College Football Schedule 2025-26
| MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
KENNST 45 , FIU 26 | Keyone Jenkins 296 | Kejon Owens 151 | Gabriel Benyard 97 | |
|
|
WESTKY 28 , LATECH 27 | Blake Baker 340 | Rodney Tisdale Jr. 73 | K.D. Hutchinson 77 | |
| MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
@
|
DEL 31 , MIDDTN 28 | Nicholas Vattiato 281 | Jekail Middlebrook 68 | Kyre Duplessis 65 |
|
|
vs
|
MOSTU 24 , NMST 17 | Jacob Clark 283 | Shomari Lawrence 97 | Ronnel Johnson 99 |
| MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
USA 38 , GAST 31 | Bishop Davenport 280 | Kentrel Bullock 113 | Jeremy Scott 121 | |
| MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
@
|
DART 49 , COLUM 3 | Grayson Saunier 162 | D.J. Crowther 103 | Nick Lemon 61 |
|
|
vs
|
UNT 54 , CHAR 20 | Drew Mestemaker 608 | Kiefer Sibley 71 | Wyatt Young 190 |
|
|
VATECH 42 , CAL 34 | Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 286 | Marcellous Hawkins 167 | Jacob De Jesus 86 | |
|
|
vs
|
BOISE 24 , NEVADA 3 | Maddux Madsen 174 | Herschel Turner 77 | Cameron Bates 37 |
|
|
vs
|
MONT 49 , SAC 35 | Cardell Williams 332 | Michael Wortham 89 | Ernest Campbell 206 |
| MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
@
|
MEM 34 , USF 31 | Brendon Lewis 307 | Byrum Brown 121 | Keshaun Singleton 88 |
|
|
vs
|
MISS 34 , OKLA 26 | Trinidad Chambliss 315 | Xavier Robinson 109 | Isaiah Sategna III 131 |
|
|
vs
|
KSU 42 , KU 17 | Avery Johnson 231 | Joe Jackson 69 | Jayce Brown 160 |
|
|
@
|
NEB 28 , NW 21 | Preston Stone 159 | Caleb Komolafe 125 | Nyziah Hunter 70 |
|
|
ODU 24 , APP 21 | Colton Joseph 314 | Colton Joseph 73 | Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding 106 | |
|
|
GT 41 , SYR 16 | Haynes King 304 | Haynes King 91 | Darrell Gill Jr. 79 | |
|
|
vs
|
UVA 17 , UNC 16 | Gio Lopez 208 | J'Mari Taylor 69 | Jahmal Edrine 75 |
|
|
WAKE 13 , SMU 12 | Deshawn Purdie 183 | Demond Claiborne 73 | Chris Barnes 66 | |
|
|
@
|
IU 56 , UCLA 6 | Fernando Mendoza 168 | Roman Hemby 81 | E.J. Williams Jr. 109 |
|
|
vs
|
RUT 27 , PUR 24 | Athan Kaliakmanis 359 | Antwan Raymond 117 | KJ Duff 241 |
|
|
KENTST 24 , BGSU 21 | Dru DeShields 160 | Austyn Dendy 93 | Cade Wolford 66 | |
|
|
vs
|
OHIO 28 , EASTMI 21 | Parker Navarro 315 | Sieh Bangura 100 | Nick Devereaux 121 |
|
|
vs
|
SD 40 , DAV 28 | Dom Nankil 288 | Adam Criter 73 | Ivan Hoyt 115 |
|
|
@
|
DAYTON 35 , PRESBY 19 | Collin Hurst 215 | Gavin Lochow 133 | Cincere Gill 107 |
|
|
vs
|
DRAKE 31 , MARIST 17 | Logan Inagawa 163 | Logan Inagawa 81 | Taj Hughes 106 |
|
|
vs
|
