College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Ball State BUFF 51 , BALLST 48 Kadin Semonza 327 Al-Jay Henderson 126 Justin Bowick 148
team logo Western Michigan BGSU 31 , WESTMI 13 Hayden Wolff 195 Terion Stewart 150 Harold Fannin Jr. 137
team logo Central Michigan TOL 37 , CMU 10 Jadyn Glasser 150 Marion Lukes 80 Chris Parker 52
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Akron NIU 29 , AKRON 16 Ben Finley 205 Telly Johnson Jr. 104 Adrian Norton 57
team logo Eastern Michigan OHIO 35 , EASTMI 10 Parker Navarro 277 Parker Navarro 106 Coleman Owen 139
team logo Kent State MIA-OH 34 , KENTST 7 Brett Gabbert 202 Keyon Mozee 196 Reggie Virgil 88
Thursday, November 14, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Tulsa ECU 38 , TLSA 31 Katin Houser 314 Rahjai Harris 114 Joseph Williams 158
team logo Grambling State
@ team logo Alabama A&M
ALAA&M 22 , GRAM 17 Cornelious Brown IV 228 Donovan Eaglin 123 Keenan Hambrick 99
Friday, November 15, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Wyoming CSU 24 , WYO 10 Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi 192 Justin Marshall 104 Tommy Maher 53
team logo North Texas TX-SA 48 , UNT 27 Owen McCown 379 Shane Porter 193 David Amador II 122
team logo Howard
@ team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 26 , HOW 3 Walker Harris 321 J'Mari Taylor 206 J'Mari Taylor 78
team logo UCLA UW 31 , UCLA 19 Ethan Garbers 267 Jonah Coleman 95 T.J. Harden 79
team logo Houston ARI 27 , HOU 3 Noah Fifita 224 Quali Conley 107 Tetairoa McMillan 70
Saturday, November 16, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Utah CU 49 , UTAH 24 Shedeur Sanders 340 Isaiah Augustave 59 Drelon Miller 108
team logo Arkansas TEX 20 , ARK 10 Quinn Ewers 176 Jaydon Blue 83 Andrew Armstrong 74
team logo Western Kentucky LATECH 12 , WESTKY 7 Caden Veltkamp 152 Amani Givens 103 Tru Edwards 52
team logo Northwestern OHIOST 31 , NW 7 Will Howard 247 Quinshon Judkins 76 Jeremiah Smith 100
team logo Navy TULN 35 , NAVY 0 Darian Mensah 138 Makhi Hughes 82 Dontae Fleming 56
team logo Pittsburgh CLEM 24 , PITT 20 Nate Yarnell 350 Desmond Reid 68 Antonio Williams 149
team logo Massachusetts LIB 35 , UMASS 34 AJ Hairston 163 Quinton Cooley 147 Jakobie Keeney-James 75
team logo Merrimack
vs team logo Sacred Heart
SHEART 31 , MERRIM 20 Ayden Pereira 110 Jalen Madison 170 Jalen McDonald 40
team logo Delaware State
@ team logo Norfolk State
NOR 38 , DELST 19 Jalen Daniels 155 Jaden Sutton 146 Kam'Ryn Thomas 87
team logo Princeton
@ team logo Yale
YALE 42 , PRINCE 28 Blaine Hipa 267 Josh Pitsenberger 159 AJ Barber 108
team logo Robert Morris
@ team logo Central Connecticut State
CENTCT 35 , RMOR 33 Brady Olson 184 DJ Moyer 82 Noah Robinson 60
team logo Marist
vs team logo Presbyterian
PRESBY 42 , MARIST 23 Collin Hurst 269 Tristan Shannon 82 Cincere Gill 161
team logo Valparaiso
@ team logo Dayton
DAYTON 26 , VALPO 14 Drew VanVleet 92 Luke Hansen 98 Gary Givens III 52
team logo ETSU
vs team logo Furman
FURMAN 24 , EASTTN 21 Trey Hedden 210 Devontae Houston 103 AJ Johnson 106
team logo Wagner
@ team logo Duquesne
DUQ 42 , WAGNER 21 Darius Perrantes 393 Taj Butts 76 Tedy Afful 208
team logo LIU
vs team logo Saint Francis U
