Top 10 Toughest College Football Power 5 Schedules for the 2023 season
Having one of the more daunting college football Power 5 schedules can be difficult to work through. On one hand, the program is being tested and the College Football Playoff decision-makers will see that. However, it is a lot more challenging to be dominant against some of the top competition.
Let's take a look at the 10 toughest schedules in Power 5 football this season.
Toughest College Football Power 5 Schedules: South Carolina Gamecocks
The South Carolina Gamecocks have lost two integral pieces with tight end Jaheim Bell and edge rusher Jordan Burch leaving the program. They have extremely difficult matchups as teams went 103-53 in 2022 and need to really showcase their abilities here. This will be a daunting task for Spencer Rattler and the rest of the Gamecocks.
Michigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans have a tough go of things here as their opponents had a combined 96-57 record in 2022. They have a tough go of things as they have Michigan and Penn State at home while also having a road game against Ohio State.
West Virginia Mountaineers
The teams on the West Virginia schedule had a combined 62.4% winning percentage a year ago. They have a brutal schedule as they face Penn State, TCU, Houston, Oklahoma and UCG all this season. Eleven bowl teams will be on the slate here against the Mountaineers so it will be interesting to see how they navigate this year.
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators have a tough go in Billy Napier's second year in the program and lost quarterback Anthony Richardson to the NFL draft. They have Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Florida State on the docket this year so this will definitely be one of the more difficult college football Power 5 schedules out there.
Iowa State Hawkeyes
The Iowa State Hawkeyes have one of the tougher college football Power 5 schedules this season as their opponents went 97-61 a year ago. They have 11 teams that made a bowl game and nine teams that have a winning record. They have a lot of traveling on their plate and this will be difficult for them facing Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Baylor on the road.
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels do have arguably one of the toughest college football Power 5 schedules this upcoming season. They struggled to end last year, losing five of their final six games. They get tougher as the year goes on with games against Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi State throughout their SEC schedule. It will be tough to expect some great results with a tough SEC slate.
Missouri Tigers
Missouri has a tough non-conference game to sweeten the pot here as well at Kansas State. In addition, they have a second half of the schedule facing LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas.
Houston Cougars
If you were to combine the records of the Cougars' opponents based on last year's results, they had a 61.5 winning percentage. Ten teams facing Houston made the bowl game in 2022 so this will be extremely difficult.
Auburn Tigers
Playing in the SEC is going to be tough but the Auburn Tigers have it rough this season. They have games against Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State and Texas A&M this season so it will be interesting to see how they handle things. They have one of the more brutal college football Power 5 schedules to try to navigate.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the tougher schedules heading into the 2023 season. They have an opponent record of 94-60 throughout last season. They have games against Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Wisconsin. With the quarterback competition in the program, it will not be easy with one of the toughest college football Power 5 schedules this season.