College Football Schedule 2023-24
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
@
Alabama A&M
|
ALAA&M 31 , ARK-PB 24 | Quincy Casey 328 | Donovan Eaglin 126 | Michael Jamerson 80 |
Coastal Carolina | GAST 30 , COASTC 17 | Grayson McCall 295 | Marcus Carroll 150 | Sam Pinckney 67 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Purdue |
vs
Wisconsin
|
WISC 38 , PURDUE 17 | Hudson Card 202 | Braelon Allen 116 | Deion Burks 73 |
Brown |
@
Harvard
|
HARV 34 , BROWN 31 | Jake Willcox 366 | Shane McLaughlin 152 | Wes Rockett 149 |
Virginia | NCSU 24 , UVA 21 | Anthony Colandrea 271 | Brennan Armstrong 64 | Malik Washington 170 | |
San Diego State |
vs
Boise State
|
BOISE 34 , SDSU 31 | Jalen Mayden 241 | Ashton Jeanty 205 | Baylin Brooks 117 |
San Jose State |
vs
Air Force
|
AF 45 , SJSU 20 | Chevan Cordeiro 239 | Emmanuel Michel 148 | Dominick Mazotti 60 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SMU |
@
TCU
|
TCU 34 , SMU 17 | Chandler Morris 265 | Emani Bailey 126 | Chase Curtis 55 |
Auburn | TEXA&M 27 , AUBURN 10 | Max Johnson 123 | Le'Veon Moss 97 | Ainias Smith 78 | |
Vanderbilt |
vs
Kentucky
|
KTY 45 , VANDY 28 | Devin Leary 205 | Ray Davis 78 | Barion Brown 105 |
Western Kentucky |
@
Troy
|
TROY 27 , WESTKY 24 | Gunnar Watson 349 | Kimani Vidal 156 | Malachi Corley 107 |
Northern Illinois |
vs
Tulsa
|
TULSA 22 , NIU 14 | Cardell Williams 102 | Anthony Watkins 91 | Kamdyn Benjamin 53 |
Clemson | FLAST 31 , CLEM 24 | Jordan Travis 289 | Phil Mafah 69 | Johnny Wilson 94 | |
Army West Point |
@
Syracuse
|
SYR 29 , ARMY 16 | Garrett Shrader 245 | LeQuint Allen 104 | Damien Alford 135 |
Virginia Tech |
@
Marshall
|
MARSH 24 , VATECH 17 | Cam Fancher 166 | Rasheen Ali 174 | Benji Gosnell 52 |
Cincinnati |
vs
Oklahoma
|
OKLA 20 , CIN 6 | Dillon Gabriel 322 | Marcus Major 63 | Andrel Anthony 117 |
Rutgers |
@
Michigan
|
MICH 31 , RUT 7 | J.J. McCarthy 214 | Blake Corum 97 | Christian Dremel 85 |
Yale |
vs
Cornell
|
COR 23 , YALE 21 | Jameson Wang 197 | Gannon Carothers 95 | Doryn Smith 69 |
Princeton |
vs
Bryant
|
BRYANT 16 , PRINCE 13 | Zevi Eckhaus 126 | John Volker 149 | Anthony Frederick 48 |
Stetson |
vs
Butler
|
BUTLER 28 , STET 18 | Matt O'Connor 106 | Jyran Mitchell 209 | Gabe Atkin 83 |
Saint Francis U |
vs
Sacred Heart
|
SHEART 37 , STF-PA 34 | Cole Doyle 193 | Malik Grant 118 | Dawson Snyder 71 |
Georgetown |
@
Columbia
|
COLUM 30 , GTOWN 0 | Caden Bell 189 | Joey Giorgi 116 | JJ Jenkins 119 |
Lindenwood |
@
Illinois State
|
