College Football Schedule 2023-24
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Louisiana Tech | MIDDTN 31 , LATECH 23 | Nicholas Vattiato 248 | Jaiden Credle 65 | Smoke Harris 129 | |
Jacksonville State |
vs
Liberty
|
LIB 31 , JACST 13 | Kaidon Salter 177 | Quinton Cooley 163 | Perry Carter 83 |
Appalachian State | COASTC 27 , APP 24 | Grayson McCall 373 | Braydon Bennett 64 | Sam Pinckney 102 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIU |
vs
UTEP
|
UTEP 27 , FIU 14 | Cade McConnell 262 | Torrance Burgess Jr. 86 | Kelly Akharaiyi 223 |
Sam Houston | NMST 27 , SAMHOU 13 | Diego Pavia 286 | Diego Pavia 115 | Trent Hudson 122 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
West Virginia |
@
Houston
|
HOU 41 , WVU 39 | Garrett Greene 391 | Stacy Sneed 78 | Devin Carter 116 |
Wagner |
@
Saint Francis U
|
STF-PA 31 , WAGNER 7 | Steven Krajewski 193 | Jordan Jackson 128 | Dawson Snyder 110 |
East Carolina |
vs
SMU
|
SMU 31 , ECU 10 | Preston Stone 276 | Mason Garcia 38 | Chase Sowell 120 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Memphis |
vs
Tulane
|
TULANE 31 , MEM 21 | Seth Henigan 321 | Makhi Hughes 130 | Roc Taylor 108 |
Utah State |
vs
Fresno State
|
FRES 37 , UTAHST 32 | Cooper Legas 363 | Malik Sherrod 131 | Jalen Royals 125 |
Colorado |
vs
Stanford
|
STAN 46 , COLO 43 | Shedeur Sanders 400 | Ashton Daniels 39 | Elic Ayomanor 294 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas |
@
Alabama
|
ALA 24 , ARK 21 | Jalen Milroe 238 | Jase McClellan 83 | Kobe Prentice 93 |
Vanderbilt |
vs
Georgia
|
UGA 37 , VANDY 20 | Carson Beck 261 | Daijun Edwards 146 | Dominic Lovett 72 |
Temple | NORTX 45 , TEMPLE 14 | Chandler Rogers 307 | Quincy Patterson 113 | Ja'Mori Maclin 163 | |
Syracuse | FLAST 41 , SYR 3 | Jordan Travis 284 | LeQuint Allen 110 | Keon Coleman 140 | |
Cincinnati |
vs
Iowa State
|
IAST 30 , CIN 10 | Rocco Becht 241 | Emory Jones 72 | Jayden Higgins 172 |
Indiana |
@
Michigan
|
MICH 52 , IND 7 | J.J. McCarthy 222 | Benjamin Hall 58 | Colston Loveland 80 |
Purdue |
vs
Ohio State
|
OHIOST 41 , PURDUE 7 | Kyle McCord 276 | Devin Mockobee 110 | Marvin Harrison Jr. 105 |
Michigan State |
@
Rutgers
|
RUT 27 , MSU 24 | Gavin Wimsatt 181 | Kyle Monangai 148 | Christian Dremel 80 |
Georgia Southern | JMU 41 , GASO 13 | Davis Brin 271 | Jalen White 50 | Elijah Sarratt 105 | |
Lehigh |
vs
Georgetown
|
GTOWN 17 , LEHIGH 7 | Tyler Knoop 332 | Luke Yoder 81 | Nicholas Dunneman 109 |
Princeton |
@
Brown
|
BROWN 28 , PRINCE 27 | Jake Willcox 378 | Ja'Derris Carr 88 | Mark Mahoney 153 |
Kent State | EASTMI 28 , KENTST 14 | Tommy Ulatowski 169 | Jaylen Thomas 94 | Tanner Knue 85 | |
San Diego |
@
Marist
|
MARIST 30 , SD 16 | Grant Sergent 220 | Isaiah Smith 109 | Re-al Mitchell 68 |
Central Connecticut State |
@
Duquesne
|
DUQ 44 , CENTCT 20 | Darius Perrantes 265 | Taj Butts 118 | Tedy Afful 135 |
Sacred Heart |
@
Yale
|
YALE 31 , SHEART 3 | Rob McCoy 200 | Jalen Madison 92 | Payton Rhoades 59 |
