College Football Schedule 2023-24
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Murray State | LOU 56 , MURRAY 0 | Jack Plummer 247 | Jawhar Jordan 135 | Jamari Thrash 82 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indiana State |
@
Indiana
|
IND 41 , INST 7 | Tayven Jackson 236 | Jaylin Lucas 88 | Omar Cooper Jr. 101 |
Stony Brook |
@
Rhode Island
|
URI 35 , STNYBR 14 | Kasim Hill 299 | Jaden Griffin 48 | Kahtero Summers 103 |
Illinois |
@
Kansas
|
KANSAS 34 , ILL 23 | Jalon Daniels 277 | Devin Neal 120 | Isaiah Williams 99 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vanderbilt | WAKE 36 , VANDY 20 | AJ Swann 314 | Demond Claiborne 165 | London Humphreys 109 | |
Nebraska |
@
Colorado
|
COLO 36 , NEB 14 | Shedeur Sanders 393 | Gabe Ervin Jr. 74 | Xavier Weaver 170 |
Troy | KANST 42 , TROY 13 | Will Howard 250 | Kimani Vidal 83 | Phillip Brooks 94 | |
Baylor |
vs
Utah
|
UTAH 20 , BAYLOR 13 | Sawyer Robertson 218 | Ja'Quinden Jackson 129 | Hal Presley 72 |
Holy Cross | BC 31 , HOLYCR 28 | Thomas Castellanos 201 | Matthew Sluka 135 | Jaden Williams 70 | |
North Carolina State |
vs
Notre Dame
|
ND 45 , NCSU 24 | Sam Hartman 286 | Audric Estime 134 | Holden Staes 115 |
Virginia | JMU 36 , UVA 35 | Anthony Colandrea 377 | Ty Son Lawton 79 | Malik Washington 119 | |
Virginia Tech |
vs
Purdue
|
PURDUE 24 , VATECH 17 | Hudson Card 248 | Devin Mockobee 95 | Dae'Quan Wright 77 |
Ball State |
@
Georgia
|
UGA 45 , BALLST 3 | Carson Beck 283 | Roderick Robinson II 38 | Oscar Delp 50 |
Youngstown State | OHIOST 35 , YSU 7 | Kyle McCord 258 | Tyshon King 66 | Marvin Harrison Jr. 160 | |
Delaware | PSU 63 , DEL 7 | Drew Allar 204 | Kaytron Allen 103 | KeAndre Lambert-Smith 74 | |
Delaware State | ARMY 57 , DELST 0 | Bryson Daily 193 | Bryson Daily 65 | Isaiah Alston 135 | |
Central Connecticut State |
vs
Stonehill
|
STONEH 33 , CENTCT 30 | C.J. Duell 299 | Jermaine Corbett 182 | Isiah Williams 95 |
Sacred Heart |
@
Georgetown
|
GTOWN 27 , SHEART 10 | Tyler Knoop 149 | Naieem Kearney 140 | Brock Biestek 52 |
South Carolina State | GATECH 48 , SCST 13 | Haynes King 290 | Jamal Haynes 113 | Eric Singleton Jr. 69 | |
New Hampshire | CENTMI 45 , UNH 42 | Max Brosmer 493 | Myles Bailey 108 | Dylan Laube 295 | |
St. Thomas (MN) |
@
South Dakota
|
SOUDAK 24 , STTHMN 0 | Aidan Bouman 203 | Travis Theis 51 | Carter Bell 87 |
Eastern Illinois | BGSU 38 , EASTIL 15 | Connor Bazelak 319 | Kevin Daniels 78 | Ta'ron Keith 123 | |
Charleston Southern |
@
Clemson
|
CLEM 66 , CHSOU 17 | Cade Klubnik 315 | Will Shipley 73 | Beaux Collins 137 |