ILLST 48 , LINDEN 17 | Zack Annexstad 288 | Robert Giaimo 95 | Jeff Caldwell 138 |
Valparaiso |
vs
Marist
|
MARIST 36 , VALPO 30 | Brock Bagozzi 248 | Amin Woods 73 | Solomon Davis 175 |
Stonehill |
@
Fordham
|
FORD 44 , STONEH 0 | CJ Montes 220 | Julius Loughridge 108 | Garrett Cody 119 |
Mercer |
@
Furman
|
FURMAN 38 , MERC 14 | Tyler Huff 168 | Tyler Huff 82 | Ty James 83 |
Lehigh |
@
Dartmouth
|
DART 34 , LEHIGH 17 | Dylan Cadwallader 110 | Q Jones 99 | Geoffrey Jamiel 48 |
Wofford |
@
VMI
|
VMI 17 , WOF 14 | Pauly Seeley V 180 | Ryan Ingram 136 | Kyle Pinnix 86 |
Western Michigan |
@
Toledo
|
TOLEDO 49 , WESTMI 31 | Treyson Bourguet 160 | Peny Boone 211 | Jerjuan Newton 72 |
Morehead State |
@
St. Thomas (MN)
|
STTHMN 35 , MOR 28 | Carter Cravens 295 | Shawn Shipman 204 | Kyle Daly 107 |
Ball State | GASO 40 , BALLST 3 | Davis Brin 344 | OJ Arnold 90 | Khaleb Hood 107 | |
Rhode Island |
@
Villanova
|
VILL 35 , URI 9 | Kasim Hill 175 | Connor Watkins 113 | Jaaron Hayek 78 |
Colgate |
@
Holy Cross
|
HOLYCR 47 , COLG 7 | Matthew Sluka 186 | Jordan Fuller 121 | Justin Shorter 112 |
Charleston Southern |
@
Western Carolina
|
WCU 77 , CHSOU 21 | Cole Gonzales 299 | Desmond Reid 111 | Corey Washington 108 |
Samford |
vs
Chattanooga
|
CHAT 47 , SAM 24 | Chase Artopoeus 323 | Jay Stanton 73 | Jamoi Mayes 114 |
Utah Tech |
@
Missouri State
|
MOSTU 59 , UTAHTE 14 | Jacob Clark 414 | Jayden Becks 65 | Terique Owens 140 |
McNeese |
@
Eastern Illinois
|
EASTIL 31 , MCNE 28 | Nate Glantz 196 | MJ Flowers 272 | Jon McCall 93 |
Texas Southern |
@
Grambling State
|
GRAM 35 , TXSO 23 | Myles Crawley 195 | Chance Williams 174 | Lyndon Rash 58 |
Mississippi Valley State |
@
North Carolina Central
|
NCCENT 45 , MSVL 3 | Walker Harris 263 | Jared Wilson 80 | Twan Flip Jr. 89 |
Colorado |
@
Oregon
|
OREGON 42 , COLO 6 | Bo Nix 276 | Bucky Irving 89 | Troy Franklin 126 |
UCLA |
@
Utah
|
UTAH 14 , UCLA 7 | Dante Moore 234 | Jaylon Glover 86 | Carsen Ryan 69 |
BYU |
@
Kansas
|
KANSAS 38 , BYU 27 | Kedon Slovis 357 | Devin Neal 91 | Chase Roberts 89 |
Ole Miss |
@
Alabama
|
ALA 24 , MISS 10 | Jaxson Dart 244 | Jase McClellan 105 | Dayton Wade 88 |
Louisiana Tech |
@
Nebraska
|
NEB 28 , LATECH 14 | Jack Turner 292 | Heinrich Haarberg 157 | Cyrus Allen 102 |
Florida Atlantic |
@
Illinois
|
ILL 23 , FLAATL 17 | Luke Altmyer 303 | Larry McCammon III 89 | Lajohntay Wester 137 |
Boston College | LOU 56 , BC 28 | Jack Plummer 388 | Jawhar Jordan 134 | Ahmari Huggins-Bruce 110 | |
Connecticut |
vs
Duke
|