STONEH 22 , MERCYH 15 | Adam Urena 255 | Brian Trobel 60 | Evan Van Dyke 73 |
|
|
@
|
WAGNER 24 , DUQ 13 | Tyler Riddell 163 | Andre Hines Jr. 90 | Joey Isabella 63 |
|
|
vs
|
GTOWN 31 , BUCK 24 | Christopher Dietrich 222 | Savion Hart 116 | Jimmy Kibble 115 |
|
|
vs
|
HARV 35 , PRINCE 14 | Kai Colon 239 | Xaviah Bascon 101 | Cam Henry 96 |
|
|
@
|
YALE 35 , PENN 13 | Liam O'Brien 220 | Josh Pitsenberger 145 | Nico Brown 121 |
|
|
@
|
LIU 38 , NEWHAV 16 | Luca Stanzani 152 | O'Shawn Ross Jr. 172 | Deion Richardson 57 |
|
|
vs
|
AUBURN 33 , ARK 24 | Taylen Green 268 | Jeremiah Cobb 153 | Rohan Jones 127 |
|
|
vs
|
MOR 17 , VALPO 13 | Carter Cravens 158 | Isaac Stopke 118 | Chris Gundy 108 |
|
|
@
|
TNTECH 42 , SEMO 23 | Jax Leatherwood 278 | Q'Daryius Jennings 37 | Kalvin Gilbert 120 |
|
|
vs
|
AKRON 24 , BUFF 16 | Ta'Quan Roberson 266 | Jordan Gant 92 | Nik McMillan 177 |
|
|
vs
|
STTHMN 52 , STET 10 | Andy Peters 292 | Andy Peters 80 | Tyson Schilling 101 |
|
|
@
|
COR 30 , BROWN 24 | James Murphy 468 | Garrett Bass-Sulpizio 70 | Ty Pezza 172 |
|
|
@
|
URI 38 , BRYANT 17 | Devin Farrell 272 | Gabe Winowich 90 | Marquis Buchanan 124 |
|
|
@
|
NCA&T 28 , CAMP 24 | Kamden Sixkiller 255 | Wesley Graves 73 | Jayvonne Dillard 72 |
|
|
@
|
MAINE 35 , ELON 14 | Carter Peevy 260 | Rashawn Marshall 141 | Scott Woods 69 |
|
|
@
|
UNH 34 , W&M 24 | Matt Vezza 280 | Myles Thomason 130 | Caleb Burke 153 |
|
|
vs
|
DELST 35 , NCCENT 26 | Walker Harris 354 | Marquis Gillis 108 | Chance Peterson 134 |
|
|
vs
|
COLG 29 , HOLYCR 28 | Jake Stearney 216 | Danny Shaban 93 | Max Walters 59 |
|
|
vs
|
LEHIGH 27 , FORD 6 | Hayden Johnson 267 | Luke Yoder 79 | Jack Betten 87 |
|
|
vs
|
ILLST 21 , SOUDAK 13 | Aidan Bouman 173 | L.J. Phillips Jr. 129 | Dylan Lord 82 |
|
|
@
|
WESTGA 18 , CENARK 17 | Austin Myers 190 | Landen Chambers 122 | Owen Dupree 99 |
|
|
@
|
CHSOU 17 , EASTIL 16 | Zolten Osborne 280 | Charles Kellom 71 | Mekhi Campfield 80 |
|
|
vs
|
MONM 28 , HAMP 10 | Braden Davis 242 | Rodney Nelson 233 | Tae'Shaun Johnson 104 |
|
|
@
|
YSU 51 , MUR 17 | Beau Brungard 248 | Beau Brungard 64 | Ky Wilson 89 |
|
|
@
|
FURMAN 24 , CIT 14 | Trey Hedden 211 | Ben Croasdale 84 | Evan James 126 |
|
|
vs
|
SCST 51 , NOR 20 | William Atkins IV 428 | Tyler Smith 113 | Jordan Smith 197 |
|
|
vs
|
WESTIL 17 , TENNST 16 | Byron McNair 187 | Zack Simmons-Brown 98 | Tyson Edwards 72 |
|
|
NM 33 , USU 14 | Jack Layne 183 | Miles Davis 110 | Braden Pegan 108 | |
|
|
vs
|
EASTWA 23 , WEB 20 | Nate Bell 169 | Davion Godley 95 | Noah Cronquist 66 |
|
|
vs
|
UCDAV 27 , NORCOL 16 | Eric Gibson Jr. 269 | Carter Vargas 90 | Samuel Gbatu Jr. 108 |