St. Thomas (MN) |
@
Drake
|
DRAKE 52 , STTHMN 21 | Luke Bailey 411 | Christian Galvan 42 | Mitchell January 169 |
Samford |
vs
Furman
|
FURMAN 27 , SAM 21 | Michael Hiers 291 | Dominic Roberto 128 | Brendan Jenkins 77 |
Albany |
@
New Hampshire
|
UNH 38 , ALBANY 31 | Reese Poffenbarger 373 | Dylan Laube 85 | Julian Hicks 162 |
Elon |
@
Villanova
|
VILL 21 , ELON 0 | Justin Allen 40 | Isaiah Ragland 126 | Landyn Backey 33 |
LIU |
@
Maine
|
MAINE 24 , LIU 13 | Derek Robertson 235 | Tavion Banks 73 | Michael Love 109 |
Hampton |
@
Monmouth
|
MONM 61 , HAMP 10 | Marquez McCray 140 | Jaden Shirden 276 | Assanti Kearney 66 |
Rhode Island |
vs
Richmond
|
RICH 24 , URI 17 | Kasim Hill 367 | Savon Smith 80 | Nick DeGennaro 132 |
Dartmouth |
@
Colgate
|
COLG 27 , DART 24 | Jackson Proctor 278 | Nick Howard 62 | Paxton Scott 185 |
Cornell |
vs
Bucknell
|
BUCK 21 , COR 13 | Jameson Wang 200 | Coleman Bennett 157 | Nicholas Laboy 89 |
Citadel |
vs
VMI
|
VMI 17 , CIT 13 | Collin Ironside 166 | Hunter Rice 111 | Chance Knox 98 |
Howard |
@
Harvard
|
HARV 48 , HOWARD 7 | Charles DePrima 128 | Isaiah Abbey 120 | Scott Woods II 60 |
Dayton |
vs
Presbyterian
|
PRESBY 20 , DAYTON 17 | Tyler Wesley 165 | Cole Dow 85 | Jordan Irizarry 47 |
Butler |
vs
Davidson
|
DAV 35 , BUTLER 33 | Coulter Cleland 224 | Mari Adams 171 | Mark McCurdy 81 |
South Carolina State |
vs
Tennessee Tech
|
TNTECH 28 , SCST 7 | Corey Fields Jr. 224 | Justin Pegues 110 | Jawarn Howell 93 |
Columbia |
vs
Penn
|
PENN 20 , COLUM 17 | Aidan Sayin 286 | Malachi Hosley 58 | Jared Richardson 91 |
Gardner-Webb |
@
Austin Peay
|
APSU 41 , G-WEBB 14 | Mike DiLiello 372 | Jevon Jackson 108 | Tre Shackelford 126 |
Youngstown State |
@
South Dakota
|
SOUDAK 34 , YSU 31 | Aidan Bouman 369 | Dra Rushton 116 | Max Tomczak 134 |
North Dakota State |
@
North Dakota
|
NORDAK 49 , NDAKST 24 | Cam Miller 175 | Gaven Ziebarth 156 | Eli Green 96 |
Valparaiso |
vs
Morehead State
|
MOR 24 , VALPO 21 | Carter Cravens 396 | Ryan Mann 102 | Ryan Upp 184 |
Charlotte |
vs
Navy
|
NAVY 14 , CHAR 0 | Trexler Ivey 142 | Shadrick Byrd 92 | Eli Heidenreich 69 |
Ball State |
vs
Toledo
|
TOLEDO 13 , BALLST 6 | Dequan Finn 166 | Peny Boone 148 | Junior Vandeross III 49 |
California |
@
Utah
|
UTAH 34 , CAL 14 | Fernando Mendoza 149 | Sione Vaki 158 | Taj Davis 93 |
Northern Colorado |
vs
Sacramento State
|
SAC 21 , NORCOL 13 | Jacob Sirmon 257 | Ezra Moleni 85 | Brayden Munroe 66 |
Indiana State |
@
Illinois State
|
ILLST 44 , INST 7 | Zack Annexstad 166 | Zack Annexstad 79 | Cam Grandy 56 |
Jackson State |
vs
Alabama State
|
ALST 24 , JKST 19 | Jason Brown 234 | Desmond Moultrie 65 | Fabian McCray 79 |
Murray State |
vs
Southern Illinois
|
SIU 27 , MURRAY 6 | DJ Williams 157 | Justin Strong 128 | Michael Fox 71 |
UNI |
@
South Dakota State
|
SDAKST 41 , UNI 6 | Mark Gronowski 291 | Isaiah Davis 103 | Sam Schnee 104 |
Eastern Illinois |
@
Southeast Missouri State
|