DUKE 41 , UCONN 7 | Riley Leonard 248 | Victor Rosa 68 | Jordan Moore 86 |
Temple |
vs
Miami (FL)
|
MIA-FL 41 , TEMPLE 7 | E.J. Warner 240 | Henry Parrish Jr. 139 | Amad Anderson Jr. 117 |
Texas Tech | WVU 20 , TXTCH 13 | Behren Morton 158 | Tahj Brooks 149 | Xavier White 45 | |
Michigan State |
vs
Maryland
|
MD 31 , MSU 9 | Taulia Tagovailoa 223 | Nate Carter 97 | Montorie Foster Jr. 67 |
Massachusetts |
vs
New Mexico
|
NM 34 , UMASS 31 | Carlos Davis 196 | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams 97 | Anthony Simpson 104 |
Delaware State | MIA-O 62 , DELST 20 | Marqui Adams 274 | Jordan Brunson 109 | Khyheem Waleed 125 | |
Texas A&M-Commerce | ODU 10 , TXA&MC 9 | Jack Shields 258 | Reggie Branch 78 | Kelby Williams 197 | |
Maine |
@
William & Mary
|
W&M 28 , MAINE 3 | Derek Robertson 85 | Bronson Yoder 163 | Rohan Jones 33 |
Monmouth |
@
Lafayette
|
LAF 28 , MONM 20 | Marquez McCray 234 | Jamar Curtis 143 | Dymere Miller 121 |
Stony Brook |
vs
Richmond
|
RICH 20 , STNYBR 19 | Casey Case 154 | Savon Smith 106 | Nick DeGennaro 86 |
Bowling Green |
vs
Ohio
|
OHIO 38 , BGSU 7 | Kurtis Rourke 196 | Terion Stewart 107 | Jacoby Jones 85 |
Bucknell |
vs
Penn
|
PENN 37 , BUCK 21 | Aidan Sayin 354 | Jonathan Mulatu 64 | Jared Richardson 139 |
Cal Poly |
@
Portland State
|
PORST 59 , CALPLY 21 | Sam Huard 103 | Jobi Malary 119 | Bryson Allen 60 |
Sacramento State |
@
Idaho
|
IDAHO 36 , SAC 27 | Gevani McCoy 234 | Anthony Woods 117 | Jared Gipson 91 |
Montana |
@
Northern Arizona
|
NOARI 28 , MONT 14 | Sam Vidlak 210 | Devon Starling 77 | Keelan White 92 |
Oklahoma State | IAST 34 , OKST 27 | Rocco Becht 348 | Ollie Gordon II 121 | Jaylin Noel 146 | |
UTSA | TENN 45 , TX-SA 14 | Joe Milton III 209 | Dylan Sampson 139 | Joshua Cephus 58 | |
Rice | USF 42 , RICE 29 | Byrum Brown 435 | Byrum Brown 82 | Naiem Simmons 272 | |
Towson |
vs
Norfolk State
|
NOR 21 , TOWSON 14 | Nathan Kent 201 | Kevon King 97 | Carter Runyon 62 |
Merrimack |
@
Wagner
|
WAGNER 30 , MERRIM 27 | Gavin McCusker 176 | Tyvon Edmonds Jr. 81 | Jelani Mason 88 |
Dayton |
@
San Diego
|
SD 40 , DAYTON 25 | Grant Sergent 262 | Isaiah Williams 109 | Ja'seem Reed 104 |
Eastern Michigan | JACST 21 , EASTMI 0 | Logan Smothers 93 | Malik Jackson 127 | Quinton Lane 60 | |
South Alabama | CENTMI 34 , USA 30 | Carter Bradley 254 | La'Damian Webb 68 | Jesse Prewitt III 142 | |
Northern Colorado |
@
Idaho State
|
IDAST 35 , NORCOL 21 | Jacob Sirmon 223 | Darius Stewart 124 | Christian Fredericksen 108 |