Samford |
@
Western Carolina
|
WCU 30 , SAM 7 | Michael Hiers 315 | Desmond Reid 170 | Ty King 96 |
Southern Utah |
@
BYU
|
BYU 41 , SOUT 16 | Kedon Slovis 348 | Targhee Lambson 32 | Zach Mitchell 135 |
Eastern Kentucky |
@
Kentucky
|
KTY 28 , EASTKY 17 | Devin Leary 299 | Ray Davis 52 | Tayvion Robinson 136 |
Citadel |
vs
Campbell
|
CAMP 56 , CIT 7 | Hajj-Malik Williams 353 | Chris McKay Jr. 72 | Ezeriah Anderson 84 |
VMI |
@
Bucknell
|
BUCK 21 , VMI 13 | Ralph Rucker 224 | Rushawn Baker 105 | Damian Harris 101 |
Iowa State |
vs
Iowa
|
IOWA 20 , IAST 13 | Rocco Becht 203 | Jaziun Patterson 86 | Jayden Higgins 95 |
Tulane |
vs
Ole Miss
|
MISS 37 , TULANE 20 | Jaxson Dart 267 | Makhi Hughes 92 | Dayton Wade 106 |
UTEP | NW 38 , UTEP 7 | Gavin Hardison 192 | Cam Porter 90 | Jeremiah Ballard 92 | |
Texas State |
@
UTSA
|
TX-SA 20 , TXST 13 | Frank Harris 214 | Kevorian Barnes 103 | Drew Donley 79 |
Northern Illinois |
vs
Southern Illinois
|
SIU 14 , NIU 11 | Rocky Lombardi 297 | Ro Elliott 62 | Kacper Rutkiewicz 139 |
Maine |
@
North Dakota State
|
NDAKST 44 , MAINE 7 | Cam Miller 152 | Cole Payton 102 | Zach Mathis 62 |
Texas A&M | MIA-FL 48 , TEXA&M 33 | Tyler Van Dyke 374 | Amari Daniels 62 | Evan Stewart 142 | |
Western Michigan |
@
Syracuse
|
SYR 48 , WESTMI 7 | Garrett Shrader 286 | Jalen Buckley 87 | Donovan Brown 89 |
UNLV |
@
Michigan
|
MICH 35 , UNLV 7 | J.J. McCarthy 278 | Blake Corum 80 | Roman Wilson 89 |
Richmond | MSU 45 , RICH 14 | Noah Kim 292 | Nate Carter 111 | Tre Mosley 84 | |
Massachusetts |
vs
Miami (OH)
|
MIA-O 41 , UMASS 28 | Brett Gabbert 302 | Rashad Amos 115 | Gage Larvadain 273 |
Texas Southern |
@
Toledo
|
TOLEDO 71 , TXSO 3 | Dequan Finn 238 | Jacorey Howard 43 | Larry Stephens 74 |
Wagner |
@
Navy
|
NAVY 24 , WAGNER 0 | Tai Lavatai 161 | Eli Heidenreich 66 | Mark Didio 57 |
Cal Poly | SJSU 59 , CALPLY 3 | Chevan Cordeiro 205 | Kairee Robinson 124 | Malikhi Miller 39 | |
Portland State |
@
Wyoming
|
WYO 31 , PORST 17 | Dante Chachere 214 | Sam Scott 70 | Ayir Asante 78 |
Northern Colorado |
vs
UIW
|
INCWOR 42 , NORCOL 7 | Zach Calzada 382 | Timothy Carter 85 | Caleb Chapman 116 |
Kent State |
@
Arkansas
|
ARK 28 , KENTST 6 | Michael Alaimo 174 | AJ Green 82 | Trell Harris 78 |
Northern Arizona |
@
North Dakota
|
NORDAK 37 , NOARI 22 | Tommy Schuster 259 | Kai Millner 76 | Bo Belquist 123 |
Western Illinois |
vs
Illinois State
|
ILLST 34 , WESTIL 18 | Matt Morrissey 205 | Mason Blakemore 170 | Daniel Sobkowicz 77 |
East Carolina |
vs