SEMO 35 , EASTIL 28 | Pierce Holley 346 | Geno Hess 129 | DeAirious Smith 118 |
Grambling State |
vs
Alabama A&M
|
ALAA&M 45 , GRAM 24 | Myles Crawley 244 | Xavier Lankford 193 | Antonio Jones 99 |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
@
Mississippi Valley State
|
MSVL 42 , ARK-PB 17 | Ty'Jarian Williams 265 | Kierstan Rogers 108 | Cobie Bates 70 |
North Carolina A&T |
@
Delaware
|
DEL 21 , NCA&T 6 | Ryan O'Connor 57 | Kyron Cumby 144 | JoJo Bermudez 28 |
Tarleton State |
@
Eastern Kentucky
|
EASTKY 41 , TARLST 35 | Victor Gabalis 211 | Kayvon Britten 187 | Darius Cooper 149 |
Bethune-Cookman |
vs
Texas Southern
|
TXSO 34 , B-C 31 | Jace Wilson 189 | LaDarius Owens 163 | Trenton Leary 82 |
Oregon | WASH 36 , OREGON 33 | Bo Nix 337 | Bucky Irving 127 | Troy Franklin 154 | |
Kansas | OKST 39 , KANSAS 32 | Jason Bean 410 | Ollie Gordon II 168 | Ollie Gordon II 116 | |
BYU |
@
TCU
|
TCU 44 , BYU 11 | Josh Hoover 439 | Emani Bailey 61 | JP Richardson 104 |
Wake Forest | VATECH 30 , WAKE 13 | Kyron Drones 321 | Kyron Drones 59 | Jaylin Lane 102 | |
Texas A&M | TENN 20 , TEXA&M 13 | Max Johnson 223 | Jaylen Wright 136 | Noah Thomas 75 | |
South Carolina |
vs
Florida
|
FLA 41 , SCAR 39 | Graham Mertz 423 | Mario Anderson 98 | Ricky Pearsall 166 |
Maryland |
vs
Illinois
|
ILL 27 , MD 24 | Taulia Tagovailoa 266 | Kaden Feagin 84 | Kaden Prather 70 |
Massachusetts | PSU 63 , UMASS 0 | Drew Allar 162 | Nicholas Singleton 79 | Theo Johnson 66 | |
Army West Point |
vs
Troy
|
TROY 19 , ARMY 0 | Gunnar Watson 227 | Kanye Udoh 124 | Jabre Barber 138 |
South Florida | FLAATL 56 , USF 14 | Daniel Richardson 382 | Nay'Quan Wright 106 | Tony Johnson 131 | |
Stony Brook |
vs
Fordham
|
FORD 26 , STNYBR 7 | Casey Case 243 | Julius Loughridge 154 | Anthony Johnson 87 |
Wofford |
@
ETSU
|
EASTTN 41 , WOF 10 | William Riddle 149 | Bryson Irby 137 | Will Huzzie 93 |
Akron | CENTMI 17 , AKRON 10 | Jase Bauer 181 | Jase Bauer 61 | Jesse Prewitt III 50 | |
Buffalo | BGSU 24 , BUFF 14 | Camden Orth 77 | Terion Stewart 123 | Austin Osborne 59 | |
Western Michigan |
vs
Miami (OH)
|
MIA-O 34 , WESTMI 21 | Brett Gabbert 223 | Jalen Buckley 61 | Cade McDonald 78 |
Northern Arizona |
vs
Portland State
|
PORST 45 , NOARI 21 | Adam Damante 250 | Quincy Craig 103 | Coleman Owen 104 |
Wisconsin |
vs
Iowa
|
IOWA 15 , WISC 6 | Braedyn Locke 122 | Leshon Williams 174 | Bryson Green 86 |
North Alabama |
@
Abilene Christian
|
ABICHR 30 , NORTAL 13 | Noah Walters 232 | Rovaughn Banks Jr. 78 | Tristan Golightly 63 |
Western Illinois |
vs
Missouri State
|
MOSTU 48 , WESTIL 7 | Jordan Pachot 217 | Jacardia Wright 163 | Terique Owens 98 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
vs
Lamar
|
LAMAR 30 , SELA 24 | Robert Coleman 257 | Khalan Griffin 71 | Sevonne Rhea 133 |
Northwestern State |
@
Nicholls
|
Cancelled | |||
Ohio | NIU 23 , OHIO 13 | Rocky Lombardi 172 | Gavin Williams 55 | Grayson Barnes 66 | |
Lindenwood |
@
Charleston Southern
|
