College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo KENTST AKRON 38 , KENTST 17 B Finley 250 J Simmons 113 A Norton 107
team logo WESTMI CMU 16 , WESTMI 14 J Glasser 140 M Lukes 93 S Davis 73
team logo NIU MIA-OH 20 , NIU 9 B Gabbert 207 K Mozee 91 R Virgil 107
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo EASTMI BUFF 37 , EASTMI 20 C Snyder 351 A Henderson 86 M Allen 187
team logo TOL OHIO 24 , TOL 7 T Gleason 136 A Tyus III 115 C Gossett 86
Thursday, November 21, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo NICH
vs team logo SELA
SELA 19 , NICH 16 P McQuaide 298 A Martin Jr. 64 S Osby 123
team logo NCSU GT 30 , NCSU 29 A Philo 265 C Bailey 83 E Singleton Jr. 106
Friday, November 22, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo TEM TX-SA 51 , TEM 27 O McCown 220 R Henry Jr. 178 D Wright 128
team logo PUR MSU 24 , PUR 17 H Card 342 K Lynch-Adams 85 J Edrine 87
team logo SJSU UNLV 27 , SJSU 16 H Williams 131 J Thomas 135 R White III 98
Saturday, November 23, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo SAMHOU JACST 21 , SAMHOU 11 H Watson 87 T Huff 177 N Smith 65
team logo MISS FLA 24 , MISS 17 J Dart 323 M Johnson Jr. 107 C Lee 94
team logo UNC BC 41 , UNC 21 G James 192 K Robichaux 93 L Bond 81
team logo WAKE MIA-FL 42 , WAKE 14 C Ward 280 J Lyle 115 J George 91
team logo UVA SMU 33 , UVA 7 K Jennings 323 B Smith 63 M Dixon 89
team logo UCONN SYR 31 , UCONN 24 K McCord 470 C Edwards 87 D Gill Jr. 177
team logo RUT ILL 38 , RUT 31 L Altmyer 249 K Monangai 122 P Bryant 197
team logo IU OHIOST 38 , IU 15 W Howard 201 T Son Lawton 79 E Egbuka 80
team logo MD IOWA 29 , MD 13 M Morris 103 K Johnson 164 T Felton 57
team logo HARV
vs team logo YALE
YALE 34 , HARV 29 J Craig 292 J Pitsenberger 120 C Barkate 169
team logo STONEH
@ team logo RMOR
RMOR 31 , STONEH 13 Z Tanner 268 J Washington 70 S Charles 149
team logo VMI
vs team logo EASTTN
EASTTN 16 , VMI 9 B Hayes 119 J Crump 126 K Page 39
team logo DUQ
@ team logo CENTCT
CENTCT 21 , DUQ 14 D Perrantes 296 E Howard 110 J Isabella 149
team logo WAGNER
vs team logo LIU
LIU 35 , WAGNER 28 J Cady 143 E Greenwood 133 C Nichols 76
team logo W&M
@ team logo RICH
RICH 27 , W&M 0 D Wilson 95 Z Palmer-Smith 129 H Mathis 50
team logo BROWN
@ team logo DART
DART 56 , BROWN 28 J Proctor 308 J Proctor 171 G O'Bara 124
team logo COR
@ team logo COLUM
COLUM 17 , COR 9 C Sanchez 221 J Giorgi 165 S Musungu 93
team logo LAF
@ team logo LEHIGH
LEHIGH 38 , LAF 14 D DeNobile 171 J Curtis 131 E Steward 78
team logo GTOWN
vs team logo HOLYCR
HOLYCR 34 , GTOWN 0 J Pesansky 100 J Clerveaux 135 N Schillinger 34
team logo UMASS UGA 59 , UMASS 21 C Beck 297 N Frazier 136 A Smith 110
team logo MSVL
vs team logo ALAA&M
ALAA&M 49 , MSVL 35 T Williams 275 D Eaglin 105 N Rembert 107
team logo MUR
@ team logo SIU
SIU 62 , MUR 0 M Lindauer 283 A Middleton 124 K Lewis 104
team logo EASTIL
@ team logo TNTECH
TNTECH 23 , EASTIL 6 P Holley 129 J Mitchell 131 C Willman 86
team logo NORDAK
@ team logo ILLST
ILLST 35 , NORDAK 13 T Rittenhouse 187 W Wright 118 X Loyd 121