|
|
@
|
RICE 37 , UCONN 34 | Joe Fagnano 339 | Quinton Jackson 168 | Skyler Bell 153 |
|
|
vs
|
G-WEBB 48 , LINDEN 20 | Cole Pennington 252 | Carson Gresock 119 | Chris Lofton 68 |
|
|
@
|
SIU 31 , UNI 17 | DJ Williams 190 | Edward Robinson 86 | Jay Jones 52 |
|
|
vs
|
SELA 38 , HOUCHR 14 | Carson Camp 169 | Darryle Evans 90 | Jaylon Domingeaux 87 |
|
|
@
|
ALC 32 , MSVL 10 | Jaylon Tolbert 245 | Jacorian Sewell 53 | Tyran Warren 74 |
|
|
@
|
B-C 31 , ARK-PB 14 | Christian Peters 185 | Khamani Robinson 62 | Ellis Stewart 56 |
|
|
vs
|
TARLST 31 , EASTKY 7 | Victor Gabalis 207 | Tre Page III 74 | Cody Jackson 94 |
|
|
vs
|
RMOR 24 , STF-PA 14 | Nick Whitfield Jr. 240 | Ethan Shine 123 | Thomas Lee 115 |
|
|
@
|
MERC 62 , VMI 0 | Braden Atkinson 538 | CJ Miller 102 | Brayden Smith 155 |
|
|
SDSU 23 , FRES 0 | Carson Conklin 182 | Lucky Sutton 131 | Byron Cardwell Jr. 59 | |
|
|
UW 42 , ILL 25 | Demond Williams Jr. 280 | Jonah Coleman 75 | Denzel Boston 153 | |
|
|
WSU 28 , TOL 7 | Tucker Gleason 238 | Zevi Eckhaus 74 | Joshua Meredith 81 | |
|
|
SOUMIS 49 , UL-MON 21 | Braylon Braxton 248 | Zach Palmer-Smith 111 | Tychaun Chapman 83 | |
|
|
vs
|
TEM 38 , TLSA 37 | Baylor Hayes 296 | Hunter Smith 91 | Josh Smith 112 |
|
|
VANDY 17 , MIZZOU 10 | Matt Zollers 138 | Ahmad Hardy 97 | Kevin Coleman Jr. 109 | |
|
|
vs
|
BYU 41 , IAST 27 | Rocco Becht 311 | Carson Hansen 152 | Parker Kingston 133 |
|
|
@
|
IOWA 41 , MINN 3 | Mark Gronowski 135 | Kamari Moulton 75 | Le'Meke Brockington 54 |
|
|
NIU 21 , BALLST 7 | Kiael Kelly 136 | Chavon Wright 166 | DeAree Rogers 43 | |
|
|
vs
|
CHAT 49 , SAM 13 | Camden Orth 172 | Solomon Locke 115 | A.J. Little 93 |
|
|
@
|
ALST 56 , ALAA&M 13 | Andrew Body 304 | Jahbari Kuykendall 101 | Jalen Jones 156 |
|
|
@
|
NAVY 42 , FLAATL 32 | Caden Veltkamp 299 | Blake Horvath 174 | Jayshon Platt 121 |
|
|
vs
|
BAMA 29 , SCAR 22 | Ty Simpson 253 | LaNorris Sellers 67 | Daniel Hill 76 |
|
|
PITT 53 , NCSU 34 | Mason Heintschel 423 | Hollywood Smothers 86 | Cataurus Hicks 120 | |
|
|
CMU 38 , UMASS 13 | AJ Hairston 176 | Nahree Biggins 94 | Brock Townsend 78 | |
|
|
MIA-OH 26 , WESTMI 17 | Dequan Finn 260 | Jordan Brunson 90 | Kam Perry 98 | |
|
|
@
|
VILL 29 , ALBANY 16 | Pat McQuaide 203 | David Avit 80 | Luke Colella 107 |
|
|
@
|
STNYBR 27 , TOWSON 19 | Nathan Kent 183 | Roland Dempster 181 | John Dunmore 119 |
|
|
@
|
HOW 33 , MORGST 27 | Tyriq Starks 163 | Anthony Reagan Jr. 122 | Breylin Smith 109 |
|
|
@
|
EASTTN 14 , WOF 10 | J.T. Fayard 145 | Devontae Houston 94 | Jeremiah Harrison 79 |
|
