College Football Schedule 2023-24
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northern Illinois | CENTMI 37 , NIU 31 | Rocky Lombardi 298 | Marion Lukes 202 | Trayvon Rudolph 170 | |
Buffalo |
@
Toledo
|
TOLEDO 31 , BUFF 13 | Dequan Finn 176 | Peny Boone 125 | Anthony Torres 84 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ball State | BGSU 24 , BALLST 21 | Connor Bazelak 128 | Terion Stewart 92 | Harold Fannin Jr. 92 | |
Kent State |
@
Akron
|
AKRON 31 , KENTST 27 | Jeff Undercuffler Jr. 298 | Lorenzo Lingard 106 | Chrishon McCray 161 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TCU | TXTCH 35 , TCU 28 | Josh Hoover 353 | Tahj Brooks 146 | Coy Eakin 78 | |
South Alabama |
@
Troy
|
TROY 28 , USA 10 | Gunnar Watson 276 | Kimani Vidal 124 | Chris Lewis 120 |
Wake Forest |
@
Duke
|
DUKE 24 , WAKE 21 | Mitch Griffis 241 | Demond Claiborne 81 | Taylor Morin 92 |
Mississippi Valley State |
@
Bethune-Cookman
|
B-C 20 , MSVL 7 | Jaydyn Sisk 174 | Jimmy Robinson III 61 | Jaxson Davis 92 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princeton |
@
Dartmouth
|
DART 23 , PRINCE 21 | Blake Stenstrom 245 | Ja'Derris Carr 50 | Luke Colella 107 |
Syracuse | BC 17 , SYR 10 | Thomas Castellanos 165 | LeQuint Allen 142 | Lewis Bond 48 | |
Colorado State |
@
Wyoming
|
WYO 24 , COLOST 15 | Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi 220 | Harrison Waylee 128 | Tory Horton 58 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas State |
@
Texas
|
TEX 33 , KANST 30 | Will Howard 327 | Jonathon Brooks 112 | Adonai Mitchell 149 |
Texas A&M |
@
Ole Miss
|
MISS 38 , TEXA&M 35 | Jaxson Dart 387 | Quinshon Judkins 102 | Tre Harris 213 |
Notre Dame |
@
Clemson
|
CLEM 31 , ND 23 | Sam Hartman 146 | Phil Mafah 186 | Beaux Collins 37 |
Campbell | UNC 59 , CAMP 7 | Drake Maye 244 | Omarion Hampton 144 | Ezeriah Anderson 102 | |
Florida |
vs
Arkansas
|
ARK 39 , FLA 36 | Graham Mertz 282 | Raheim Sanders 103 | Andrew Armstrong 103 |
Jacksonville State | SCAR 38 , JACST 28 | Spencer Rattler 399 | Ron Wiggins 88 | Xavier Legette 217 | |
Connecticut | TENN 59 , UCONN 3 | Joe Milton III 254 | Jaylen Wright 113 | Squirrel White 94 | |
Wisconsin |
@
Indiana
|
IND 20 , WISC 14 | Braedyn Locke 243 | Jackson Acker 48 | Bryson Green 96 |
Nebraska | MSU 20 , NEB 17 | Katin Houser 165 | Emmett Johnson 57 | Montorie Foster Jr. 94 | |
Rutgers |
vs
Ohio State
|
OHIOST 35 , RUT 16 | Kyle McCord 189 | Kyle Monangai 159 | TreVeyon Henderson 80 |
Lehigh |
vs
Holy Cross
|
HOLYCR 28 , LEHIGH 24 | Joe Pesansky 158 | Jordan Fuller 228 | Jalen Coker 98 |
Brown |
vs
Yale
|
YALE 36 , BROWN 17 | Jake Willcox 245 | Nolan Grooms 102 | Mason Tipton 123 |
Marist |
vs
Drake
|
