College Football Schedule 2025-26

Conference Schedules icon
Thursday, October 02, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Sam Houston NMST 37 , SAMHOU 10 Logan Fife 255 Kadarius Calloway 66 TK King 132
Friday, October 03, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Charlotte USF 54 , CHAR 26 Byrum Brown 211 Byrum Brown 162 Jeremiah Koger 75
team logo Delaware WESTKY 27 , DEL 24 Nick Minicucci 314 Nick Minicucci 55 Matthew Henry 99
team logo Rhode Island
@ team logo Brown
BROWN 28 , URI 21 Devin Farrell 353 Matt Childs 64 Ty Pezza 93
team logo Columbia
@ team logo Princeton
PRINCE 17 , COLUM 10 Chase Goodwin 165 Griffin Johnson 46 Titus Evans 93
team logo New Mexico SJSU 35 , NM 28 Jack Layne 344 Steve Chavez-Soto 71 Danny Scudero 151
team logo Colorado State SDSU 45 , CSU 24 Jayden Denegal 256 Byron Cardwell Jr. 129 Jordan Napier 153
team logo West Virginia BYU 38 , WVU 24 Bear Bachmeier 351 LJ Martin 90 Chase Roberts 161
Saturday, October 04, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo UAB ARMY 31 , UAB 13 Jalen Kitna 259 Jevon Jackson 89 Iverson Hooks 71
team logo Kansas State BAYLOR 35 , KSU 34 Sawyer Robertson 346 Avery Johnson 72 Michael Trigg 155
team logo Air Force NAVY 34 , AF 31 Blake Horvath 339 Liam Szarka 152 Eli Heidenreich 243
team logo Kentucky UGA 35 , UK 14 Cutter Boley 225 Chauncey Bowens 70 Dillon Bell 68
team logo Iowa State CIN 38 , IAST 30 Rocco Becht 314 Evan Pryor 111 Brett Eskildsen 105
team logo Boston College PITT 48 , BC 7 Mason Heintschel 323 Ja'Kyrian Turner 64 Kenny Johnson 115
team logo North Carolina CLEM 38 , UNC 10 Cade Klubnik 254 Benjamin Hall 34 T.J. Moore 108
team logo Purdue ILL 43 , PUR 27 Luke Altmyer 390 Ca'Lil Valentine 95 Hank Beatty 186
team logo Wisconsin MICH 24 , WISC 10 Bryce Underwood 270 Justice Haynes 117 Donaven McCulley 112
team logo Ohio BALLST 20 , OHIO 14 Parker Navarro 188 Kiael Kelly 96 Chase Hendricks 104
team logo San Diego
@ team logo Marist
MARIST 19 , SD 14 Sonny Mannino 292 Adam Criter 50 Lance Martinez 106
team logo Stonehill
@ team logo Duquesne
DUQ 34 , STONEH 14 Tyler Riddell 231 Ness Davis 111 Ryan Petras 82
team logo Sacred Heart
@ team logo Central Connecticut State
CENTCT 42 , SHEART 35 Brady Olson 323 Elijah Howard 102 Elijah Howard 69
team logo Richmond
@ team logo Bucknell
BUCK 33 , RICH 28 Ashten Snelsire 307 Aziz Foster-Powell 108 Isaiah Dawson 144
team logo Yale
@ team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 31 , YALE 13 Dante Reno 247 Luke Yoder 108 Mason Humphrey 86
team logo Fordham
@ team logo Lafayette
LAF 24 , FORD 10 Gunnar Smith 354 Ethan Weber 67 Jack Freeburg 113
team logo Valparaiso
@ team logo Drake
DRAKE 41 , VALPO 0 Chase Spellman 128 Nick Herman 53 Taj Hughes 74
team logo Western Illinois
@ team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 66 , WESTIL 20 Kekoa Visperas 358 Kekoa Visperas 73 Christian Anaya 132
team logo UTSA TEM 27 , TX-SA 21 Owen McCown 234 Hunter Smith 74 Peter Clarke 82