team logo UTEP TENN 56 , UTEP 0 N Iamaleava 209 D Sampson 77 K Odom 70
team logo WESTKY LIB 38 , WESTKY 21 C Veltkamp 262 Q Cooley 166 K Johnson 94
team logo FORD
vs team logo MERRIM
MERRIM 19 , FORD 3 A Pereira 131 A Pereira 136 J McDonald 67
team logo MAINE
vs team logo UNH
UNH 27 , MAINE 9 C Peevy 168 C Mead 113 T Ewing 64
team logo PENN
@ team logo PRINCE
PRINCE 20 , PENN 17 L O'Brien 168 J Volker 130 L Colella 82
team logo DELST
vs team logo NCCENT
NCCENT 52 , DELST 10 J Jones 199 J Sutton 113 C Peterson 85
team logo STET
vs team logo DRAKE
DRAKE 49 , STET 10 B Meitz 221 D Cherwin 161 D Bailey 130
team logo HOW
@ team logo MORGST
MORGST 35 , HOW 21 K Muasau 202 J Collins Jr. 114 I Williams 92
team logo BUTLER
@ team logo PRESBY
PRESBY 30 , BUTLER 27 R Andrew 220 Q Jennings 190 D Kibby 65
team logo MOR
vs team logo SD
SD 37 , MOR 14 G Sergent 184 I Smith 205 J Heverly 82
team logo DEL
@ team logo VILL
VILL 38 , DEL 28 C Watkins 203 M Yarns 100 M Yarns 74
team logo NCA&T
vs team logo ELON
ELON 31 , NCA&T 21 M Downing 203 R Baker 106 C Brayboy 118
team logo STNYBR
vs team logo MONM
MONM 55 , STNYBR 47 D Robertson 536 R Dempster 95 T Speight 151
team logo HAMP
@ team logo ALBANY
ALBANY 41 , HAMP 34 V Weber 184 A Jreige 110 L Wentz 50
team logo BRYANT
vs team logo URI
URI 35 , BRYANT 21 H Helms 209 M Grant 204 L Ruggieri 105
team logo COLG
@ team logo BUCK
BUCK 48 , COLG 34 R Rucker IV 437 T Thomas 74 E Weatherly 174
team logo STF-PA
@ team logo MERCYH
MERCYH 21 , STF-PA 20 N Whitfield Jr. 245 B Trobel 50 G Thomson 157
team logo CHSOU FSU 41 , CHSOU 7 K Jackson 218 K Davis 39 J Douglas 82
team logo NOR
@ team logo SCST
SCST 53 , NOR 21 R Stubblefield 264 K King 144 J Smith-Brown 101
team logo MONT
@ team logo MONTST
MONTST 34 , MONT 11 L Fife 117 A Jones 197 K White 54
team logo RICE UAB 40 , RICE 14 E Warner 222 L Beebe Jr. 161 C Milliner 90
team logo DAV
@ team logo VALPO
VALPO 18 , DAV 17 C Tyler 157 M Sheron 110 B Jimenez 51
team logo DAYTON
@ team logo STTHMN
STTHMN 32 , DAYTON 9 D VanVleet 198 H Adebayo 123 J Coleman 107
team logo ETA&M
vs team logo INCWOR
INCWOR 38 , ETA&M 24 Z Calzada 333 L Turner 77 J Walthall 125
team logo APSU
vs team logo CHAT
CHAT 24 , APSU 17 A Smith 192 L Wright 50 C Domercant 93
team logo NDAKST
@ team logo SOUDAK
SOUDAK 29 , NDAKST 28 A Bouman 272 C Miller 82 J Phelps 79
team logo INST
@ team logo UNI
UNI 41 , INST 34 A Dunne 204 T Edwards 229 S Morancy 119
team logo G-WEBB
@ team logo WESTIL
WESTIL 45 , G-WEBB 28 N Lamb 352 T Farmer Jr. 58 M Henry 210
team logo BALLST BGSU 38 , BALLST 13 C Bazelak 255 T Stewart 32 H Fannin Jr. 125
team logo NORTAL
@ team logo EASTKY
EASTKY 21 , NORTAL 15 T Smith 325 B Latham 103 T Scott 109
team logo CAMP
vs team logo TOWSON
TOWSON 45 , CAMP 23 S Brown 156 D Matthews 134 S Brown 64
team logo MIDDTN NMST 36 , MIDDTN 21 N Vattiato 277 S McGowan 83 S McGowan 96
team logo JMU APP 34 , JMU 20 A Barnett III 232 A Marshall 108 M Jackson 162
team logo EASTWA
@ team logo NOARI
NOARI 30 , EASTWA 18 T Pennington 312 S Cromwell 112 K Katsis 130
team logo CALPLY
@ team logo WEB