DRAKE 10 , MARIST 3 | Luke Bailey 205 | Dorian Boyland 46 | Matt Stianche 99 |
Presbyterian |
vs
San Diego
|
SD 23 , PRESBY 13 | Tyler Wesley 153 | Isaiah Williams 128 | Dominic Kibby 62 |
Central Connecticut State |
@
Sacred Heart
|
SHEART 31 , CENTCT 24 | Rob McCoy 202 | Elijah Howard 119 | Aboraa Kwarteng 88 |
Wagner |
vs
Duquesne
|
DUQ 34 , WAGNER 26 | Darius Perrantes 248 | Rickey Spruill 136 | DJ Powell 111 |
Saint Francis U |
vs
LIU
|
LIU 29 , STF-PA 28 | Nick Whitfield Jr. 209 | Deondre Scott 106 | Aviyon Smith-Mack 98 |
Lafayette |
vs
Colgate
|
COLG 37 , LAF 34 | Dean DeNobile 237 | Troy Bruce 138 | Treyvhon Saunders 113 |
Columbia |
vs
Harvard
|
HARV 38 , COLUM 24 | Jaden Craig 264 | Joey Giorgi 92 | Tim Dowd 123 |
Kennesaw State | SAMHOU 24 , KENNST 21 | Keegan Shoemaker 242 | Michael Benefield 108 | Noah Smith 78 | |
William & Mary |
@
Albany
|
ALBANY 24 , W&M 8 | Reese Poffenbarger 205 | Griffin Woodell 100 | Brevin Easton 90 |
Delaware |
vs
Elon
|
ELON 33 , DEL 27 | Matthew Downing 352 | Jalen Hampton 46 | Joshua Youngblood 121 |
Maine |
vs
Hampton
|
HAMP 42 , MAINE 35 | Derek Robertson 349 | Elijah Burris 173 | Jamie Lamson 180 |
Stony Brook |
@
Monmouth
|
MONM 56 , STNYBR 17 | Marquez McCray 323 | Jaden Shirden 171 | Dymere Miller 150 |
New Hampshire |
vs
Villanova
|
VILL 45 , UNH 33 | Max Brosmer 259 | Jalen Jackson 145 | Rayjuon Pringle 104 |
North Carolina A&T |
vs
Towson
|
TOWSON 42 , NCA&T 32 | Nathan Kent 263 | Kenji Christian 140 | Lukkas Londono 126 |
Bryant |
vs
Gardner-Webb
|
G-WEBB 45 , BRYANT 44 | Zevi Eckhaus 338 | Jaylen King 108 | Matthew Prochaska 149 |
Bucknell |
@
Fordham
|
FORD 27 , BUCK 21 | Ralph Rucker 358 | Julius Loughridge 105 | MJ Wright 145 |
Indiana State |
vs
Youngstown State
|
YSU 19 , INST 7 | Mitch Davidson 254 | Beau Brungard 59 | Max Tomczak 81 |
Cornell |
@
Penn
|
PENN 23 , COR 8 | Jameson Wang 325 | Malachi Hosley 261 | Doryn Smith 93 |
Delaware State |
@
Morgan State
|
MORGST 24 , DELST 17 | Marqui Adams 192 | Marquis Gillis 81 | Rahkeem Smith 86 |
ETSU |
vs
VMI
|
VMI 31 , EASTTN 24 | Collin Shannon 209 | Trey Foster 172 | Aidan Twombly 71 |
Stetson |
vs
Davidson
|
DAV 61 , STET 41 | Matt O'Connor 248 | Mason Sheron 147 | Ronnel Johnson 105 |
Chattanooga |
vs
Furman
|
FURMAN 17 , CHAT 14 | Chase Artopoeus 289 | Dominic Roberto 61 | Jamoi Mayes 105 |
Arizona State |
@
Utah
|
UTAH 55 , ARIST 3 | Bryson Barnes 161 | Ja'Quinden Jackson 111 | Devaughn Vele 56 |
Southeast Missouri State |
vs
Robert Morris
|
RMOR 21 , SEMO 20 | Anthony Chiccitt 232 | Geno Hess 150 | Noah Robinson 167 |
Murray State |
vs
North Dakota
|
NORDAK 45 , MURRAY 31 | Tommy Schuster 279 | Isaiah Smith 153 | Michael Fox 87 |
Southern Illinois |
