College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Saturday, August 24, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Florida State GT 24 , FSU 21 DJ Uiagalelei 193 Jamal Haynes 75 Malik Rutherford 66
team logo McNeese
@ team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 26 , MCNE 23 Clifton McDowell 245 Kayvon Britten 164 Darius Cooper 85
team logo New Mexico
vs team logo Montana State
MONTST 35 , NM 31 Tommy Mellott 205 Adam Jones 167 Luke Wysong 95
team logo North Alabama
@ team logo Southeast Missouri State
SEMO 37 , NORTAL 15 Ari Patu 104 Jayvian Allen 100 Dorian Anderson 71
team logo Norfolk State
vs team logo Florida A&M
FLAA&M 24 , NOR 23 Daniel Richardson 286 Kevon King 146 Jamari Gassett 110
team logo Nevada SMU 29 , NEVADA 24 Preston Stone 254 Brendon Lewis 77 RJ Maryland 162
Sunday, August 25, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Delaware State HAWAII 35 , DELST 14 Brayden Schager 203 Landon Sims 58 Pofele Ashlock 81
Thursday, August 29, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Howard RUT 44 , HOW 7 Athan Kaliakmanis 147 Kyle Monangai 165 Isaih Williams 39
team logo Youngstown State
@ team logo Villanova
VILL 24 , YSU 17 Beau Brungard 152 Connor Watkins 107 Cyrus Traugh 42
team logo New Hampshire UCF 57 , UNH 3 KJ Jefferson 164 RJ Harvey 142 Logan Tomlinson 73
team logo Lafayette BUFF 30 , LAF 13 C.J. Ogbonna 195 Jacqez Barksdale 99 Chris Carasia 83
team logo Fordham BGSU 41 , FORD 17 Connor Bazelak 168 Terion Stewart 161 Harold Fannin Jr. 67
team logo Central Connecticut State CMU 66 , CENTCT 10 Joe Labas 342 Myles Bailey 68 Solomon Davis 109
team logo Western Carolina NCSU 38 , WCU 21 Grayson McCall 318 Jordan Waters 124 Kevin Concepcion 121
team logo North Carolina A&T WAKE 45 , NCA&T 13 Hank Bachmeier 263 Demond Claiborne 135 Taylor Morin 100
team logo Presbyterian
@ team logo Mercer
MERC 63 , PRESBY 10 D.J. Smith 320 Dwayne McGee 57 Brayden Smith 83
team logo VMI
@ team logo William & Mary
W&M 41 , VMI 7 Darius Wilson 190 Hunter Rice 81 Hollis Mathis 71
team logo Gardner-Webb
vs team logo Wofford
WOF 21 , G-WEBB 20 Amari Odom 260 J.T. Smith Jr. 47 Kyle Watkins 109
team logo Bryant
@ team logo Delaware
DEL 48 , BRYANT 17 Ryan O'Connor 245 Marcus Yarns 62 Gary Cooper 78
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff ARK 70 , ARK-PB 0 Taylen Green 229 Ja'Quinden Jackson 101 Isaac TeSlaa 53
team logo Duquesne TOL 49 , DUQ 10 Tucker Gleason 202 Willie Shaw III 50 Jerjuan Newton 98
team logo North Dakota State CU 31 , NDAKST 26 Shedeur Sanders 445 Cam Miller 81 Jimmy Horn Jr. 198
team logo Alcorn State UAB 41 , ALC 3 Jacob Zeno 215 Lee Beebe Jr. 82 Kam Shanks 73
team logo Southeastern Louisiana TULN 52 , SELA 0 Darian Mensah 205 Antonio Martin Jr. 68 Mario Williams 124
team logo Northwestern State TLSA 62 , NWST 28 Kirk Francis 299 Kennieth Lacy 72 Zion Steptoe 88
team logo Murray State MIZZOU 51 , MUR 0 Brady Cook 228 Nate Noel 48 Luther Burden III 49
team logo Jacksonville State COASTC 55 , JACST 27 Ethan Vasko 249 Ja'Vin Simpkins 80 Tray Taylor 98
team logo Lindenwood KU 48 , LINDEN 3 Jalon Daniels 148 Devin Neal 112 Luke Grimm 111
team logo Monmouth
@ team logo Eastern Washington
EASTWA 42 , MONM 27 Derek Robertson 390 Tuna Altahir 108 Efton Chism III 173