Marshall
|
MARSH 31 , ECU 13 | Cam Fancher 178 | Mason Garcia 118 | Caleb McMillan 85 |
Merrimack |
vs
Lehigh
|
LEHIGH 14 , MERRIM 12 | Brayten Silbor 260 | Tyvon Edmonds Jr. 140 | Geoffrey Jamiel 72 |
Tulsa | WASH 43 , TULSA 10 | Michael Penix Jr. 409 | Jordan Ford 67 | Jalen McMillan 120 | |
Southeastern Louisiana | USA 35 , SELA 17 | Zachary Clement 267 | Kentrel Bullock 82 | Caullin Lacy 139 | |
UNI |
vs
Weber State
|
WEB 34 , UNI 17 | Theo Day 312 | Damon Bankston 144 | Sergio Morancy 120 |
Austin Peay | TENN 30 , APSU 13 | Mike DiLiello 260 | Jaylen Wright 118 | Trey Goodman 70 | |
Appalachian State | UNC 40 , APP 34 | Joey Aguilar 275 | Omarion Hampton 234 | Dashaun Davis 117 | |
SMU |
@
Oklahoma
|
OKLA 28 , SMU 11 | Preston Stone 250 | Tawee Walker 117 | Andrel Anthony 76 |
Lafayette |
@
Duke
|
DUKE 42 , LAF 7 | Riley Leonard 136 | Jordan Waters 112 | Jordan Moore 84 |
Duquesne | WVU 56 , DUQ 17 | Garrett Greene 240 | Jahiem White 110 | Hudson Clement 177 | |
New Mexico State |
@
Liberty
|
LIB 33 , NMST 17 | Kaidon Salter 276 | Quinton Cooley 106 | CJ Daniels 129 |
Florida Atlantic |
vs
Ohio
|
OHIO 17 , FLAATL 10 | Kurtis Rourke 203 | O'Shaan Allison 80 | Lajohntay Wester 101 |
UAB | GASO 49 , UAB 35 | Jacob Zeno 385 | OJ Arnold 54 | Tejhaun Palmer 102 | |
Buffalo |
vs
Fordham
|
FORD 40 , BUFF 37 | CJ Montes 309 | Julius Loughridge 106 | MJ Wright 159 |
Elon |
@
Gardner-Webb
|
G-WEBB 34 , ELON 27 | Matthew Caldwell 296 | Narii Gaither 88 | Karim Page 72 |
Towson |
vs
Monmouth
|
MONM 42 , TOWSON 23 | Marquez McCray 237 | Jaden Shirden 145 | Lukkas Londono 92 |
Colgate |
@
Villanova
|
VILL 42 , COLG 19 | Connor Watkins 310 | Jalen Jackson 57 | Rayjuon Pringle 168 |
Wofford |
@
William & Mary
|
W&M 23 , WOF 6 | Darius Wilson 185 | Malachi Imoh 90 | Trey McDonald 63 |
Kennesaw State |
@
Chattanooga
|
CHAT 27 , KENNST 20 | Chase Artopoeus 276 | Ailym Ford 58 | Gabriel Benyard 123 |
Saint Francis U |
@
Robert Morris
|
RMOR 31 , STF-PA 21 | Anthony Chiccitt 290 | Cyrus Bonsu 39 | Noah Robinson 147 |
Louisiana | ODU 38 , UL-LAF 31 | Ben Wooldridge 285 | Keshawn Wicks 104 | Reymello Murphy 97 | |
Hampton |
vs
Norfolk State
|
NOR 31 , HAMP 23 | Chris Zellous 211 | Elijah Burris 137 | Aaron Moore 67 |
Morgan State |
@
Akron
|
AKRON 24 , MORGST 21 | Jeff Undercuffler Jr. 209 | J.J. Davis 44 | Jasaiah Gathings 86 |
LIU |
@
Bryant
|
BRYANT 21 , LIU 10 | Zevi Eckhaus 274 | Luca Stanzani 71 | Davon Wells 93 |
Pittsburgh |
vs
Cincinnati
|
CIN 27 , PITT 21 | Phil Jurkovec 179 | Corey Kiner 153 | Gavin Bartholomew 80 |