team logo Virginia Tech WAKE 30 , VATECH 23 Robby Ashford 256 Terion Stewart 62 Sawyer Racanelli 88
team logo Davidson
@ team logo Stetson
STET 35 , DAV 32 Coulter Cleland 277 Chris Stephenson 135 Ivan Hoyt 155
team logo Morehead State
vs team logo Dayton
DAYTON 35 , MOR 28 Bryce Patterson 252 Mason Hackett 92 Donovan Weatherly 76
team logo Delaware State
@ team logo Monmouth
MONM 49 , DELST 38 Derek Robertson 351 Rodney Nelson 203 TJ Speight 145
team logo New Hampshire
vs team logo Villanova
VILL 37 , UNH 7 Pat McQuaide 219 David Avit 102 Luke Colella 139
team logo Dartmouth
@ team logo Penn
PENN 36 , DART 24 Liam O'Brien 147 Liam O'Brien 99 Chris Corbo 52
team logo LIU
@ team logo Mercyhurst
MERCYH 22 , LIU 13 Adam Urena 191 Brian Trobel 67 Deion Richardson 57
team logo Robert Morris
@ team logo Merrimack
MERRIM 24 , RMOR 7 Cooper Panteck 120 DeMarcus McElroy 98 Richard Ransom 49
team logo Morgan State
@ team logo Georgetown
GTOWN 27 , MORGST 24 Kobe Muasau 267 Dez Thomas II 71 Justin Perry 127
team logo Charleston Southern
@ team logo Gardner-Webb
G-WEBB 30 , CHSOU 27 Nate Hampton 247 Ke'Marion Baldwin 175 Mekhi Campfield 103
team logo VMI
vs team logo Chattanooga
CHAT 21 , VMI 14 Collin Shannon 177 Justus Durant 144 Noah Grevious 123
team logo Wofford
vs team logo Western Carolina
WCU 23 , WOF 21 Taron Dickens 378 Taron Dickens 44 James Tyre 102
team logo St. Thomas (MN)
vs team logo Butler
BUTLER 21 , STTHMN 14 Andy Peters 193 Reagan Andrew 68 Quentin Cobb-Butler 69
team logo UT Martin
@ team logo Lindenwood
LINDEN 30 , TN-MAR 14 Nate Glantz 227 Nate Glantz 91 Jalen Smith 146
team logo Campbell NCSU 56 , CAMP 10 CJ Bailey 337 Hollywood Smothers 123 Noah Rogers 62
team logo Bryant
vs team logo Maine
MAINE 34 , BRYANT 14 Carter Peevy 338 Jaden Keefner 83 Scott Woods 103
team logo Cornell
vs team logo Colgate
COLG 41 , COR 21 Garrett Bass-Sulpizio 225 Garrett Bass-Sulpizio 91 Treyvhon Saunders 91
team logo Holy Cross
vs team logo Harvard
HARV 59 , HOLYCR 24 Jaden Craig 248 Jordan Harris 91 Brady Blackburn 114
team logo ETSU
@ team logo Furman
FURMAN 31 , EASTTN 22 Trey Hedden 358 Devontae Houston 150 Ja'Keith Hamilton 141
team logo Massachusetts WESTMI 21 , UMASS 3 Broc Lowry 163 Broc Lowry 90 Jacquon Gibson 70
team logo Oklahoma State ARI 41 , OKST 13 Noah Fifita 376 Ismail Mahdi 34 Luke Wysong 92
team logo North Alabama
@ team logo Abilene Christian
ABICHR 52 , NORTAL 23 Stone Earle 261 Jayvian Allen 102 Javon Gipson 69
team logo Tennessee State
@ team logo Eastern Illinois
EASTIL 31 , TENNST 7 Byron McNair 205 Charles Kellom 69 Cooper Willman 53
team logo Murray State
@ team logo South Dakota
SOUDAK 49 , MUR 24 Aidan Bouman 185 L.J. Phillips Jr. 244 Larenzo Fenner 108
team logo Bethune-Cookman
@ team logo Alabama State
ALST 52 , B-C 35 Timmy McClain 266 Jahbari Kuykendall 106 Javon Ross 137
team logo Penn State UCLA 42 , PSU 37 Drew Allar 199 Nico Iamaleava 128 Kwazi Gilmer 79