WEB 28 , CALPLY 17 R Munoz 191 A Cormier 138 M Briscoe 94
team logo UTAHTE
@ team logo SOUT
SOUT 37 , UTAHTE 34 R Graff 386 T Lambson 164 E Falayi 133
team logo UL-MON ARKST 28 , UL-MON 21 J Raynor 170 A Hardy 204 C Jackson 69
team logo SOUMIS USA 35 , SOUMIS 14 G Lopez 193 R Clark 115 J Pritchett 102
team logo ARI TCU 49 , ARI 28 N Fifita 284 S Williams 80 T McMillan 115
team logo PVA&M
@ team logo ALST
ALST 9 , PVA&M 6 J Johnson 122 D Kincey 93 A Harrell 45
team logo SAM
vs team logo WCU
WCU 47 , SAM 42 T Dickens 408 Q Crittendon 209 A Colombo 116
team logo ARK-PB
vs team logo TXSO
TXSO 31 , ARK-PB 23 J Wilson 169 Q Quinn 154 T Leary 78
team logo CENARK
@ team logo TARLST
TARLST 39 , CENARK 14 V Gabalis 245 K Britten 154 D Cooper 110
team logo ALC
vs team logo JKST
JKST 48 , ALC 10 J Morgan 211 J Sewell 119 J Fortilien 91
team logo NWST
@ team logo HOUCHR
HOUCHR 62 , NWST 24 C Stewart 296 C Hill 109 A Wilson 123
team logo LINDEN
@ team logo TN-MAR
TN-MAR 33 , LINDEN 26 N Glantz 327 P Smith 80 T Rucker 87
team logo MOSTU
vs team logo SDAKST
SDAKST 45 , MOSTU 9 M Gronowski 258 A Johnson 58 G Wilde 139
team logo ABICHR
@ team logo SFA
SFA 32 , ABICHR 19 G Rutherford 260 Q Jones 62 N Martinez I 127
team logo FLAATL CHAR 39 , FLAATL 27 D Purdie 396 C Campbell Jr. 150 O Blake 205
team logo FIU KENNST 27 , FIU 26 K Jenkins 204 D Lyons 99 E Rivers 125
team logo FURMAN
@ team logo MERC
MERC 49 , FURMAN 23 W Newbauer 257 D McGee 74 A Dabbs 181
team logo STAN CAL 24 , STAN 21 F Mendoza 299 A Daniels 63 T Grizzell 70
team logo SDSU USU 41 , SDSU 20 D O'Neil 199 B Barnes 193 L Brown IV 114
team logo BYU ASU 28 , BYU 23 J Retzlaff 297 C Skattebo 147 J Tyson 125
team logo UNT ECU 40 , UNT 28 K Houser 293 R Harris 128 A Smith 116
team logo UK TEX 31 , UK 14 Q Ewers 191 Q Wisner 158 M Golden 86
team logo CU KU 37 , CU 21 S Sanders 267 D Neal 207 T Hunter 125
team logo OKST TTU 56 , OKST 48 B Morton 404 O Gordon II 156 D Stribling 135
team logo MINN PSU 26 , MINN 25 D Allar 244 N Singleton 63 T Warren 102
team logo WISC NEB 44 , WISC 25 D Raiola 293 E Johnson 113 V Anthony II 137
team logo TLSA USF 63 , TLSA 30 B Archie 305 K Joiner 131 J Williams 126
team logo COASTC GASO 26 , COASTC 6 J French 294 B Bennett 138 D Burgess Jr. 98
team logo UCF WVU 31 , UCF 21 D Rizk 172 R Harvey 130 H Clement 81
team logo CIT CLEM 51 , CIT 14 C Klubnik 198 J Haynes 118 J Graves-Billips 90
team logo NW MICH 50 , NW 6 D Warren 195 K Mullings 92 B Kirtz 67
team logo B-C
vs team logo FLAA&M
FLAA&M 41 , B-C 38 C Ransom 196 T Franklin Jr. 195 M Huggins 177
team logo NORCOL
@ team logo PORST
PORST 45 , NORCOL 13 K Box 221 Q Craig 137 C Cheeks 94
team logo LATECH ARK 35 , LATECH 14 T Green 221 R Dubinion 112 A Armstrong 81
team logo WOF SCAR 56 , WOF 12 L Sellers 307 R Sanders 72 K Watkins 133
team logo PITT LOU 37 , PITT 9 T Shough 293 I Brown 93 C Bell 101
team logo MSST MIZZOU 39 , MSST 20 B Cook 268 D Booth 124 L Burden III 91
team logo SEMO
@ team logo TENNST
TENNST 28 , SEMO 21 P DeLaurent 233 J McGill 73 C Evans 107
team logo SAC
vs team logo UCDAV