Gardner-Webb | ECU 44 , G-WEBB 0 | Alex Flinn 94 | Javious Bond 65 | Jaylen Johnson 70 | |
Morgan State |
vs
Albany
|
ALBANY 23 , MORGST 17 | Dominique Anthony 136 | Faysal Aden 40 | Treveyon Pratt 68 |
New Hampshire |
@
Delaware
|
DEL 29 , UNH 25 | Max Brosmer 404 | Marcus Yarns 105 | Jourdan Townsend 122 |
Campbell |
vs
Elon
|
ELON 28 , CAMP 24 | Hajj-Malik Williams 367 | Jalen Hampton 169 | VJ Wilkins 114 |
Southeast Missouri State |
@
Eastern Kentucky
|
EASTKY 41 , SEMO 38 | Paxton DeLaurent 358 | Braedon Sloan 122 | Damoriea Vick 135 |
Alabama State |
@
Florida A&M
|
FLAA&M 23 , ALST 10 | Jeremy Moussa 294 | Ja'Won Howell 30 | Kisean Johnson 112 |
Citadel |
@
South Carolina State
|
SCST 31 , CIT 10 | Corey Fields Jr. 301 | Corey Fields Jr. 54 | Justin Smith-Brown 75 |
Wake Forest |
vs
Georgia Tech
|
GATECH 30 , WAKE 16 | Haynes King 222 | Justice Ellison 137 | Taylor Morin 63 |
FIU |
vs
Liberty
|
LIB 38 , FIU 6 | Kaidon Salter 156 | Quinton Cooley 102 | Kris Mitchell 89 |
Stanford |
vs
Arizona
|
ARI 21 , STAN 20 | Ashton Daniels 198 | Jonah Coleman 75 | Tiger Bachmeier 93 |
Oregon State | WASHST 38 , OREST 35 | Cameron Ward 404 | Deshaun Fenwick 101 | Kyle Williams 174 | |
Appalachian State |
@
Wyoming
|
WYO 22 , APP 19 | Joey Aguilar 200 | Harrison Waylee 156 | Kaedin Robinson 51 |
Sam Houston |
@
Houston
|
HOU 38 , SAMHOU 7 | Donovan Smith 294 | Parker Jenkins 105 | Matthew Golden 92 |
Arkansas |
@
LSU
|
LSU 34 , ARK 31 | Jayden Daniels 320 | Logan Diggs 97 | Brian Thomas Jr. 133 |
Middle Tennessee | COLOST 31 , MIDDTN 23 | Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi 321 | Nicholas Vattiato 47 | Holden Willis 118 | |
Nevada | TXST 35 , NEVADA 24 | TJ Finley 295 | Ismail Mahdi 216 | Kole Wilson 93 | |
Nicholls |
@
Tulane
|
TULANE 36 , NICH 7 | Pat McQuaide 273 | Arnold Barnes III 71 | Lawrence Keys III 77 |
North Alabama |
vs
UT Martin
|
TN-MAR 37 , NORTAL 21 | Noah Walters 286 | Sam Franklin 221 | Kobe Warden 106 |
Stephen F. Austin |
vs
Austin Peay
|
APSU 22 , SFA 20 | Brian Maurer 167 | Jevon Jackson 197 | Kylon Harris 108 |
Southern Miss | ARKST 44 , SOUMIS 37 | Jaylen Raynor 233 | Frank Gore Jr. 132 | Courtney Jackson 94 | |
Kennesaw State |
@
Tennessee Tech
|
TNTECH 17 , KENNST 7 | Willie Miller 88 | Marcus Knight 112 | Jalal Dean 75 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
vs
Houston Christian
|
HOUCHR 34 , SELA 19 | Eli Sawyer 331 | Darryle Evans 173 | Deuce McMillan 95 |
Bethune-Cookman |
@
Jackson State
|
