College Football Schedule 2024-25
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
APP |
vs
USA
|
USA 48 , APP 14 | J Aguilar 266 | F Bothwell 116 | K Robinson 85 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UL-LAF |
vs
TULN
|
TULN 41 , UL-LAF 33 | B Wooldridge 238 | M Hughes 166 | T Carter 79 |
MSST |
vs
FLA
|
FLA 45 , MSST 28 | G Mertz 201 | J Daniels 77 | M Craver 62 |
RICE |
@
ARMY
|
ARMY 37 , RICE 14 | E Warner 235 | B Daily 145 | M Sykes 82 |
CHAR |
@
IU
|
IU 52 , CHAR 14 | K Rourke 258 | J Ellison 58 | M Price 77 |
UNC |
vs
JMU
|
JMU 70 , UNC 50 | J Criswell 475 | O Hampton 139 | O Dollison 125 |
MARSH |
@
OHIOST
|
OHIOST 49 , MARSH 14 | W Howard 275 | Q Judkins 173 | E Egbuka 117 |
HOU |
@
CIN
|
CIN 34 , HOU 0 | B Sorsby 188 | C Kiner 78 | S Berkhalter 60 |
KU |
@
WVU
|
WVU 32 , KU 28 | G Greene 295 | D Neal 110 | H Clement 150 |
NCSU |
@
CLEM
|
CLEM 59 , NCSU 35 | C Klubnik 209 | P Mafah 107 | J Joly 72 |
VILL |
@
MD
|
MD 38 , VILL 20 | B Edwards Jr. 328 | R Hemby 67 | T Felton 157 |
STET |
@
HARV
|
HARV 35 , STET 0 | J Craig 217 | S McLaughlin 64 | C Barkate 76 |
PRINCE |
@
LEHIGH
|
LEHIGH 35 , PRINCE 20 | B Hipa 219 | J Green 82 | L Colella 86 |
LIU |
vs
URI
|
URI 28 , LIU 21 | L Stanzani 176 | M Grant 141 | M Love 77 |
LAF |
@
COLUM
|
COLUM 31 , LAF 20 | D DeNobile 272 | J Curtis 102 | C Carasia 114 |
OHIO |
@
UK
|
UK 41 , OHIO 6 | B Vandagriff 237 | J Wilcox 82 | D Key 145 |
BALLST |
@
CMU
|
CMU 37 , BALLST 34 | K Semonza 285 | B Harris 151 | T Koziol 112 |
MERRIM |
vs
MAINE
|
MAINE 26 , MERRIM 15 | C Peevy 225 | J Corbett 80 | J Gillette 86 |
SHEART |
@
STONEH
|
STONEH 35 , SHEART 21 | J Michalski 143 | J Washington 184 | K McGuire 41 |
GTOWN |
vs
BROWN
|
BROWN 26 , GTOWN 14 | D Lauter 343 | N Kearney 52 | C Pygatt 116 |
COR |
@
COLG
|
COLG 41 , COR 24 | J Wang 313 | C Gee 79 | B Lee 89 |
FORD |
@
DART
|
DART 45 , FORD 13 | J Capaldi 187 | Q Jones 86 | P Scott 121 |
VMI |
vs
NOR
|
NOR 32 , VMI 10 | J Daniels 277 | K King 50 | J Jones 143 |
ARKST |
@
IAST
|
IAST 52 , ARKST 7 | R Becht 204 | C Hansen 58 | B Brahmer 73 |
DRAKE |
@
SOUDAK
|
SOUDAK 42 , DRAKE 3 | A Bouman 219 | T Theis 94 | C Bell 56 |
STTHMN |
@
LINDEN
|
LINDEN 64 , STTHMN 0 | N Glantz 228 | C Jones 152 | J Caldwell 153 |
TOWSON |
@
NDAKST
|
NDAKST 41 , TOWSON 24 | C Miller 219 | C Brown 126 | B Lance 63 |
SD |
@
NORDAK
|