|
@
|
IDAHO 45 , PORST 6 | Joshua Wood 259 | Elisha Cummings 65 | Elisha Cummings 100 |
|
|
TTU 42 , OKST 0 | Mitch Griffis 172 | Trent Howland 58 | Caleb Douglas 98 | |
|
|
@
|
APSU 56 , NORTAL 28 | Destin Wade 330 | Javious Bond 96 | Shemar Kirk 132 |
|
|
@
|
NORDAK 46 , INST 17 | Jerry Kaminski 300 | Sawyer Seidl 104 | Rashad Rochelle 113 |
|
|
@
|
NICH 31 , MCNE 7 | Jake Strong 170 | Miequle Brock Jr. 104 | Karaaz Johnson 74 |
|
|
CIN 41 , BAYLOR 20 | Sawyer Robertson 137 | Michael Turner 90 | Cyrus Allen 36 | |
|
|
vs
|
TEX 45 , MSST 38 | Blake Shapen 381 | Davon Booth 99 | Ryan Wingo 184 |
|
|
vs
|
LAMAR 41 , NWST 14 | Abram Johnston 284 | Xavier Coleman 101 | Brendan Webb 126 |
|
|
vs
|
FLAA&M 43 , SOU 35 | RJ Johnson III 287 | Jamal Hailey 157 | Goldie Lawrence 95 |
|
|
vs
|
GRAM 26 , JKST 24 | C'zavian Teasett 232 | Donerio Davenport 98 | Nate Rembert 126 |
|
|
vs
|
NOARI 31 , IDAST 18 | Jordan Cooke 256 | Dason Brooks 108 | Tsion Nunnally 71 |
|
|
vs
|
TCU 23 , WVU 17 | Scotty Fox Jr. 302 | Trent Battle 98 | Eric McAlister 124 |
|
|
@
|
ORE 21 , WISC 7 | Dante Moore 86 | Jordon Davison 102 | Dakorien Moore 45 |
|
|
ARKST 34 , GASO 24 | Jaylen Raynor 216 | Kenyon Clay 124 | Chauncy Cobb 81 | |
|
|
@
|
TROY 35 , UL-LAF 23 | Lunch Winfield 187 | Lunch Winfield 139 | Shelton Sampson Jr. 74 |
|
|
vs
|
SFA 31 , ETA&M 21 | Sam Vidlak 309 | Jerrell Wimbley 124 | Kylon Harris 183 |
|
|
MIA-FL 42 , STAN 7 | Carson Beck 189 | Mark Fletcher Jr. 106 | Tony Johnson 69 | |
|
|
@
|
WYO 28 , CSU 0 | Kaden Anderson 154 | Sam Scott 68 | Chris Durr Jr. 67 |
|
|
vs
|
TEXA&M 49 , LSU 25 | Marcel Reed 202 | Marcel Reed 108 | Barion Brown 60 |
|
|
LOU 38 , BC 24 | Grayson James 244 | Isaac Brown 205 | Kaelan Chudzinski 80 | |
|
|
vs
|
MICH 31 , MSU 20 | Aidan Chiles 130 | Justice Haynes 152 | Nick Marsh 75 |
|
|
vs
|
TENN 56 , UK 34 | Joey Aguilar 396 | Star Thomas 64 | Chris Brazzell II 138 |
|
|
vs
|
HOU 24 , ASU 16 | Sam Leavitt 270 | Conner Weigman 111 | Malik McClain 159 |
|
|
vs
|
MONTST 34 , CALPLY 17 | Bo Kelly 188 | Julius Davis 175 | Taco Dowler 57 |
|
|
vs
|
SOUT 28 , UTAHTE 7 | Bronson Barben 233 | Joshua Dye 204 | Asa Chatman 63 |
|
|
vs
|
NDAKST 38 , SDAKST 7 | Cole Payton 243 | Cole Payton 137 | Bryce Lance 103 |
|
|
@
|
UTRGV 56 , INCWOR 28 | Eddie Lee Marburger 440 | Nathan Denney 64 | Jalen Walthall 220 |
|
|
@
|
UTAH 53 , CU 7 | Byrd Ficklin 140 | Byrd Ficklin 151 | Omarion Miller 59 |
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.
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
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).