North Texas |
@
FIU
|
FIU 46 , NORTX 39 | Keyone Jenkins 291 | Kejon Owens 101 | Kris Mitchell 94 |
Nevada |
vs
Idaho
|
IDAHO 33 , NEVADA 6 | Gevani McCoy 313 | Anthony Woods 71 | Hayden Hatten 85 |
Boise State |
vs
UCF
|
UCF 18 , BOISE 16 | John Rhys Plumlee 272 | Ashton Jeanty 115 | Kobe Hudson 134 |
Alabama |
vs
Texas
|
TEX 34 , ALA 24 | Quinn Ewers 349 | Jonathon Brooks 57 | Ja'Tavion Sanders 114 |
Texas Tech |
vs
Oregon
|
OREGON 38 , TXTCH 30 | Bo Nix 359 | Tyler Shough 101 | Troy Franklin 103 |
Houston |
@
Rice
|
RICE 43 , HOU 41 | JT Daniels 401 | Tony Mathis Jr. 60 | Samuel Brown 138 |
Middle Tennessee |
@
Missouri
|
MISSOU 23 , MIDDTN 19 | Nicholas Vattiato 219 | Cody Schrader 84 | Luther Burden III 117 |
Northwestern State | LATECH 51 , NWST 21 | Tyler Vander Waal 134 | Keith Willis Jr. 188 | Jaren Mitchell 60 | |
Houston Christian | WESTKY 52 , HOUCHR 22 | Austin Reed 253 | Champ Dozier 80 | Easton Messer 116 | |
Arkansas State |
vs
Memphis
|
MEM 37 , ARKST 3 | Seth Henigan 239 | Ja'Quez Cross 57 | Tauskie Dove 52 |
Montana State |
@
South Dakota State
|
SDAKST 20 , MONTST 16 | Mark Gronowski 184 | Sean Chambers 90 | Griffin Wilde 49 |
North Alabama |
@
Tarleton State
|
TARLST 52 , NORTAL 31 | Noah Walters 343 | Demarcus Lacey 97 | Keylan Johnson 219 |
Southern University |
vs
Jackson State
|
JKST 27 , SOU 14 | Harold Blood 320 | Irv Mulligan 91 | Cassius Allen 82 |
Missouri State |
@
UT Martin
|
TN-MAR 38 , MOSTU 31 | Jacob Clark 332 | Sam Franklin 259 | Raylen Sharpe 142 |
Lindenwood |
@
Southeast Missouri State
|
SEMO 45 , LINDEN 7 | Paxton DeLaurent 267 | Geno Hess 115 | Damoriea Vick 101 |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
@
Tennessee State
|
TENNST 24 , ARK-PB 14 | Jalen Macon 209 | Johness Davis 167 | Tristan Ballard 65 |
Prairie View A&M |
vs
Abilene Christian
|
ABICHR 45 , PVA&M 16 | Maverick McIvor 314 | Ahmad Antoine 103 | Blayne Taylor 136 |
Alcorn State |
@
Stephen F. Austin
|
SFA 38 , ALC 10 | Brian Maurer 237 | Jerrell Wimbley 122 | Lawton Rikel 91 |
Jacksonville State | COASTC 30 , JACST 16 | Grayson McCall 268 | Jared Brown 77 | Jared Brown 93 | |
Connecticut | GAST 35 , UCONN 14 | Ta'Quan Roberson 216 | Darren Grainger 142 | Brett Buckman 93 | |
Florida A&M | USF 38 , FLAA&M 24 | Jeremy Moussa 374 | Michel Dukes 40 | Nicholas Dixon 98 | |
North Carolina A&T |
vs
North Carolina Central
|
NCCENT 30 , NCA&T 16 | Davius Richard 127 | Kenji Christian 98 | Latrell Collier 45 |
Morehead State |
@
Mercer
|
MERC 48 , MOR 22 | Carter Peevy 268 | Devron Harper 72 | Ty James 146 |
