Wright 91 Matthew Henry 73
team logo Arizona IAST 39 , ARI 14 Noah Fifita 253 Ismail Mahdi 85 Chase Sowell 146
team logo Alcorn State
@ team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
ARK-PB 24 , ALC 20 Christian Peters 323 Jacorian Sewell 225 Kareem Burke 102
team logo Abilene Christian
@ team logo UIW
INCWOR 38 , ABICHR 7 Stone Earle 141 Lontrell Turner 118 Javon Gipson 53
team logo Southeast Missouri State
@ team logo UT Martin
TN-MAR 34 , SEMO 10 Jase Bauer 225 Jase Bauer 107 Bryce Bailey 135
team logo East Texas A&M
vs team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 50 , ETA&M 42 Ron Peace 356 Chris Mosley 72 Christian Jourdain 119
team logo Central Arkansas
@ team logo Lamar
LAMAR 35 , CENARK 32 Austin Myers 358 Landen Chambers 136 Arlie Lee 114
team logo UT Rio Grande Valley
@ team logo Southeastern Louisiana
SELA 45 , UTRGV 31 Eddie Lee Marburger 218 Deantre Jackson 121 Tony Diaz 113
team logo Grambling State
@ team logo Prairie View A&M
PVA&M 28 , GRAM 13 C'zavian Teasett 161 Lamagea McDowell 98 Covadis Knighten 72
team logo Southern University
vs team logo Jackson State
JKST 38 , SOU 13 JaCobian Morgan 337 Trey Holly 147 Nate Rembert 102
team logo Florida Atlantic MEM 55 , FLAATL 26 Caden Veltkamp 318 Greg Desrosiers Jr. 204 Easton Messer 131
team logo North Carolina State VATECH 23 , NCSU 21 CJ Bailey 240 Terion Stewart 174 Terrell Anderson 65
team logo San Jose State STAN 30 , SJSU 29 Walker Eget 480 Cole Tabb 48 Kyri Shoels 147
team logo Appalachian State BOISE 47 , APP 14 Maddux Madsen 321 Rashod Dubinion 113 Latrell Caples 84
team logo Colorado State WSU 20 , CSU 3 Zevi Eckhaus 189 Jalen Dupree 68 Joshua Meredith 60
team logo Massachusetts MIZZOU 42 , UMASS 6 Beau Pribula 241 Ahmad Hardy 130 Kevin Coleman Jr. 108
team logo Georgia BAMA 24 , UGA 21 Ty Simpson 276 Chauncey Bowens 117 Isaiah Horton 65
team logo Penn State ORE 30 , PSU 24 Dante Moore 248 Dierre Hill Jr. 82 Dakorien Moore 89
team logo Kentucky SCAR 35 , UK 13 LaNorris Sellers 153 Seth McGowan 112 Vandrevius Jacobs 108
team logo Marshall UL-LAF 54 , MARSH 51 Carlos Del Rio-Wilson 258 Michael Allen 136 Demarcus Lacey 146
team logo McNeese
@ team logo Stephen F. Austin
SFA 34 , MCNE 17 Sam Vidlak 233 Jerrell Wimbley 171 Kylon Harris 111
team logo Southern Utah
vs team logo West Georgia
WESTGA 27 , SOUT 24 Bronson Barron 186 Latrelle Murrell 80 Mark Bails 93
team logo Sacramento State
vs team logo Cal Poly
CALPLY 32 , SAC 24 Bo Kelly 203 Tyrei Washington 113 Ernest Campbell 91
team logo UTEP LATECH 30 , UTEP 11 Blake Baker 137 Clay Thevenin 68 Wondame Davis Jr. 58
team logo Weber State
@ team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 34 , WEB 12 Caden Pinnick 288 Davion Godley 60 Samuel Gbatu Jr. 112
team logo Colorado BYU 24 , CU 21 Bear Bachmeier 179 Bear Bachmeier 98 Joseph Williams 56
team logo Idaho
@ team logo Montana
MONT 41 , IDAHO 30 Joshua Wood 262 Eli Gillman 142 Ryan Jezioro 102

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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