NORDAK 41 , SD 24 | G Sergent 243 | S Seidl 123 | B Belquist 116 |
USU |
@
TEM
|
TEM 45 , USU 29 | S Petras 293 | R Faison 148 | D Wright 116 |
COASTC |
vs
UVA
|
UVA 43 , COASTC 24 | E Vasko 222 | X Brown 171 | T Taylor 70 |
STF-PA |
@
EASTMI
|
EASTMI 36 , STF-PA 0 | A Mejia 111 | D Brown 33 | Z Griffin 89 |
HOLYCR |
vs
YALE
|
YALE 38 , HOLYCR 31 | J Pesansky 279 | N Denney 80 | M Mosey 129 |
TENNST |
@
TNTECH
|
TNTECH 24 , TENNST 14 | D Ellis 246 | O Sanni 75 | K Brenson 99 |
EASTWA |
@
NEVADA
|
NEVADA 49 , EASTWA 16 | B Lewis 193 | S Red 117 | E Chism III 85 |
WCU |
@
MONT
|
MONT 46 , WCU 35 | C Gonzales 340 | E Gillman 175 | D Tamarez 229 |
MERCYH |
@
MONTST
|
MONTST 52 , MERCYH 13 | T Mellott 214 | C Coon 102 | C Barmore 95 |
SOUMIS |
@
JACST
|
JACST 44 , SOUMIS 7 | T Huff 236 | T Stewart 96 | B Rechsteiner 90 |
BRYANT |
@
UNH
|
UNH 38 , BRYANT 17 | J Guest 335 | I Seide 61 | C Burke 151 |
HOUCHR |
@
TX-SA
|
TX-SA 45 , HOUCHR 7 | O McCown 226 | B Donnell 74 | W McCoy 85 |
AUBURN |
vs
ARK
|
ARK 24 , AUBURN 14 | P Thorne 213 | T Green 80 | K Lambert-Smith 156 |
UCLA |
@
LSU
|
LSU 34 , UCLA 17 | G Nussmeier 352 | J Williams 62 | M Taylor 77 |
ASU |
@
TTU
|
TTU 30 , ASU 22 | S Leavitt 282 | T Brooks 117 | C Skattebo 117 |
NIU |
vs
BUFF
|
BUFF 23 , NIU 20 | E Hampton 194 | A Brown 73 | V Snow 72 |
MEM |
@
NAVY
|
NAVY 56 , MEM 44 | S Henigan 371 | B Horvath 211 | K Drake 102 |
KENTST |
@
PSU
|
PSU 56 , KENTST 0 | D Allar 309 | N Singleton 81 | O Evans 116 |
MIA-OH |
@
ND
|
ND 28 , MIA-OH 3 | R Leonard 154 | R Leonard 143 | B Collins 60 |
GT |
@
LOU
|
LOU 31 , GT 19 | H King 312 | H King 58 | J Brooks 125 |
YSU |
@
PITT
|
PITT 73 , YSU 17 | E Holstein 247 | D Carter 109 | C Lee 108 |
VATECH |
vs
RUT
|
RUT 26 , VATECH 23 | A Kaliakmanis 269 | B Tuten 122 | I Strong 110 |
USC |
@
MICH
|
MICH 27 , USC 24 | M Moss 283 | K Mullings 159 | Z Branch 98 |
CENTCT |
@
UMASS
|
UMASS 35 , CENTCT 31 | T Phommachanh 287 | J John 65 | J Keeney-James 95 |
OKST |
vs
UTAH
|
UTAH 22 , OKST 19 | I Wilson 207 | M Bernard 182 | D Singer 95 |
MIDDTN |
vs
DUKE
|
DUKE 45 , MIDDTN 17 | M Murphy 216 | J Credle 125 | N Dalmolin 100 |
MSVL |
@
NICH
|
NICH 66 , MSVL 0 | P McQuaide 184 | M Brock 132 | N Rembert 106 |
WAGNER |
vs
RMOR
|
RMOR 21 , WAGNER 14 | A Chiccitt 219 | T Edmonds Jr. 99 | N Robinson 90 |
HOW |
@
HAMP
|
HAMP 27 , HOW 20 | J Tolbert 201 | J Snipes 117 | K Hawthorne 73 |
VANDY |