team logo Louisiana-Monroe NW 42 , UL-MON 7 Preston Stone 262 Dashun Reeder 79 Hayden Eligon II 80
team logo Vanderbilt BAMA 30 , VANDY 14 Ty Simpson 340 Jam Miller 136 Ryan Williams 98
team logo Syracuse SMU 31 , SYR 18 Kevin Jennings 285 TJ Harden 66 Johntay Cook 82
team logo Northern Illinois MIA-OH 25 , NIU 14 Dequan Finn 170 Lazaro Rogers 98 Kam Perry 76
team logo Boise State ND 28 , BOISE 7 Maddux Madsen 215 Jeremiyah Love 103 Jordan Faison 83
team logo Oregon State APP 27 , ORST 23 Maalik Murphy 358 Rashod Dubinion 98 Trent Walker 179
team logo Georgia State JMU 14 , GAST 7 TJ Finley 198 Jordan Fuller 94 Camden Overton-Howard 65
team logo FIU UCONN 51 , FIU 10 Joe Fagnano 355 Cam Edwards 80 Reymello Murphy 78
team logo Texas FLA 29 , TEX 21 DJ Lagway 298 Jadan Baugh 107 Dallas Wilson 111
team logo Louisville UVA 30 , LOU 27 Miller Moss 329 J'Mari Taylor 68 Chris Bell 170
team logo Maryland UW 24 , MD 20 Demond Williams Jr. 275 Jonah Coleman 57 Denzel Boston 71
team logo Central Michigan AKRON 28 , CMU 22 Ben Finley 252 Jordan Gant 176 Kyan Mason 125
team logo Eastern Michigan BUFF 31 , EASTMI 30 Ta'Quan Roberson 272 Dontae McMillan 117 Victor Snow 136
team logo Albany
vs team logo Stony Brook
STNYBR 47 , ALBANY 12 Chris Zellous 241 Roland Dempster 105 Dez Williams 87
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo William & Mary
W&M 38 , NCA&T 34 Kevin White 225 Rashad Raymond 124 Armon Wright 75
team logo Texas State ARKST 31 , TXST 30 Jaylen Raynor 248 Brad Jackson 131 Corey Rucker 102
team logo Kent State OKLA 44 , KENTST 0 Michael Hawkins Jr. 162 Tory Blaylock 78 Isaiah Sategna III 75
team logo Michigan State NEB 38 , MSU 27 Dylan Raiola 194 Emmett Johnson 83 Nyziah Hunter 93
team logo West Georgia
@ team logo Austin Peay
APSU 44 , WESTGA 30 Chris Parson 346 Latrelle Murrell 74 Jordan Dees 99
team logo Nicholls
@ team logo Lamar
LAMAR 24 , NICH 17 Aiden McCown 237 Shane Lee 109 Blake Thomas 84
team logo Alcorn State
vs team logo Prairie View A&M
PVA&M 13 , ALC 12 Jaylon Tolbert 176 Cameron Peters 66 Jacoby Matthews 88
team logo Towson
vs team logo Elon
ELON 17 , TOWSON 3 Andrew Indorf 257 Jimmyll Williams 90 John Dunmore 104
team logo Norfolk State
@ team logo Hampton
HAMP 41 , NOR 34 Otto Kuhns 242 X'Zavion Evans 93 DreSean Kendrick 120
team logo Samford
@ team logo Mercer
MERC 45 , SAM 21 Braden Atkinson 365 Ty Doughty 105 Sam Pickett III 112
team logo Northern Arizona
vs team logo Montana State
MONTST 34 , NOARI 10 Justin Lamson 213 Julius Davis 73 Jabez Woods 100
team logo Utah Tech
@ team logo Central Arkansas
CENARK 23 , UTAHTE 17 Austin Myers 223 Landen Chambers 108 Eric Olsen 107
team logo UNI
vs team logo North Dakota
NORDAK 35 , UNI 7 Jerry Kaminski 246 Gaven Ziebarth 62 B.J. Fleming 134
team logo Alabama A&M
vs team logo Jackson State
JKST 57 , ALAA&M 24 Cornelious Brown IV 341 JaCobian Morgan 120 Daveon Walker 100