Wisconsin | WASHST 31 , WISC 22 | Tanner Mordecai 277 | Chez Mellusi 50 | Will Pauling 78 | |
San Diego State |
vs
UCLA
|
UCLA 35 , SDSU 10 | Dante Moore 290 | T.J. Harden 91 | Josiah Norwood 87 |
Arizona | MISSST 31 , ARI 24 | Jayden de Laura 342 | Jo'Quavious Marks 123 | Tetairoa McMillan 161 | |
Grambling State |
@
LSU
|
LSU 72 , GRAM 10 | Jayden Daniels 269 | Logan Diggs 115 | Malik Nabers 87 |
Eastern Michigan | MINN 25 , EASTMI 6 | Athan Kaliakmanis 117 | Darius Taylor 193 | Corey Crooms Jr. 45 | |
Furman | SCAR 47 , FURMAN 21 | Spencer Rattler 345 | Dakereon Joyner 42 | Xavier Legette 118 | |
McNeese |
@
Florida
|
FLA 49 , MCNE 7 | Graham Mertz 193 | Montrell Johnson Jr. 119 | Ricky Pearsall 123 |
Charlotte |
@
Maryland
|
MD 38 , CHAR 20 | Taulia Tagovailoa 287 | Roman Hemby 162 | Jairus Mack 106 |
Temple |
@
Rutgers
|
RUT 36 , TEMPLE 7 | E.J. Warner 230 | Kyle Monangai 165 | JaQuae Jackson 95 |
Tennessee Tech | NM 56 , TNTECH 10 | Dylan Hopkins 273 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt 162 | Duece Jones 78 | |
Idaho State | UTAHST 78 , IDAST 28 | Jordan Cooke 185 | Robert Briggs Jr. 101 | Christian Fredericksen 116 | |
Nicholls |
@
TCU
|
TCU 41 , NICH 6 | Chandler Morris 263 | Emani Bailey 67 | Neno Lemay 100 |
Sam Houston |
vs
Air Force
|
AF 13 , SAMHOU 3 | Keegan Shoemaker 44 | Owen Burk 75 | Ife Adeyi 20 |
Lamar | UL-MON 24 , LAMAR 14 | Robert Coleman 190 | Isaiah Woullard 113 | Tyrone Howell 65 | |
Southern Miss | FLAST 66 , SOUMIS 13 | Jordan Travis 175 | Rodrigues Clark 86 | Keon Coleman 48 | |
UC Davis | OREST 55 , UCDAV 7 | DJ Uiagalelei 107 | Damien Martinez 104 | Silas Bolden 65 | |
Eastern Washington | FRES 34 , EASTWA 31 | Mikey Keene 233 | Elijah Gilliam 87 | Erik Brooks 95 | |
Utah Tech |
vs
Montana
|
MONT 43 , UTAHTE 13 | Kobe Tracy 209 | Nick Ostmo 118 | Jaivian Lofton 108 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
@
Sacramento State
|
SAC 34 , TXA&MC 6 | Kaiden Bennett 176 | Kaiden Bennett 101 | Coleman Kuntz 68 |
Arizona State | OKST 27 , ARIST 15 | Jaden Rashada 167 | Cam Skattebo 62 | Elijhah Badger 80 | |
California |
vs
Auburn
|
AUBURN 14 , CAL 10 | Sam Jackson V 129 | Jaydn Ott 78 | Rivaldo Fairweather 39 |
Stanford |
@
USC
|
USC 56 , STAN 10 | Caleb Williams 281 | MarShawn Lloyd 77 | Brenden Rice 75 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albany |
@
Hawaii
|
HAWAII 31 , ALBANY 20 | Brayden Schager 266 | Jordan Johnson 76 | Pofele Ashlock 74 |
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.