@
MIZZOU
|
MIZZOU 30 , VANDY 27 | B Cook 226 | N Noel 199 | L Burden III 76 |
UTEP |
@
CSU
|
CSU 27 , UTEP 17 | C McConnell 220 | A Morrow 156 | K Odom 128 |
TCU |
@
SMU
|
SMU 66 , TCU 42 | J Hoover 396 | B Smith 127 | J Bech 166 |
CAMP |
vs
STNYBR
|
STNYBR 24 , CAMP 17 | C Mascoe Jr. 160 | R Dempster 179 | S Brown 63 |
SOUT |
@
IDAST
|
IDAST 38 , SOUT 28 | J Berry 177 | T Lambson 172 | S Carr 104 |
ECU |
@
LIB
|
LIB 35 , ECU 24 | K Salter 223 | Q Cooley 105 | R Smith 80 |
FIU |
vs
MONM
|
MONM 45 , FIU 42 | K Jenkins 362 | R Nelson 117 | J Derry 108 |
DELST |
vs
RICH
|
RICH 38 , DELST 24 | C Coleman 312 | Z Palmer-Smith 207 | L Ellis 131 |
MARIST |
@
BUCK
|
BUCK 34 , MARIST 18 | R Rucker IV 272 | M Cadden 71 | M Diawara 125 |
CIT |
@
MERC
|
MERC 38 , CIT 21 | J Bennett 336 | D McGee 94 | J Graves-Billips 105 |
ELON |
vs
EASTTN
|
EASTTN 34 , ELON 14 | J King 233 | B Irby 96 | H Meggett 85 |
FURMAN |
@
W&M
|
W&M 34 , FURMAN 24 | T Hedden 264 | B Yoder 166 | C Hinton 89 |
PENN |
@
DEL
|
DEL 29 , PENN 22 | R O'Connor 309 | M Hosley 176 | P Lutz 144 |
MOR |
@
EASTKY
|
EASTKY 42 , MOR 13 | M Morrissey 162 | B Latham 76 | N Garnett 55 |
NW |
@
UW
|
UW 24 , NW 5 | W Rogers 223 | J Coleman 67 | D Boston 121 |
WYO |
@
UNT
|
UNT 44 , WYO 17 | C Morris 305 | S Porter 120 | D Sheffield 109 |
LATECH |
vs
TLSA
|
TLSA 23 , LATECH 20 | K Francis 228 | A Watkins 60 | E Finley 91 |
FLAA&M |
@
TROY
|
TROY 34 , FLAA&M 12 | G Crowder 291 | D Taylor 109 | D Ross 229 |
TOL |
@
WESTKY
|
WESTKY 26 , TOL 21 | C Veltkamp 242 | T Gleason 46 | J Stuart 93 |
NMST |
@
SAMHOU
|
SAMHOU 31 , NMST 11 | S Marucci 74 | H Watson 116 | N Smith 38 |
SIU |
vs
SEMO
|
SEMO 38 , SIU 21 | H Simmons 341 | P Brown 124 | V Davis III 132 |
ETA&M |
vs
SAC
|
SAC 34 , ETA&M 0 | C Conklin 154 | E Tau-Tolliver 127 | J Gipson 85 |
PVA&M |
vs
SOU
|
SOU 31 , PVA&M 24 | C Peters 193 | K Dillon 77 | C Cavil 72 |
NOARI |
@
INCWOR
|
INCWOR 38 , NOARI 14 | T Pennington 247 | D Taylor 184 | R Alexander 76 |
TXSO |
@
LAMAR
|
LAMAR 20 , TXSO 17 | J Longino 63 | Q Quinn 149 | I Jones 27 |
ARK-PB |
vs
CENARK
|
CENARK 56 , ARK-PB 17 | M Hagens 239 | S Powell 148 | M Henry 87 |
ALAA&M |
@
APSU
|
APSU 59 , ALAA&M 16 | C Brown IV 179 | L Wright 142 | J Barnes 56 |
JKST |
@
GRAM
|
GRAM 41 , JKST 20 | M Crawley 167 | K Hargrove 81 | J Fortilien 91 |
EASTIL |
@
ILLST
|
ILLST 31 , EASTIL 7 | T Rittenhouse 228 | W Wright 150 | D Sobkowicz 93 |