vs
South Dakota
|
SOUDAK 14 , SIU 7 | Nic Baker 227 | Ro Elliott 57 | Vinson Davis III 85 |
Dayton |
@
Valparaiso
|
VALPO 21 , DAYTON 7 | Rowan Keefe 126 | Ryan Mann 68 | Ryan Mann 34 |
Alabama A&M |
vs
Florida A&M
|
FLAA&M 42 , ALAA&M 28 | Quincy Casey 280 | Donovan Eaglin 61 | Jacolby Hewitt 98 |
Western Illinois |
@
UNI
|
UNI 50 , WESTIL 6 | Theo Day 201 | Tye Edwards 96 | Jay Parker 64 |
Virginia |
vs
Georgia Tech
|
GATECH 45 , UVA 17 | Haynes King 208 | Jamal Haynes 119 | Malik Washington 109 |
Navy |
@
Temple
|
TEMPLE 32 , NAVY 18 | E.J. Warner 402 | Xavier Arline 97 | Zae Baines 132 |
Citadel |
vs
Mercer
|
MERC 38 , CIT 16 | Carter Peevy 147 | Brayden Smith 60 | Ty James 74 |
Morehead State |
vs
Butler
|
BUTLER 49 , MOR 7 | Bret Bushka 281 | Jyran Mitchell 125 | Kyle Daly 104 |
Air Force | ARMY 23 , AF 3 | Zac Larrier 93 | Bryson Daily 170 | Wyatt Wilson 47 | |
Tennessee Tech |
vs
UT Martin
|
TN-MAR 44 , TNTECH 41 | Kinkead Dent 318 | Marcus Knight 79 | DeVonte Tanksley 115 |
Northern Colorado |
vs
Idaho
|
IDAHO 27 , NORCOL 13 | Gevani McCoy 193 | Anthony Woods 105 | Hayden Hatten 104 |
Northern Arizona |
@
Montana State
|
MONTST 45 , NOARI 21 | Tommy Mellott 117 | Tommy Mellott 107 | Hendrix Johnson 43 |
Missouri State |
vs
Illinois State
|
ILLST 36 , MOSTU 35 | Zack Annexstad 291 | Mason Blakemore 125 | Raylen Sharpe 105 |
Florida Atlantic |
@
UAB
|
UAB 45 , FLAATL 42 | Jacob Zeno 484 | Kobe Lewis 80 | Lajohntay Wester 219 |
South Florida |
@
Memphis
|
MEM 59 , USF 50 | Byrum Brown 357 | Byrum Brown 100 | Roc Taylor 159 |
North Texas |
vs
UTSA
|
TX-SA 37 , NORTX 29 | Chandler Rogers 272 | Kevorian Barnes 129 | Blair Conwright 75 |
Louisiana | ARKST 37 , UL-LAF 17 | Jaylen Raynor 194 | Zak Wallace 88 | Peter LeBlanc 129 | |
Southern University |
@
Alcorn State
|
ALC 44 , SOU 21 | Aaron Allen 263 | Jarveon Howard 128 | Tavarious Griffin 79 |
North Dakota State |
@
South Dakota State
|
SDAKST 33 , NDAKST 16 | Mark Gronowski 213 | Isaiah Davis 106 | Jadon Janke 89 |
Lindenwood |
vs
Eastern Illinois
|
EASTIL 16 , LINDEN 10 | Pierce Holley 245 | Kendi Young 45 | Spencer Redd 88 |
Texas Southern |
@
Jackson State
|
JKST 21 , TXSO 19 | Jacobian Morgan 183 | LaDarius Owens 106 | Kobe Paul 60 |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
@
Prairie View A&M
|
PVA&M 38 , ARK-PB 14 | Trazon Connley 305 | Johnny Williams 88 | Shemar Savage 136 |
Utah Tech |
@
Abilene Christian
|
ABICHR 24 , UTAHTE 7 | Kobe Tracy 230 | Jay'Veon Sunday 84 | Beau Sparks 90 |
Wofford |
vs
Western Carolina
|
WCU 28 , WOF 25 | Cole Gonzales 229 | Ryan Ingram 159 | Censere Lee 86 |
Oklahoma | OKST 27 , OKLA 24 | Dillon Gabriel 344 | Ollie Gordon II 138 | Rashod Owens 136 | |