team logo Southern Utah UTAH 49 , SOUT 0 Cameron Rising 254 Targhee Lambson 44 Dijon Stanley 150
team logo Jackson State UL-MON 30 , JKST 14 Jacobian Morgan 228 Ahmad Hardy 103 Javon Campbell 83
team logo Minnesota UNC 19 , MINN 17 Max Brosmer 165 Omarion Hampton 129 Daniel Jackson 55
team logo Eastern Illinois ILL 45 , EASTIL 0 Luke Altmyer 213 Kaden Feagin 108 Pat Bryant 63
team logo Sacramento State SJSU 42 , SAC 24 Emmett Brown 298 Elijah Tau-Tolliver 110 Nick Nash 170
Friday, August 30, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Lehigh ARMY 42 , LEHIGH 7 Dante Perri 64 Noah Short 83 Mason Humphrey 61
team logo Temple OKLA 51 , TEM 3 Jackson Arnold 141 Taylor Tatum 69 Bauer Sharp 47
team logo Florida Atlantic MSU 16 , FLAATL 10 Cam Fancher 116 Kay'ron Lynch-Adams 101 Omari Hayes 74
team logo Colgate
@ team logo Maine
MAINE 17 , COLG 14 Carter Peevy 186 Jaharie Martin 66 Montigo Moss 84
team logo Elon DUKE 26 , ELON 3 Maalik Murphy 291 Rushawn Baker 36 Jordan Moore 112
team logo Western Michigan WISC 28 , WESTMI 14 Tyler Van Dyke 192 Chez Mellusi 74 Will Pauling 60
team logo Stanford TCU 34 , STAN 27 Josh Hoover 353 Ashton Daniels 89 Jack Bech 139
Saturday, August 31, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Virginia Tech VANDY 34 , VATECH 27 Kyron Drones 322 Diego Pavia 104 Ali Jennings 91
team logo Bucknell NAVY 49 , BUCK 21 Ralph Rucker IV 122 Daba Fofana 82 TJ Cadden 97
team logo Clemson UGA 34 , CLEM 3 Carson Beck 278 Nate Frazier 83 Antonio Williams 76
team logo West Virginia PSU 34 , WVU 12 Drew Allar 216 Nicholas Singleton 114 Harrison Wallace III 117
team logo Kent State PITT 55 , KENTST 24 Eli Holstein 336 Desmond Reid 145 Kenny Johnson 105
team logo Austin Peay LOU 62 , APSU 0 Tyler Shough 232 Isaac Brown 123 Ja'Corey Brooks 83
team logo Connecticut MD 50 , UCONN 7 Billy Edwards Jr. 311 Roman Hemby 66 Tai Felton 178
team logo Indiana State PUR 49 , INST 0 Hudson Card 273 Devin Mockobee 89 Max Klare 71
team logo Saint Francis U
@ team logo Dayton
DAYTON 18 , STF-PA 10 Drew VanVleet 129 DeMarcus McElroy 69 Gavin Lochow 55
team logo Illinois State IOWA 40 , ILLST 0 Cade McNamara 251 Kaleb Johnson 119 Reece Vander Zee 66
team logo Davidson
@ team logo Georgetown
GTOWN 46 , DAV 24 Danny Lauter 106 Naieem Kearney 87 Jimmy Kibble 60
team logo Chattanooga TENN 69 , CHAT 3 Nico Iamaleava 314 Dylan Sampson 124 Dont'e Thornton Jr. 105
team logo South Dakota State OKST 44 , SDAKST 20 Mark Gronowski 264 Ollie Gordon II 126 Griffin Wilde 150
team logo Towson CIN 38 , TOWSON 20 Brendan Sorsby 383 Evan Pryor 105 Xzavier Henderson 101
team logo Portland State WSU 70 , PORST 30 John Mateer 352 Wayshawn Parker 96 Kyle Williams 141
team logo Merrimack AF 21 , MERRIM 6 Malakai Anthony 74 Owen Allen 63 Jalen McDonald 39
team logo Kennesaw State TX-SA 28 , KENNST 16 Owen McCown 340 Robert Henry Jr. 30 Devin McCuin 79
team logo Colorado State TEX 52 , CSU 0 Quinn Ewers 260 Justin Marshall 106 Ryan Wingo 70
team logo North Dakota IAST 21 , NORDAK 3 Rocco Becht 267 Isaiah Smith 50 Jaylin Noel 135
team logo Miami (OH) NW 13 , MIA-OH 6 Brett Gabbert 227 Mike Wright 65 Cade McDonald 105
team logo Western Illinois NIU 54 , WESTIL 15 Ethan Hampton 328 Antario Brown 69 Trayvon Rudolph 104
team logo UTEP NEB 40 , UTEP 7 Dylan Raiola 238 Emmett Johnson 71 Isaiah Neyor 121