CHSOU 24 , LINDEN 10 | Zolten Osborne 174 | TJ Ruff 126 | Will Kakavitsas 81 |
Mercer |
vs
Chattanooga
|
CHAT 22 , MERC 10 | Carter Peevy 280 | Gino Appleberry 57 | Ty James 135 |
Robert Morris |
@
Bryant
|
BRYANT 43 , RMOR 24 | Zevi Eckhaus 283 | Zevi Eckhaus 86 | Landen Lucas 62 |
Nevada |
vs
UNLV
|
UNLV 45 , NEVADA 27 | Brendon Lewis 287 | Brendon Lewis 115 | Ricky White 166 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
@
UIW
|
INCWOR 28 , TXA&MC 11 | Zach Calzada 300 | Jarrell Wiley 98 | Jaelin Campbell 89 |
Stephen F. Austin |
@
Central Arkansas
|
CENARK 24 , SFA 21 | Preston Weeks 171 | ShunDerrick Powell 95 | Kylon Harris 120 |
Eastern Washington |
@
Idaho State
|
IDAST 42 , EASTWA 41 | Kekoa Visperas 403 | Soujah Gasu 72 | Chedon James 206 |
New Mexico | SJSU 52 , NM 24 | Chevan Cordeiro 272 | Kairee Robinson 126 | Dominick Mazotti 70 | |
Norfolk State |
@
Tennessee State
|
TENNST 24 , NOR 17 | Otto Kuhns 129 | Jordan Gant 84 | Taron Biles-Walker 42 |
Louisville | PITT 38 , LOU 21 | Jack Plummer 350 | Maurice Turner 81 | Jamari Thrash 120 | |
Washington State |
vs
Arizona
|
ARI 44 , WASHST 6 | Noah Fifita 342 | Rayshon Luke 71 | Jonah Coleman 98 |
Wyoming | AF 34 , WYO 27 | Andrew Peasley 212 | Zac Larrier 111 | Sam Scott 43 | |
Texas Tech |
vs
Kansas State
|
KANST 38 , TXTCH 21 | Jake Strong 173 | Treshaun Ward 118 | Coy Eakin 102 |
Auburn |
@
LSU
|
LSU 48 , AUBURN 18 | Jayden Daniels 325 | Logan Diggs 97 | Kyren Lacy 111 |
Louisiana-Monroe | TXST 21 , UL-MON 20 | TJ Finley 222 | Donerio Davenport 94 | Joey Hobert 110 | |
Prairie View A&M |
@
Houston Christian
|
HOUCHR 30 , PVA&M 0 | Colby Suits 166 | RJ Smith 108 | Ismael Fuller 49 |
Marshall | GAST 41 , MARSH 24 | Cam Fancher 301 | Marcus Carroll 159 | Tailique Williams 129 | |
Miami (FL) | UNC 41 , MIA-FL 31 | Tyler Van Dyke 391 | Omarion Hampton 197 | Devontez Walker 132 | |
USC | ND 48 , USC 20 | Caleb Williams 199 | Audric Estime 95 | Chris Tyree 62 | |
Kentucky |
vs
Missouri
|
MISSOU 38 , KTY 21 | Brady Cook 175 | Ray Davis 128 | Theo Wease Jr. 66 |
UCLA | OREST 36 , UCLA 24 | DJ Uiagalelei 266 | Carson Steele 110 | Anthony Gould 87 | |
Cal Poly |
@
Montana State
|
MONTST 59 , CALPLY 19 | Sam Huard 225 | Jared White 93 | Ty McCullouch 119 |
Weber State |
vs
UC Davis
|
UCDAV 17 , WEB 16 | Miles Hastings 184 | Trent Tompkins 116 | Samuel Gbatu Jr. 83 |
UAB |
@
UTSA
|
TX-SA 41 , UAB 20 | Frank Harris 171 | Robert Henry 99 | Jermaine Brown Jr. 116 |
North Carolina State |
@
Duke
|
DUKE 24 , NCSU 3 | MJ Morris 193 | Jordan Waters 123 | Jalon Calhoun 69 |
Boise State | COLOST 31 , BOISE 30 | Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi 359 | Ashton Jeanty 212 | Tory Horton 130 | |
Idaho |
vs
Montana
|
MONT 23 , IDAHO 21 | Gevani McCoy 336 | Eli Gillman 84 | Hayden Hatten 139 |
Hawaii |
vs
San Diego State
|
SDSU 41 , HAWAII 34 | Brayden Schager 427 | Jalen Mayden 53 | Steven McBride 157 |
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.