STF-PA 34 , LIU 27 Nick Whitfield Jr. 268 Markell Holman 73 Gavin Thomson 103
team logo UNI
@ team logo Youngstown State
YSU 39 , UNI 38 Beau Brungard 256 Beau Brungard 78 Desmond Hutson 101
team logo Hampton
vs team logo Richmond
RICH 24 , HAMP 21 Camden Coleman 138 Zach Palmer-Smith 166 Brennan Ridley 74
team logo Villanova
@ team logo Monmouth
MONM 40 , VILL 33 Derek Robertson 358 Rodney Nelson 83 TJ Speight 120
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo Towson
TOWSON 31 , NCA&T 13 Sean Brown 251 Tyrell Greene Jr. 74 Carter Runyon 81
team logo Brown
vs team logo Columbia
COLUM 21 , BROWN 12 Jake Willcox 242 Joey Giorgi 107 Bryson Canty 183
team logo Colgate
@ team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 45 , COLG 17 Jake Stearney 263 Jaden Green 103 Geoffrey Jamiel 125
team logo Bucknell
@ team logo Holy Cross
HOLYCR 40 , BUCK 38 Ralph Rucker IV 339 Jayden Clerveaux 91 Eric Weatherly 129
team logo Stonehill
@ team logo Lafayette
LAF 42 , STONEH 10 Dean DeNobile 275 Jarel Washington 53 Mason Kuehner 90
team logo Louisiana-Monroe AUBURN 48 , UL-MON 14 Payton Thorne 286 Jarquez Hunter 102 KeAndre Lambert-Smith 104
team logo Drake
vs team logo Morehead State
MOR 29 , DRAKE 20 Luke Bailey 210 James Louis 111 Nate Garnett 58
team logo North Dakota
vs team logo South Dakota
SOUDAK 42 , NORDAK 36 Aidan Bouman 190 Charles Pierre Jr. 173 Bo Belquist 96
team logo Charleston Southern
@ team logo Eastern Illinois
EASTIL 16 , CHSOU 13 Pierce Holley 168 MJ Flowers 72 Quenton Rogers 66
team logo Coastal Carolina MARSH 31 , COASTC 19 Ethan Vasko 267 Braydon Bennett 67 Bryson Graves 87
team logo Penn
vs team logo Harvard
HARV 31 , PENN 28 Liam O'Brien 171 Malachi Hosley 143 Cooper Barkate 129
team logo Florida A&M
vs team logo Mississippi Valley State
MSVL 24 , FLAA&M 21 Daniel Richardson 259 Levontai Summersett 87 Nathan Rembert 130
team logo St. Thomas (MN)
@ team logo Butler
BUTLER 36 , STTHMN 20 Tak Tateoka 214 Nick Howard 97 Colin Chase 121
team logo VMI
@ team logo Western Carolina
WCU 58 , VMI 28 Taron Dickens 294 Hunter Rice 109 Jai Boyd 77
team logo Indiana State
vs team logo Illinois State
ILLST 31 , INST 19 Tommy Rittenhouse 319 Elijah Owens 64 Daniel Sobkowicz 156
team logo Georgetown
@ team logo Fordham
FORD 31 , GTOWN 3 Jacob Holtschlag 253 Julius Loughridge 91 Cam Pygatt 135
team logo Albany
@ team logo Rhode Island
URI 20 , ALBANY 17 Van Weber 354 Malik Grant 110 Levi Wentz 138
team logo Bryant
@ team logo William & Mary
W&M 22 , BRYANT 12 Jarrett Guest 263 Bronson Yoder 146 Landon Ruggieri 112
team logo Campbell
@ team logo Delaware
DEL 41 , CAMP 22 Mike Chandler II 267 Marcus Yarns 134 VJ Wilkins 172
team logo Stony Brook
@ team logo New Hampshire
UNH 31 , STNYBR 30 Seth Morgan 263 Roland Dempster 85 Caleb Burke 74
team logo Dartmouth
@ team logo Cornell
COR 39 , DART 22 Jackson Proctor 258 Ean Pope 111 Daniel Haughton 101
team logo Murray State UK 48 , MUR 6 Brock Vandagriff 183 Jamarion Wilcox 123 J'Kalon Carter 130
team logo Chattanooga
vs team logo Samford
SAM 36 , CHAT 13 Quincy Crittendon 340 Quincy Crittendon 59 Brendan Jenkins 93
team logo Wofford
vs team logo Citadel
CIT 30 , WOF 17 Johnathan Bennett 166 Ryan Ingram 103 Javonte Graves-Billips 68
team logo Gardner-Webb