team logo Florida MIA-FL 41 , FLA 17 Cam Ward 385 Montrell Johnson Jr. 106 Xavier Restrepo 112
team logo ETSU APP 38 , EASTTN 10 Joey Aguilar 326 Devontae Houston 126 Kaedin Robinson 103
team logo Akron OHIOST 52 , AKRON 6 Will Howard 228 TreVeyon Henderson 65 Jeremiah Smith 92
team logo Massachusetts EASTMI 28 , UMASS 14 Cole Snyder 241 Delbert Mimms III 60 Oran Singleton 89
team logo Ohio SYR 38 , OHIO 22 Kyle McCord 354 Anthony Tyus III 203 Coleman Owen 137
team logo FIU IU 31 , FIU 7 Kurtis Rourke 180 Elijah Green 82 Omar Cooper Jr. 45
team logo Georgia Southern BOISE 56 , GASO 45 JC French 322 Ashton Jeanty 267 Cameron Camper 99
team logo Old Dominion SCAR 23 , ODU 19 Grant Wilson 197 Raheim Sanders 88 Isiah Paige 115
team logo UC Davis CAL 31 , UCDAV 13 Miles Hastings 221 Lan Larison 62 C.J. Hutton 68
team logo South Alabama UNT 52 , USA 38 Gio Lopez 432 Gio Lopez 62 Damon Ward Jr. 230
team logo Valparaiso
@ team logo UNI
UNI 35 , VALPO 7 Aidan Dunne 116 Tye Edwards 174 Michael Mansaray 79
team logo Stony Brook MARSH 45 , STNYBR 3 Braylon Braxton 141 A.J. Turner 119 Christian Fitzpatrick 97
team logo Eastern Kentucky MSST 56 , EASTKY 7 Blake Shapen 247 Joshua Carter 75 Jordan Mosley 104
team logo Mississippi Valley State
@ team logo Tennessee State
TENNST 41 , MSVL 21 Draylen Ellis 356 Jaden McGill 41 Jalal Dean 144
team logo Norfolk State ECU 42 , NOR 3 Jake Garcia 308 London Montgomery 67 Anthony Smith 86
team logo Richmond UVA 34 , RICH 13 Anthony Colandrea 297 Kobe Pace 93 Malachi Fields 100
team logo Campbell LIB 41 , CAMP 24 Kaidon Salter 242 Quinton Cooley 110 Sincere Brown 126
team logo Sacred Heart
vs team logo Delaware State
DELST 17 , SHEART 15 Marqui Adams 150 Xavier Leigh 91 Ethan Hilliman 75
team logo South Carolina State
@ team logo Florida A&M
FLAA&M 22 , SCST 18 Daniel Richardson 282 Deondra Duehart 74 Koby Gross 94
team logo Hampton
vs team logo Morgan State
MORGST 30 , HAMP 28 Malcolm Mays 168 Myles Miree 68 Kevin Johnson 70
team logo Charleston Southern
vs team logo Citadel
CIT 22 , CHSOU 21 Rob McCoy 290 Corey Ibrahim 68 Chris Rhone 90
team logo Samford
@ team logo West Georgia
WESTGA 38 , SAM 29 Quincy Crittendon 302 Quincy Crittendon 95 Karmello English 108
team logo Idaho State ORST 38 , IDAST 15 Gevani McCoy 114 Jam Griffin 160 Christian Fredericksen 68
team logo North Alabama MEM 40 , NORTAL 0 Seth Henigan 308 Mario Anderson Jr. 46 Roc Taylor 87
team logo Rice SAMHOU 34 , RICE 14 Hunter Watson 229 Hunter Watson 57 Qua'Vez Humphreys 93
team logo Troy NEVADA 28 , TROY 26 Goose Crowder 201 Savion Red 135 Devonte Ross 103
team logo Houston UNLV 27 , HOU 7 Donovan Smith 135 Michael Allen 65 Jaden Bradley 60
team logo Western Kentucky BAMA 63 , WESTKY 0 Jalen Milroe 200 Justice Haynes 102 Ryan Williams 139
team logo Furman MISS 76 , FURMAN 0 Jaxson Dart 418 Matt Jones 68 Tre Harris 179
team logo Central Arkansas ARKST 34 , CENARK 31 Jaylen Raynor 317 ShunDerrick Powell 176 Corey Rucker 179
team logo Tarleton State BAYLOR 45 , TARLST 3 Dequan Finn 192 Richard Reese 78 Ketron Jackson Jr. 69
team logo UT Martin KSU 41 , TN-MAR 6 Avery Johnson 153 DJ Giddens 124 Jayce Brown 71
team logo Tennessee Tech MIDDTN 32 , TNTECH 25 Jordyn Potts 256 Jalen Mitchell 52 D.J. Linkins 61
team logo Prairie View A&M
vs team logo Texas Southern
TXSO 27 , PVA&M 9 KJ Cooper 180 Danny Green Jr. 81 Shemar Savage 105