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
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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:
- Boston College Eagles
- Clemson Tigers
- Duke Blue Devils
- Florida State Seminoles
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- Louisville Cardinals
- Miami Hurricanes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- North Carolina State Wolfpack
- Pittsburgh Panthers
- Syracuse Orange
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The permanent matchups for the ACC teams are as below:
| University | Rival 1 | Rival 2 | Rival 3 |
| Boston College | Miami | Pittsburgh | Syracuse |
| Clemson | Florida State | Georgia Tech | NC State |
| Duke | North Carolina | NC State | Wake Forest |
| Florida State | Clemson | Miami | Syracuse |
| Georgia Tech | Clemson | Louisville | Wake Forest |
| Louisville | Georgia Tech | Miami | Virginia |
| Miami | Boston College | Florida State | Louisville |
| North Carolina | Duke | NC State | Virginia |
| NC State | Clemson | Duke | North Carolina |
| Pittsburgh | Boston College | Syracuse | Virginia Tech |
| Syracuse | Boston College | Florida State | Pittsburgh |
| Virginia | Louisville | North Carolina | Virginia Tech |
| Virginia Tech | Pittsburgh | Virginia | Wake Forest |
| Wake Forest | Duke | Georgia Tech | Virginia Tech |
Big 10 Scheduling
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:
| East | West |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Maryland Terrapins | Wisconsin Badgers |
| Michigan Wolverines | Illinois Fighting Illini |
| Michigan St. Spartans | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Penn St. Nittany Lions | Northwestern Wildcats |
| Indiana Hoosiers | Nebraska 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:
- BYU Cougars
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Houston Cougars
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Texas Longhorns
- UCF Knights
- Baylor Bears
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- 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:
- USC Trojans
- Arizona Wildcats
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- California Golden Bears
- Colorado Buffaloes
- Oregon Ducks
- Oregon State Beavers
- Stanford Cardinal
- UCLA Bruins
- Utah Utes
- Washington Huskies
- 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.
The SECs permanent cross-divisional matchups are:
- Alabama vs. Tennessee
- Arkansas vs. Missouri
- Auburn vs. Georgia
- LSU vs. Florida
- Mississippi State vs. Kentucky
- Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt
- Texas A&M vs. South Carolina.
The teams participating in the SEC conference as of 2023 are:
| East | West |
| Vanderbilt Commodores | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| Georgia Bulldogs | Arkansas Razorbacks |
| Kentucky Wildcats | Auburn Tigers |
| Missouri Tigers | Ole Miss Rebels |
| Tennessee Volunteers | Mississippi State Bulldogs |
| Florida Gators | TexasA&M Aggies |
| South Carolina Gamecocks | LSU Tigers |
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:
- North Texas vs. SMU
- UAB vs. Memphis
- Rice vs. UTSA
- Charlotte vs. East Carolina
- Florida Atlantic vs. South Florida
- Navy vs. Temple
The 14 members of the AAC are as follows:
- Memphis Tigers
- Charlotte 49ers
- Florida Atlantic Owls
- Navy Midshipmen
- Rice Owls
- SMU Mustangs
- South Florida Bulls
- Temple Owls
- Tulane Green Wave
- Tulsa Golden Hurricane
- UAB Blazers
- UTSA Roadrunners
- East Carolina Pirates
- 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:
- Liberty Flames
- Jacksonville State Gamecocks
- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
- Sam Houston Bearkats
- FIU Panthers
- New Mexico State Aggies
- 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:
| East | West | |
| Ohio Bobcats | Central Michigan Chippewas | |
| Akron Zips | Eastern Michigan Eagles | |
| Bowling Green Falcons | Northern Illinois Huskies | |
| Miami (OH) RedHawks | Toledo Rockets | |
| Buffalo Bulls | Western Michigan Broncos | |
| Kent State Golden Flashes | Ball State Cardinals |
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:
- Air Force Falcons
- Fresno State Bulldogs
- Wyoming Cowboys
- San Diego State Aztecs
- New Mexico Lobos
- UNLV Rebels
- Utah State Aggies
- Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
- San Jose State Spartans
- Colorado State Rams
- Boise State Broncos
- Nevada Wolf Pack
The two permanent fixtures per team are as below:
| University | Rival 1 | Rival 2 |
| Air Force | Colorado State | Wyoming |
| Boise State | New Mexico | Utah State |
| Colorado State | Air Force | Wyoming |
| Fresno State | Nevada | San Jose State |
| Hawaii | San Diego State | UNLV |
| Nevada | Fresno State | UNLV |
| New Mexico | Boise State | San Jose State |
| San Diego State | Hawaii | Utah State |
| San Jose State | Fresno State | New Mexico |
| UNLV | Hawaii | Nevada |
| Utah State | Boise State | San Diego State |
| Wyoming | Air Force | Colorado State |
SBC Scheduling
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:
| East | West |
| Old Dominion Monarchs | Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks |
| Georgia Southern Eagles | South Alabama Jaguars |
| Georgia State Panthers | Southern Miss Golden Eagles |
| James Madison Dukes | Texas State Bobcats |
| Marshall Thundering Herd | Troy Trojans |
| Appalachian State Mountaineers | Arkansas State Red Wolves |
| Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns |
Independents (FBS) Scheduling
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:
- Army West Point Black Knights
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Connecticut Huskies
- 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.