vs team logo Tennessee State
TENNST 23 , G-WEBB 20 Draylen Ellis 220 Jaden McGill 100 Karate Brenson 82
team logo Northern Colorado
vs team logo Northern Arizona
NOARI 44 , NORCOL 3 Ty Pennington 193 Seth Cromwell 155 Bryzai White 57
team logo Mercer BAMA 52 , MERC 7 Jalen Milroe 186 CJ Miller 44 Germie Bernard 81
team logo FIU JACST 34 , FIU 31 Keyone Jenkins 258 Tre Stewart 136 Dean Patterson 116
team logo Western Illinois
@ team logo Southeast Missouri State
SEMO 54 , WESTIL 45 Nathan Lamb 449 Brandon Epton Jr. 126 Matthew Henry 183
team logo Houston Christian
@ team logo East Texas A&M
ETA&M 41 , HOUCHR 40 Ron Peace 400 KJ Shankle 59 AJ Wilson 206
team logo Northwestern State
vs team logo McNeese
MCNE 35 , NWST 3 Abram Johnston 87 Joshon Barbie 139 Ray Mckneely-Harris 54
team logo UT Martin
vs team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 10 , TN-MAR 9 Kinkead Dent 142 Jalen Mitchell 62 D.J. Linkins 56
team logo Austin Peay
vs team logo Eastern Kentucky
EASTKY 30 , APSU 27 Austin Smith 239 Joshua Carter 106 Jaden Barnes 131
team logo Florida Atlantic TEM 18 , FLAATL 15 Evan Simon 218 CJ Campbell Jr. 70 Dante Wright 147
team logo Maine
@ team logo Elon
ELON 31 , MAINE 25 Matthew Downing 299 Rushawn Baker 156 Chandler Brayboy 138
team logo Michigan State ILL 38 , MSU 16 Aidan Chiles 256 Josh McCray 61 Pat Bryant 135
team logo California SYR 33 , CAL 25 Kyle McCord 323 LeQuint Allen 109 Oronde Gadsden II 109
team logo Hawaii USU 55 , HAWAII 10 Spencer Petras 255 Rahsul Faison 191 Nick Cenacle 72
team logo Portland State
@ team logo Montana
MONT 28 , PORST 17 Logan Fife 197 Eli Gillman 134 Sawyer Racanelli 102
team logo Prairie View A&M
vs team logo Alcorn State
ALC 26 , PVA&M 13 Cameron Peters 118 Tavarious Griffin 66 James Burns 52
team logo Bethune-Cookman
@ team logo Texas Southern
TXSO 17 , B-C 14 Cam'Ron Ransom 219 Athean Renfro 129 Maleek Huggins 97
team logo Southern Illinois
@ team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 41 , SIU 10 Mark Gronowski 185 Amar Johnson 157 Allen Middleton 94
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
@ team logo Southern University
SOU 31 , ARK-PB 9 Mekhi Hagens 216 BJ Curry 85 JaVonnie Gibson 85
team logo Alabama State
vs team logo Jackson State
JKST 16 , ALST 10 Jacobian Morgan 120 Daquon Kincey 144 Ja'Naylon Dupree 75
team logo Stephen F. Austin
vs team logo UIW
INCWOR 27 , SFA 20 Gavin Rutherford 209 Dekalon Taylor 74 Kylon Harris 79
team logo Kennesaw State SAMHOU 23 , KENNST 17 Hunter Watson 179 Jay Ducker 111 Simeon Evans 64
team logo Louisville STAN 38 , LOU 35 Ashton Daniels 298 Duke Watson 117 Emmett Mosley V 168
team logo Oregon State AF 28 , ORST 0 Quentin Hayes 110 Dylan Carson 97 Cade Harris 68
team logo Boston College SMU 38 , BC 28 Kevin Jennings 298 Brashard Smith 120 Jordan Hudson 99
team logo Missouri State
@ team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 59 , MOSTU 21 Jacob Clark 247 Barika Kpeenu 169 Hunter Wood 73
team logo Charlotte USF 59 , CHAR 24 Deshawn Purdie 256 Kelley Joiner 140 Isaiah Myers 82
team logo LSU FLA 27 , LSU 16 Garrett Nussmeier 260 Caden Durham 91 Elijhah Badger 131
team logo Virginia ND 35 , UVA 14 Riley Leonard 214 Jeremiyah Love 137 Malachi Fields 81