team logo Northern Colorado
@ team logo UIW
INCWOR 28 , NORCOL 7 Zach Calzada 205 Vann Schield 80 Jalen Walthall 103
team logo Bethune-Cookman USF 48 , B-C 3 Byrum Brown 152 Kelley Joiner 78 Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen 73
team logo LIU
@ team logo Albany
ALBANY 27 , LIU 21 Luca Stanzani 179 Ludovick Choquette 128 Seven McGee 119
team logo Holy Cross
@ team logo Rhode Island
URI 20 , HOLYCR 17 Devin Farrell 287 Jordan Fuller 139 Marquis Buchanan 88
team logo Hawaii UCLA 16 , HAWAII 13 Ethan Garbers 272 Ethan Garbers 47 Pofele Ashlock 112
team logo Idaho ORE 24 , IDAHO 14 Dillon Gabriel 380 Jordan James 95 Terrance Ferguson 87
team logo Alabama A&M AUBURN 73 , ALAA&M 3 Payton Thorne 322 Jarquez Hunter 53 Duke Miller 92
team logo Texas A&M ND 23 , TEXA&M 13 Riley Leonard 158 Jeremiyah Love 91 Beaux Collins 62
team logo Abilene Christian TTU 52 , ABICHR 51 Maverick McIvor 506 Tahj Brooks 153 Josh Kelly 156
team logo Fresno State MICH 30 , FRES 10 Mikey Keene 235 Kalel Mullings 92 Jalen Moss 97
team logo Southern Miss UK 31 , SOUMIS 0 Brock Vandagriff 169 Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 59 Ja'Mori Maclin 66
team logo East Texas A&M SDSU 45 , ETA&M 14 Danny O'Neil 214 Marquez Cooper 223 Louis Brown IV 91
team logo Cal Poly
@ team logo San Diego
SD 27 , CALPLY 21 Bo Kelly 226 Matt Colombo 88 Kian Salehi 62
team logo Robert Morris USU 36 , RMOR 14 Bryson Barnes 198 Robert Briggs Jr. 88 Kyrese White 131
team logo Southern Illinois BYU 41 , SIU 13 Jake Retzlaff 348 DJ Williams 121 Chase Roberts 108
team logo Grambling State UL-LAF 40 , GRAM 10 Ben Wooldridge 308 Ke'travion Hargrove 61 Harvey Broussard 76
team logo Lamar TXST 34 , LAMAR 27 Jordan McCloud 238 Ismail Mahdi 156 Kyndon Fuselier 107
team logo Houston Christian SMU 59 , HOUCHR 7 Kevin Jennings 148 Brashard Smith 108 Jake Bailey 59
team logo Nicholls LATECH 25 , NICH 17 Blake Baker 207 Collin Guggenheim 79 Marlion Jackson 76
team logo Southern University
@ team logo McNeese
MCNE 21 , SOU 7 Noah Bodden 118 D'angelo Durham 65 Jermaine Minor Jr. 37
team logo Charlotte JMU 30 , CHAR 7 Alonza Barnett III 219 Alonza Barnett III 89 Omarion Dollison 80
team logo Georgia State GT 35 , GAST 12 Haynes King 275 Jamal Haynes 84 Malik Rutherford 131
team logo Southeast Missouri State NMST 23 , SEMO 16 Paxton DeLaurent 295 Seth McGowan 87 Dorian Anderson 115
team logo Missouri State
@ team logo Montana
MONT 29 , MOSTU 24 Jacob Clark 257 Eli Gillman 89 Hunter Wood 70
team logo Utah Tech
vs team logo Montana State
MONTST 31 , UTAHTE 7 Tommy Mellott 152 Scottre Humphrey 104 Rohan Jones 66
team logo New Mexico ARI 61 , NM 39 Noah Fifita 422 Devon Dampier 130 Tetairoa McMillan 304
team logo Wyoming ASU 48 , WYO 7 Sam Leavitt 258 Cam Skattebo 49 Kyson Brown 73
team logo Weber State UW 35 , WEB 3 Will Rogers 250 Jonah Coleman 127 Giles Jackson 98
Sunday, September 01, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Alabama State
vs team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 31 , ALST 24 Walker Harris 119 Andrew Body 134 Joaquin Davis 63
team logo LSU USC 27 , LSU 20 Miller Moss 378 Woody Marks 68 Kyren Lacy 94
Monday, September 02, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Florida State BC 28 , FSU 13 DJ Uiagalelei 272 Kye Robichaux 85 Kentron Poitier 79