Baylor |
vs
Houston
|
HOU 25 , BAYLOR 24 | Blake Shapen 263 | Donovan Smith 66 | Samuel Brown 86 |
Northwestern |
vs
Iowa
|
IOWA 10 , NW 7 | Brendan Sullivan 81 | Leshon Williams 79 | Bryce Kirtz 33 |
Minnesota |
vs
Illinois
|
ILL 27 , MINN 26 | Luke Altmyer 212 | Kaden Feagin 89 | Isaiah Williams 131 |
Pittsburgh | FLAST 24 , PITT 7 | Jordan Travis 360 | Trey Benson 97 | Ja'Khi Douglas 115 | |
Virginia Tech | LOU 34 , VATECH 3 | Jack Plummer 141 | Isaac Guerendo 146 | Jadon Thompson 49 | |
Cincinnati |
vs
UCF
|
UCF 28 , CIN 26 | Emory Jones 217 | RJ Harvey 164 | Braden Smith 114 |
Missouri |
@
Georgia
|
UGA 30 , MISSOU 21 | Carson Beck 254 | Cody Schrader 112 | Ladd McConkey 95 |
Maryland |
vs
Penn State
|
PSU 51 , MD 15 | Taulia Tagovailoa 286 | Kaytron Allen 91 | KeAndre Lambert-Smith 95 |
Merrimack | UMASS 31 , MERRIM 21 | Taisun Phommachanh 104 | Greg Desrosiers Jr. 162 | George Johnson III 36 | |
East Carolina |
vs
Tulane
|
TULANE 13 , ECU 10 | Michael Pratt 213 | Makhi Hughes 105 | Lawrence Keys III 77 |
Georgia State | JMU 42 , GAST 14 | Jordan McCloud 307 | Jordan McCloud 104 | Elijah Sarratt 87 | |
Old Dominion | COASTC 28 , ODU 24 | Ethan Vasko 180 | Ethan Vasko 170 | Sam Pinckney 69 | |
Norfolk State |
@
North Carolina Central
|
NCCENT 38 , NOR 24 | Cameron Sapp 192 | Cameron Sapp 79 | Tavian Morris 69 |
Howard |
@
South Carolina State
|
SCST 27 , HOWARD 24 | Quinton Williams 193 | Jawarn Howell 283 | Gavin Harris 48 |
Cal Poly |
@
Eastern Washington
|
EASTWA 48 , CALPLY 13 | Kekoa Visperas 169 | Tuna Altahir 104 | Efton Chism III 62 |
Nevada |
vs
Hawaii
|
HAWAII 27 , NEVADA 14 | Brayden Schager 203 | Landon Sims 65 | Dalevon Campbell 88 |
Vanderbilt |
vs
Auburn
|
AUBURN 31 , VANDY 15 | Payton Thorne 194 | Jarquez Hunter 183 | Ja'Varrius Johnson 62 |
Tulsa |
vs
Charlotte
|
CHAR 33 , TULSA 26 | Trexler Ivey 277 | Anthony Watkins 146 | Jairus Mack 124 |
Louisiana-Monroe | SOUMIS 24 , UL-MON 7 | Billy Wiles 200 | Frank Gore Jr. 131 | Dariyan Wiley 137 | |
Houston Christian |
@
Northwestern State
|
Cancelled | |||
Texas A&M-Commerce |
@
Lamar
|
LAMAR 41 , TXA&MC 21 | Mirko Martos 102 | Khalan Griffin 113 | Austin Samaha 65 |
McNeese |
@
Southeastern Louisiana
|
SELA 38 , MCNE 24 | Zachary Clement 158 | Zachary Clement 114 | Jihad Marks 87 |
UIW |
vs
Nicholls
|
NICH 45 , INCWOR 32 | Zach Calzada 394 | Jaylon Spears 160 | Brandon Porter 158 |
Tennessee State |
@
Charleston Southern
|
CHSOU 35 , TENNST 21 | Isaiah Bess 84 | Jordan Gant 81 | Dayron Johnson 91 |
North Alabama |
vs
Central Arkansas
|
CENARK 27 , NORTAL 14 | Will McElvain 248 | Darius Hale 70 | Jarrod Barnes 113 |
Georgia Southern | TXST 45 , GASO 24 | TJ Finley 301 | Jalen White 159 | Joey Hobert 141 | |
Grambling State |
@
Alabama State
|
ALST 17 , GRAM 6 | Myles Crawley 197 | Marcus Harris II 75 | Kisean Johnson 64 |
Eastern Kentucky |
vs
Austin Peay
|
APSU 33 , EASTKY 30 | Parker McKinney 396 | Jevon Jackson 120 | Kam Thomas 204 |
California |
@
Oregon
|
OREGON 63 , CAL 19 | Bo Nix 386 | Jaydn Ott 93 | Tez Johnson 180 |
Middle Tennessee | NMST 13 , MIDDTN 7 | Diego Pavia 220 | Nicholas Vattiato 96 | Eli Stowers 83 | |
Idaho State |
vs
Weber State
|
WEB 33 , IDAST 21 | Jordan Cooke 277 | Clarence Butler 57 | Chedon James 86 |
New Mexico |
vs
UNLV
|
UNLV 56 , NM 14 | Jayden Maiava 247 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt 86 | Ricky White 165 |
Louisiana Tech |
@
Liberty
|
LIB 56 , LATECH 30 | Hank Bachmeier 304 | Quinton Cooley 179 | Noah Frith 96 |
Marshall | APP 31 , MARSH 9 | Joey Aguilar 229 | Rasheen Ali 74 | Kaedin Robinson 55 | |
Portland State |
@
UC Davis
|
UCDAV 37 , PORST 23 | Miles Hastings 246 | Lan Larison 136 | Jermaine Braddock 102 |
San Diego State |
vs
Utah State
|
UTAHST 32 , SDSU 24 | Jalen Mayden 265 | Lucky Sutton 86 | Terrell Vaughn 91 |
Iowa State |
vs
Kansas
|
KANSAS 28 , IAST 21 | Jason Bean 287 | Eli Sanders 57 | Lawrence Arnold 112 |
Stephen F. Austin |
@
Tarleton State
|
TARLST 59 , SFA 17 | Victor Gabalis 389 | Kristian Dalton 70 | Darius Cooper 168 |
BYU | WVU 37 , BYU 7 | Jake Retzlaff 210 | Jahiem White 146 | Parker Kingston 57 | |
USC |
vs
Washington
|
WASH 52 , USC 42 | Caleb Williams 312 | Dillon Johnson 256 | Tahj Washington 122 |
Mississippi State |
vs
Kentucky
|
KTY 24 , MISSST 3 | Devin Leary 156 | Ray Davis 80 | Tayvion Robinson 91 |
Rice |
vs
SMU
|
SMU 36 , RICE 31 | Preston Stone 217 | Preston Stone 81 | Jake Bailey 73 |
Purdue |
@
Michigan
|
MICH 41 , PURDUE 13 | J.J. McCarthy 335 | Tyrone Tracy Jr. 61 | Roman Wilson 143 |
LSU |
@
Alabama
|
ALA 42 , LSU 28 | Jalen Milroe 219 | Jayden Daniels 163 | Malik Nabers 171 |
Sacramento State |
@
Montana
|
MONT 34 , SAC 7 | Clifton McDowell 218 | Eli Gillman 113 | Keelan White 103 |
Miami (FL) | NCSU 20 , MIA-FL 6 | Tyler Van Dyke 173 | Mark Fletcher Jr. 115 | Kevin Concepcion 61 | |
Washington State |
vs
Stanford
|
STAN 10 , WASHST 7 | Cam Ward 241 | Justin Lamson 54 | Josh Kelly 82 |
UTEP | WESTKY 21 , UTEP 13 | Cade McConnell 214 | Elijah Young 139 | Kelly Akharaiyi 141 | |
Boise State | FRES 37 , BOISE 30 | Mikey Keene 290 | Malik Sherrod 132 | Mac Dalena 85 | |
Colorado |
vs
Oregon State
|
OREST 26 , COLO 19 | Shedeur Sanders 245 | Damien Martinez 115 | Travis Hunter 98 |
UCLA |
@
Arizona
|
ARI 27 , UCLA 10 | Noah Fifita 300 | Jonah Coleman 77 | Tetairoa McMillan 81 |
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.