UCDAV 42 , SAC 39 M Hastings 398 L Larison 148 S Gbatu Jr. 143
team logo TROY UL-LAF 51 , TROY 30 C Fields 323 D Taylor 67 L LeGendre 109
team logo IDAST
vs team logo IDAHO
IDAHO 40 , IDAST 17 K Tracy 249 N Thomas 171 J Dwyer 134
team logo WSU ORST 41 , WSU 38 B Gulbranson 294 A Hankerson 83 T Walker 136
team logo WYO BOISE 17 , WYO 13 M Madsen 168 A Jeanty 169 J Sargent 86
team logo TXST GAST 52 , TXST 44 J McCloud 302 F Brock 133 J Williams 91
team logo HOU BAYLOR 20 , HOU 10 S Robertson 204 B Washington 113 M Trigg 96
team logo ARMY ND 49 , ARMY 14 R Leonard 148 B Daily 139 J Faison 46
team logo UTAH IAST 31 , UTAH 28 R Becht 256 C Hansen 57 J Higgins 155
team logo TEXA&M AUBURN 43 , TEXA&M 41 P Thorne 301 J Hunter 130 C Coleman 128
team logo BAMA OKLA 24 , BAMA 3 J Milroe 164 J Arnold 131 G Bernard 60
team logo ODU MARSH 42 , ODU 35 C Joseph 229 C Joseph 158 I Paige 103
team logo VANDY LSU 24 , VANDY 17 G Nussmeier 332 J Williams 90 K Lacy 85
team logo CIN KSU 41 , CIN 15 B Sorsby 200 D Giddens 143 T Spivey 63
team logo MCNE
vs team logo LAMAR
LAMAR 26 , MCNE 24 A Flores 256 R Carver 122 J Carter 77
team logo VATECH DUKE 31 , VATECH 28 M Murphy 332 B Tuten 84 E Pancol 188
team logo NEVADA
vs team logo AF
AF 22 , NEVADA 19 B Lewis 268 O Allen 107 C Braham Jr. 123
team logo CSU FRES 28 , CSU 22 B Fowler-Nicolosi 303 B Donelson 140 J Person 126
team logo UCLA USC 19 , UCLA 13 E Garbers 265 T Harden 98 J Sturdivant 117

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:

  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

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:

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:

  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:

  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.

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

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

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:

  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

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:

  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

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

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:

  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.

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:

  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:

  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:

  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.

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

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

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

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:

  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:

  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

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:

  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:

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:

  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.