All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone.

College Football Schedule

Rose Bowl

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:

  1. Boston College Eagles
  2. Clemson Tigers
  3. Duke Blue Devils
  4. Florida State Seminoles
  5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
  6. Louisville Cardinals
  7. Miami Hurricanes
  8. North Carolina Tar Heels
  9. North Carolina State Wolfpack
  10. Pittsburgh Panthers
  11. Syracuse Orange
  12. Virginia Cavaliers
  13. Virginia Tech Hokies
  14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The permanent matchups for the ACC teams are as below:

UniversityRival 1Rival 2Rival 3
Boston CollegeMiamiPittsburghSyracuse
ClemsonFlorida StateGeorgia TechNC State
DukeNorth CarolinaNC StateWake Forest
Florida StateClemsonMiamiSyracuse
Georgia TechClemsonLouisvilleWake Forest
LouisvilleGeorgia TechMiamiVirginia
MiamiBoston CollegeFlorida StateLouisville
North CarolinaDukeNC StateVirginia
NC StateClemsonDukeNorth Carolina
PittsburghBoston CollegeSyracuseVirginia Tech
SyracuseBoston CollegeFlorida StatePittsburgh
VirginiaLouisvilleNorth CarolinaVirginia Tech
Virginia TechPittsburghVirginiaWake Forest
Wake ForestDukeGeorgia TechVirginia 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:

EastWest
Ohio State BuckeyesMinnesota Golden Gophers
Rutgers Scarlet KnightsIowa Hawkeyes
Maryland TerrapinsWisconsin Badgers
Michigan WolverinesIllinois Fighting Illini
Michigan St. SpartansPurdue Boilermakers
Penn St. Nittany LionsNorthwestern Wildcats
Indiana HoosiersNebraska 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:

  1. BYU Cougars
  2. Cincinnati Bearcats
  3. Houston Cougars
  4. Iowa State Cyclones
  5. Kansas Jayhawks
  6. Kansas State Wildcats
  7. Oklahoma Sooners
  8. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  9. Texas Longhorns
  10. UCF Knights
  11. Baylor Bears
  12. TCU Horned Frogs
  13. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  14. 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:

  1. USC Trojans
  2. Arizona Wildcats
  3. Arizona State Sun Devils
  4. California Golden Bears
  5. Colorado Buffaloes
  6. Oregon Ducks
  7. Oregon State Beavers
  8. Stanford Cardinal
  9. UCLA Bruins
  10. Utah Utes
  11. Washington Huskies
  12. 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:

  1. Alabama vs. Tennessee
  2. Arkansas vs. Missouri
  3. Auburn vs. Georgia
  4. LSU vs. Florida
  5. Mississippi State vs. Kentucky
  6. Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt
  7. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina.

The teams participating in the SEC conference as of 2023 are:

EastWest
Vanderbilt CommodoresAlabama Crimson Tide
Georgia BulldogsArkansas Razorbacks
Kentucky WildcatsAuburn Tigers
Missouri TigersOle Miss Rebels
Tennessee VolunteersMississippi State Bulldogs
Florida GatorsTexasA&M Aggies
South Carolina GamecocksLSU 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:

  1. North Texas vs. SMU
  2. UAB vs. Memphis
  3. Rice vs. UTSA
  4. Charlotte vs. East Carolina
  5. Florida Atlantic vs. South Florida
  6. Navy vs. Temple

The 14 members of the AAC are as follows:

  1. Memphis Tigers
  2. Charlotte 49ers
  3. Florida Atlantic Owls
  4. Navy Midshipmen
  5. Rice Owls
  6. SMU Mustangs
  7. South Florida Bulls
  8. Temple Owls
  9. Tulane Green Wave
  10. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
  11. UAB Blazers
  12. UTSA Roadrunners
  13. East Carolina Pirates
  14. 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:

  1. Liberty Flames
  2. Jacksonville State Gamecocks
  3. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
  4. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
  5. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
  6. Sam Houston Bearkats
  7. FIU Panthers
  8. New Mexico State Aggies
  9. 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:

EastWest
Ohio BobcatsCentral Michigan Chippewas
Akron ZipsEastern Michigan Eagles
Bowling Green FalconsNorthern Illinois Huskies
Miami (OH) RedHawksToledo Rockets
Buffalo BullsWestern Michigan Broncos
Kent State Golden FlashesBall 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:

  1. Air Force Falcons
  2. Fresno State Bulldogs
  3. Wyoming Cowboys
  4. San Diego State Aztecs
  5. New Mexico Lobos
  6. UNLV Rebels
  7. Utah State Aggies
  8. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
  9. San Jose State Spartans
  10. Colorado State Rams
  11. Boise State Broncos
  12. Nevada Wolf Pack

The two permanent fixtures per team are as below:

UniversityRival 1Rival 2
Air ForceColorado StateWyoming
Boise StateNew MexicoUtah State
Colorado StateAir ForceWyoming
Fresno StateNevadaSan Jose State
HawaiiSan Diego StateUNLV
NevadaFresno StateUNLV
New MexicoBoise StateSan Jose State
San Diego StateHawaiiUtah State
San Jose StateFresno StateNew Mexico
UNLVHawaiiNevada
Utah StateBoise StateSan Diego State
WyomingAir ForceColorado 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:

EastWest
Old Dominion MonarchsLouisiana-Monroe Warhawks
Georgia Southern EaglesSouth Alabama Jaguars
Georgia State PanthersSouthern Miss Golden Eagles
James Madison DukesTexas State Bobcats
Marshall Thundering HerdTroy Trojans
Appalachian State MountaineersArkansas State Red Wolves
Coastal Carolina ChanticleersLouisiana 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:

  1. Army West Point Black Knights
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  3. Connecticut Huskies
  4. 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:

  1. Idaho Vandals
  2. Montana Grizzlies
  3. Sacramento State Hornets
  4. Weber State Wildcats
  5. Cal Poly Mustangs
  6. Montana State Bobcats
  7. UC Davis Aggies
  8. Eastern Washington Eagles
  9. Idaho State Bengals
  10. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
  11. Northern Colorado Bears
  12. 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:

  1. Bryant Bulldogs
  2. Charleston Southern Buccaneers
  3. Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
  4. 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:

  1. William & Mary Tribe
  2. Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
  3. Monmouth Hawks
  4. Rhode Island Rams
  5. Villanova Wildcats
  6. Hampton Pirates
  7. New Hampshire Wildcats
  8. Albany Great Danes
  9. Elon Phoenix
  10. Maine Black Bears
  11. North Carolina A&T Aggies
  12. Richmond Spiders
  13. Campbell Fighting Camels
  14. Towson Tigers
  15. 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:

  1. Dartmouth Big Green
  2. Harvard Crimson
  3. Columbia Lions
  4. Princeton Tigers
  5. Cornell Big Red
  6. Penn Quakers
  7. Yale Bulldogs
  8. 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”

  1. North Carolina Central Eagles
  2. Howard Bison
  3. Morgan State Bears
  4. Norfolk State Spartans
  5. Delaware State Hornets
  6. 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.

  1. Teams participating in this conference currently are:
  2. Illinois State Redbirds
  3. North Dakota Fighting Hawks
  4. North Dakota State Bison
  5. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
  6. Southern Illinois Salukis
  7. Murray State Racers
  8. South Dakota Coyotes
  9. Youngstown State Penguins
  10. Indiana State Sycamores
  11. Missouri State Bears
  12. UNI Panthers
  13. 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:

  1. Stonehill Skyhawks
  2. Duquesne Dukes
  3. LIU Sharks
  4. Merrimack Warriors
  5. Sacred Heart Pioneers
  6. Saint Francis U Red Flash
  7. Wagner Seahawks
  8. 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:

  1. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
  2. Eastern Illinois Panthers
  3. Tennessee State Tigers
  4. UT Martin Skyhawks
  5. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
  6. Lindenwood Lions

Patriot League Conference Scheduling

The Patriot League Conference features seven teams which are as follows:

  1. Georgetown Hoyas
  2. Fordham Rams
  3. Bucknell Bison
  4. Holy Cross Crusaders
  5. Lafayette Leopards
  6. Lehigh Mountain Hawks
  7. 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:

  1. Stetson Hatters
  2. Butler Bulldogs
  3. Dayton Flyers
  4. Morehead State Eagles
  5. Presbyterian Blue Hose
  6. St. Thomas (MN) Tommies
  7. Marist Red Foxes
  8. Davidson Wildcats
  9. Drake Bulldogs
  10. San Diego Toreros
  11. Valparaiso Beacons

Southern Conference Scheduling

The Southern Conference is a nine-team conference which is comprised of the following teams:

  1. Western Carolina Catamounts
  2. Mercer Bears
  3. Chattanooga Mocs
  4. ETSU Buccaneers
  5. Furman Paladins
  6. VMI Keydets
  7. Citadel Bulldogs
  8. Wofford Terriers
  9. 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:

  1. Houston Christian Huskies
  2. UIW Cardinals
  3. Lamar Cardinals
  4. McNeese Cowboys
  5. Nicholls Colonels
  6. Northwestern State Demons
  7. Southeastern Louisiana Lions
  8. 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:

EASTWEST
Florida A&M RattlersPrairie View A&M Panthers
Mississippi Valley State Delta DevilsAlcorn State Braves
Alabama A&M BulldogsArkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions
Alabama State HornetsGrambling State Tigers
Bethune-Cookman WildcatsSouthern University Jaguars
Jackson State TigersTexas 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:

  1. Tarleton State Texans
  2. Abilene Christian Wildcats
  3. Central Arkansas Bears
  4. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
  5. Austin Peay Governors
  6. Eastern Kentucky Colonels
  7. Southern Utah Thunderbirds
  8. Utah Tech Trailblazers
  9. 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.

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