team logo Coastal Carolina ODU 47 , COASTC 7 Colton Joseph 315 Trequan Jones 86 Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding 100
team logo Youngstown State
vs team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 35 , YSU 30 Beau Brungard 275 Julius Loughridge 176 Alex Bullock 162
team logo Portland State
@ team logo Eastern Washington
EASTWA 35 , PORST 27 John-Keawe Sagapolutele 302 Nate Bell 175 Terence Loville 114
team logo Wyoming UNLV 31 , WYO 17 Kaden Anderson 254 Jai'Den Thomas 94 Jaden Bradley 65
team logo South Alabama TROY 31 , USA 24 Tucker Kilcrease 203 Tucker Kilcrease 123 Tray Taylor 74
team logo Rice FLAATL 27 , RICE 21 Caden Veltkamp 290 Quinton Jackson 133 Easton Messer 110
team logo Houston TTU 35 , HOU 11 Behren Morton 345 J'Koby Williams 107 Caleb Douglas 114
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
@ team logo Texas Southern
TXSO 51 , ARK-PB 7 KJ Cooper 197 Athean Renfro 133 Roriyon Richardson 103
team logo Southern Utah
@ team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 52 , SOUT 42 Daniel Greek 282 Tre Page III 198 Trevon West 120
team logo Illinois State
vs team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 33 , ILLST 16 Cole Payton 194 Barika Kpeenu 116 Daniel Sobkowicz 75
team logo Indiana State
@ team logo Southern Illinois
SIU 55 , INST 27 DJ Williams 226 Nick Osho 211 Vinson Davis III 140
team logo McNeese
vs team logo Southeastern Louisiana
SELA 38 , MCNE 0 Carson Camp 173 Deantre Jackson 64 Brandon Hayes 79
team logo Northwestern State
vs team logo East Texas A&M
ETA&M 40 , NWST 10 Ron Peace 268 KJ Shankle 93 Devin Matthews 109
team logo UIW
vs team logo Stephen F. Austin
SFA 31 , INCWOR 17 EJ Colson 306 Jerrell Wimbley 69 Clayton Wayland 100
team logo Mississippi State TEXA&M 31 , MSST 9 Marcel Reed 180 Rueben Owens II 142 Mario Craver 80
team logo Colorado TCU 35 , CU 21 Josh Hoover 275 Dallan Hayden 61 Omarion Miller 89
team logo UCF KU 27 , UCF 20 Jalon Daniels 235 Myles Montgomery 110 Cam Pickett 64
team logo Florida State MIA-FL 28 , FSU 22 Tommy Castellanos 272 Tommy Castellanos 57 Malachi Toney 107
team logo Minnesota OHIOST 42 , MINN 3 Julian Sayin 326 Bo Jackson 63 Carnell Tate 183
team logo Cal Poly
vs team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 34 , CALPLY 27 Caden Pinnick 313 Caden Pinnick 60 Logan Booher 101
team logo Idaho State
vs team logo Montana
MONT 42 , IDAST 38 Jordan Cooke 421 Dason Brooks 51 Michael Wortham 124
team logo Tulsa MEM 45 , TLSA 7 Brendon Lewis 260 Brendon Lewis 67 Jamari Hawkins 110
team logo Houston Christian
@ team logo UT Rio Grande Valley
UTRGV 27 , HOUCHR 7 Jake Weir 165 Eddie Lee Marburger 105 Xayvion Noland 63
team logo Nevada FRES 20 , NEVADA 17 E.J. Warner 190 Rayshon Luke 83 Richie Anderson III 67
team logo California DUKE 45 , CAL 21 Darian Mensah 265 Nate Sheppard 91 Que'Sean Brown 104

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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