JKST 22 , B-C 16 | Walter Simmons III 172 | Irv Mulligan 174 | Dacarri Allen-Johnson 75 |
Alcorn State |
vs
Prairie View A&M
|
PVA&M 23 , ALC 20 | Aaron Allen 305 | Ahmad Antoine 73 | Malik Rodgers 81 |
Abilene Christian |
@
Central Arkansas
|
CENARK 52 , ABICHR 17 | Will McElvain 209 | ShunDerrick Powell 256 | Jarrod Barnes 57 |
Charlotte |
@
Florida
|
FLA 22 , CHAR 7 | Graham Mertz 284 | Jalon Jones 66 | Ricky Pearsall 99 |
Baylor |
vs
Texas
|
TEX 38 , BAYLOR 6 | Quinn Ewers 293 | Jonathon Brooks 106 | Ja'Tavion Sanders 110 |
Memphis |
@
Missouri
|
MISSOU 34 , MEM 27 | Brady Cook 341 | Cody Schrader 123 | Luther Burden III 177 |
Minnesota | NW 37 , MINN 34 | Ben Bryant 396 | Darius Taylor 198 | Bryce Kirtz 215 | |
Buffalo | UL-LAF 45 , BUFF 38 | Zeon Chriss 249 | Dre'lyn Washington 103 | Charles Robertson 58 | |
UAB |
@
Georgia
|
UGA 49 , UAB 21 | Carson Beck 338 | Daijun Edwards 66 | Brock Bowers 121 |
Mississippi State | SCAR 37 , MISSST 30 | Will Rogers 487 | Mario Anderson 88 | Lideatrick Griffin 256 | |
Akron |
@
Indiana
|
IND 29 , AKRON 27 | DJ Irons 194 | DJ Irons 141 | Cam Camper 103 |
Notre Dame |
vs
Ohio State
|
OHIOST 17 , ND 14 | Kyle McCord 240 | TreVeyon Henderson 104 | Emeka Egbuka 96 |
Iowa | PSU 31 , IOWA 0 | Drew Allar 166 | Kaytron Allen 72 | KeAndre Lambert-Smith 66 | |
Utah State | JMU 45 , UTAHST 38 | McCae Hillstead 399 | Davon Booth 103 | Reggie Brown 160 | |
Weber State |
vs
Montana State
|
MONTST 40 , WEB 0 | Sean Chambers 172 | Julius Davis 132 | Treyton Pickering 83 |
Western Illinois |
@
Southern Utah
|
SOUT 37 , WESTIL 17 | Matt Morrissey 268 | Braedon Wissler 41 | Jaylin Jackson 94 |
UCF | KANST 44 , UCF 31 | Timmy McClain 264 | DJ Giddens 207 | Kobe Hudson 138 | |
Pittsburgh | UNC 41 , PITT 24 | Drake Maye 296 | Rodney Hammond Jr. 83 | J.J. Jones 117 | |
UTEP |
vs
UNLV
|
UNLV 45 , UTEP 28 | Gavin Hardison 225 | Jai'Den Thomas 100 | Kelly Akharaiyi 92 |
UC Davis |
vs
Eastern Washington
|
EASTWA 27 , UCDAV 24 | Kekoa Visperas 208 | Lan Larison 255 | Robert Mason III 63 |
Arizona State |
vs
USC
|
USC 42 , ARIST 28 | Caleb Williams 322 | MarShawn Lloyd 154 | Brenden Rice 133 |
California | WASH 59 , CAL 32 | Michael Penix Jr. 304 | Dillon Johnson 66 | Ja'Lynn Polk 127 | |
Kent State | FRES 53 , KENTST 10 | Mikey Keene 325 | Malik Sherrod 71 | Jalen Moss 120 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Mexico State |
@
Hawaii
|
HAWAII 20 , NMST 17 | Brayden Schager 245 | Diego Pavia 97 | Pofele Ashlock 77 |
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.