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.
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:
- Idaho Vandals
- Montana Grizzlies
- Sacramento State Hornets
- Weber State Wildcats
- Cal Poly Mustangs
- Montana State Bobcats
- UC Davis Aggies
- Eastern Washington Eagles
- Idaho State Bengals
- Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
- Northern Colorado Bears
- 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:
- Bryant Bulldogs
- Charleston Southern Buccaneers
- Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
- 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:
- William & Mary Tribe
- Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
- Monmouth Hawks
- Rhode Island Rams
- Villanova Wildcats
- Hampton Pirates
- New Hampshire Wildcats
- Albany Great Danes
- Elon Phoenix
- Maine Black Bears
- North Carolina A&T Aggies
- Richmond Spiders
- Campbell Fighting Camels
- Towson Tigers
- 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.
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:
- Dartmouth Big Green
- Harvard Crimson
- Columbia Lions
- Princeton Tigers
- Cornell Big Red
- Penn Quakers
- Yale Bulldogs
- Brown Bears
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”
- North Carolina Central Eagles
- Howard Bison
- Morgan State Bears
- Norfolk State Spartans
- Delaware State Hornets
- South Carolina State Bulldogs
Missouri Valley Conference Scheduling
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.
- Teams participating in this conference currently are:
- Illinois State Redbirds
- North Dakota Fighting Hawks
- North Dakota State Bison
- South Dakota State Jackrabbits
- Southern Illinois Salukis
- Murray State Racers
- South Dakota Coyotes
- Youngstown State Penguins
- Indiana State Sycamores
- Missouri State Bears
- UNI Panthers
- Western Illinois Leathernecks
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:
- Stonehill Skyhawks
- Duquesne Dukes
- LIU Sharks
- Merrimack Warriors
- Sacred Heart Pioneers
- Saint Francis U Red Flash
- Wagner Seahawks
- 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:
- Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
- Eastern Illinois Panthers
- Tennessee State Tigers
- UT Martin Skyhawks
- Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
- Lindenwood Lions
Patriot League Conference Scheduling
The Patriot League Conference features seven teams which are as follows:
- Georgetown Hoyas
- Fordham Rams
- Bucknell Bison
- Holy Cross Crusaders
- Lafayette Leopards
- Lehigh Mountain Hawks
- 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:
- Stetson Hatters
- Butler Bulldogs
- Dayton Flyers
- Morehead State Eagles
- Presbyterian Blue Hose
- St. Thomas (MN) Tommies
- Marist Red Foxes
- Davidson Wildcats
- Drake Bulldogs
- San Diego Toreros
- Valparaiso Beacons
Southern Conference Scheduling
The Southern Conference is a nine-team conference which is comprised of the following teams:
- Western Carolina Catamounts
- Mercer Bears
- Chattanooga Mocs
- ETSU Buccaneers
- Furman Paladins
- VMI Keydets
- Citadel Bulldogs
- Wofford Terriers
- 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:
- Houston Christian Huskies
- UIW Cardinals
- Lamar Cardinals
- McNeese Cowboys
- Nicholls Colonels
- Northwestern State Demons
- Southeastern Louisiana Lions
- 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:
| EAST | WEST |
| Florida A&M Rattlers | Prairie View A&M Panthers |
| Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils | Alcorn State Braves |
| Alabama A&M Bulldogs | Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions |
| Alabama State Hornets | Grambling State Tigers |
| Bethune-Cookman Wildcats | Southern University Jaguars |
| Jackson State Tigers | Texas 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:
- Tarleton State Texans
- Abilene Christian Wildcats
- Central Arkansas Bears
- Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
- Austin Peay Governors
- Eastern Kentucky Colonels
- Southern Utah Thunderbirds
- Utah Tech Trailblazers
- 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.