NWST |
vs
WEB
|
WEB 39 , NWST 0 | R Munoz 327 | K Burrell 60 | J Sharp 119 |
TN-MAR |
vs
MOSTU
|
MOSTU 31 , TN-MAR 24 | J Clark 388 | P Smith 63 | L Mason 94 |
SELA |
vs
SDAKST
|
SDAKST 41 , SELA 0 | D Stewart 81 | K Vorhees 179 | D Lewis 56 |
NORTAL |
vs
TARLST
|
TARLST 28 , NORTAL 14 | B Harris 100 | K Britten 273 | D Warfield 91 |
FLAATL |
@
UCONN
|
UCONN 48 , FLAATL 14 | N Evers 88 | M Brown 156 | S Bell 43 |
USF |
vs
MIA-FL
|
MIA-FL 50 , USF 15 | C Ward 404 | J Lyle 104 | S Atkins 125 |
CAL |
@
FSU
|
FSU 14 , CAL 9 | F Mendoza 303 | L Toafili 80 | J Douglas 86 |
NCA&T |
@
NCCENT
|
NCCENT 66 , NCA&T 24 | W Harris 272 | J Taylor 137 | M Quick 119 |
PRESBY |
vs
G-WEBB
|
G-WEBB 42 , PRESBY 21 | T Ridell 238 | C Gresock 134 | G Adopte 72 |
OKLA |
vs
TENN
|
TENN 25 , OKLA 15 | N Iamaleava 194 | D Sampson 92 | B McCoy 92 |
BGSU |
@
TEXA&M
|
TEXA&M 26 , BGSU 20 | C Bazelak 250 | M Reed 91 | H Fannin Jr. 145 |
MINN |
vs
IOWA
|
IOWA 31 , MINN 14 | M Brosmer 209 | K Johnson 206 | D Jackson 112 |
AKRON |
@
SCAR
|
SCAR 50 , AKRON 7 | R Ashford 243 | R Ashford 133 | G Larvadain 79 |
GASO |
@
MISS
|
MISS 52 , GASO 13 | J Dart 382 | H Parrish Jr. 89 | T Harris 225 |
BAYLOR |
@
CU
|
CU 38 , BAYLOR 31 | S Sanders 341 | S Robertson 82 | T Hunter 130 |
UL-MON |
@
TEX
|
TEX 51 , UL-MON 3 | A Manning 258 | J Blue 124 | I Bond 75 |
ABICHR |
vs
IDAHO
|
IDAHO 27 , ABICHR 24 | M McIvor 288 | N Thomas 69 | J Dwyer 91 |
NORCOL |
@
SFA
|
SFA 48 , NORCOL 7 | S G. Vidlak 219 | J Jenkins 80 | B Green 93 |
ALC |
@
MCNE
|
MCNE 42 , ALC 14 | C McDowell 229 | X Vaughn 127 | D Jones 105 |
MSU |
@
BC
|
BC 23 , MSU 19 | A Chiles 241 | T Ward 102 | L Bond 102 |
PUR |
@
ORST
|
ORST 38 , PUR 21 | G McCoy 104 | D Mockobee 168 | M Klare 46 |
NM |
vs
FRES
|
FRES 38 , NM 21 | D Dampier 338 | D Dampier 67 | L Wysong 126 |
PORST |
@
BOISE
|
BOISE 56 , PORST 14 | M Madsen 188 | A Jeanty 127 | M Lauter 91 |
UTAHTE |
@
UCDAV
|
UCDAV 32 , UTAHTE 14 | M Hastings 275 | L Larison 120 | B Parker 65 |
KSU |
@
BYU
|
BYU 38 , KSU 9 | J Retzlaff 149 | D Giddens 93 | J Brown 51 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UNI |
@
HAWAII
|
HAWAII 36 , UNI 7 | B Schager 374 | A Pesek-Hickson 43 | D Crowdus 83 |
All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone.
College Football Schedule
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.