team logo Purdue PSU 49 , PUR 10 Drew Allar 247 Tyler Warren 63 Tyler Warren 127
team logo Nebraska USC 28 , NEB 20 Jayden Maiava 259 Woody Marks 146 Duce Robinson 90
team logo Stetson
@ team logo San Diego
SD 45 , STET 6 Grant Sergent 311 Isaiah Smith 110 Ja'seem Reed 121
team logo Idaho State
@ team logo Eastern Washington
EASTWA 77 , IDAST 42 Kobe Tracy 370 Jared Taylor 160 Efton Chism III 157
team logo Utah Tech
vs team logo West Georgia
WESTGA 34 , UTAHTE 31 Reggie Graff 272 Chris Street 62 Eric Olsen 67
team logo Nicholls
@ team logo Lamar
LAMAR 24 , NICH 7 Pat McQuaide 198 Khalan Griffin 86 Terry Matthews 85
team logo Georgia Southern TROY 28 , GASO 20 Matthew Caldwell 288 Damien Taylor 92 Devonte Ross 95
team logo Old Dominion JMU 35 , ODU 32 Alonza Barnett III 192 Aaron Young 116 Yamir Knight 121
team logo West Virginia BAYLOR 49 , WVU 35 Sawyer Robertson 329 Garrett Greene 129 Josh Cameron 101
team logo Morgan State
vs team logo South Carolina State
SCST 54 , MORGST 7 Eric Phoenix 85 Tyler Smith 118 Andre Crawley 91
team logo Missouri SCAR 34 , MIZZOU 30 LaNorris Sellers 353 Nate Noel 150 Dalevon Campbell 86
team logo Sacramento State
@ team logo Cal Poly
CALPLY 26 , SAC 23 Carson Conklin 308 Elijah Tau-Tolliver 33 Jared Gipson 130
team logo Central Arkansas
vs team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 38 , CENARK 31 Caleb Koger 269 Targhee Lambson 161 Malachi Henry 133
team logo Georgia State ARKST 27 , GAST 20 Christian Veilleux 245 Jaylen Raynor 114 Ted Hurst 173
team logo Maryland RUT 31 , MD 17 Billy Edwards Jr. 335 Kyle Monangai 97 Dymere Miller 107
team logo San Jose State BOISE 42 , SJSU 21 Walker Eget 446 Ashton Jeanty 159 Justin Lockhart 172
team logo Louisiana USA 24 , UL-LAF 22 Gio Lopez 285 Bill Davis 50 Jamaal Pritchett 170
team logo Southern Miss TXST 58 , SOUMIS 3 Jordan McCloud 335 Lincoln Pare 74 Kole Wilson 116
team logo Kansas State ASU 24 , KSU 14 Sam Leavitt 275 DJ Giddens 133 Jordyn Tyson 176
team logo Tarleton State
vs team logo Abilene Christian
ABICHR 35 , TARLST 31 Maverick McIvor 391 Sam Hicks 137 Blayne Taylor 168
team logo Wisconsin ORE 16 , WISC 13 Dillon Gabriel 218 Jordan James 121 Evan Stewart 92
team logo Tennessee UGA 31 , TENN 17 Carson Beck 347 Dylan Sampson 101 London Humphreys 63
team logo New Mexico State TEXA&M 38 , NMST 3 Marcel Reed 268 Amari Daniels 84 Theo Melin Ohrstrom 111
team logo UC Davis
vs team logo Montana State
MONTST 30 , UCDAV 28 Miles Hastings 320 Lan Larison 112 Chaz Davis 128
team logo Weber State
@ team logo Idaho
IDAHO 31 , WEB 24 Jack Layne 283 Art Williams 67 Mark Hamper 187
team logo UAB MEM 53 , UAB 18 Seth Henigan 299 Mario Anderson Jr. 138 Corri Milliner 74
team logo Cincinnati IAST 34 , CIN 17 Rocco Becht 234 Brendan Sorsby 141 Gabe Burkle 73
team logo Wake Forest UNC 31 , WAKE 24 Michael Kern 172 Omarion Hampton 244 Taylor Morin 70
team logo Washington State NM 38 , WSU 35 John Mateer 375 Devon Dampier 193 Kyle Williams 181
team logo BYU KU 17 , BYU 13 Jake Retzlaff 192 LJ Martin 76 Luke Grimm 77
team logo San Diego State UNLV 41 , SDSU 20 Hajj-Malik Williams 244 Marquez Cooper 97 Ja'Shaun Poke 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.

Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications