College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Kent State AKRON 38 , KENTST 17 Ben Finley 250 Jordon Simmons 113 Adrian Norton 107
team logo Western Michigan CMU 16 , WESTMI 14 Jadyn Glasser 140 Marion Lukes 93 Solomon Davis 73
team logo Northern Illinois MIA-OH 20 , NIU 9 Brett Gabbert 207 Keyon Mozee 91 Reggie Virgil 107
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Eastern Michigan BUFF 37 , EASTMI 20 Cole Snyder 351 Al-Jay Henderson 86 Markus Allen 187
team logo Toledo OHIO 24 , TOL 7 Tucker Gleason 136 Anthony Tyus III 115 Caleb Gossett 86
Thursday, November 21, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Nicholls
vs team logo Southeastern Louisiana
SELA 19 , NICH 16 Pat McQuaide 298 Antonio Martin Jr. 64 Scrappy Osby 123
team logo North Carolina State GT 30 , NCSU 29 Aaron Philo 265 CJ Bailey 83 Eric Singleton Jr. 106
Friday, November 22, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Temple TX-SA 51 , TEM 27 Owen McCown 220 Robert Henry Jr. 178 Dante Wright 128
team logo Purdue MSU 24 , PUR 17 Hudson Card 342 Kay'ron Lynch-Adams 85 Jahmal Edrine 87
team logo San Jose State UNLV 27 , SJSU 16 Hajj-Malik Williams 131 Jai'Den Thomas 135 Ricky White III 98
Saturday, November 23, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Sam Houston JACST 21 , SAMHOU 11 Hunter Watson 87 Tyler Huff 177 Noah Smith 65
team logo Ole Miss FLA 24 , MISS 17 Jaxson Dart 323 Montrell Johnson Jr. 107 Cayden Lee 94
team logo North Carolina BC 41 , UNC 21 Grayson James 192 Kye Robichaux 93 Lewis Bond 81
team logo Wake Forest MIA-FL 42 , WAKE 14 Cam Ward 280 Jordan Lyle 115 Jacolby George 91
team logo Virginia SMU 33 , UVA 7 Kevin Jennings 323 Brashard Smith 63 Moochie Dixon 89
team logo Connecticut SYR 31 , UCONN 24 Kyle McCord 470 Cam Edwards 87 Darrell Gill Jr. 177
team logo Rutgers ILL 38 , RUT 31 Luke Altmyer 249 Kyle Monangai 122 Pat Bryant 197
team logo Indiana OHIOST 38 , IU 15 Will Howard 201 Ty Son Lawton 79 Emeka Egbuka 80
team logo Maryland IOWA 29 , MD 13 MJ Morris 103 Kaleb Johnson 164 Tai Felton 57
team logo Harvard
vs team logo Yale
YALE 34 , HARV 29 Jaden Craig 292 Josh Pitsenberger 120 Cooper Barkate 169
team logo Stonehill
@ team logo Robert Morris
RMOR 31 , STONEH 13 Zach Tanner 268 Jarel Washington 70 Shawn Charles 149
team logo VMI
vs team logo ETSU
EASTTN 16 , VMI 9 Baylor Hayes 119 JoJo Crump 126 Karim Page 39
team logo Duquesne
@ team logo Central Connecticut State
CENTCT 21 , DUQ 14 Darius Perrantes 296 Elijah Howard 110 Joey Isabella 149
team logo Wagner
vs team logo LIU
LIU 35 , WAGNER 28 Jake Cady 143 Ethan Greenwood 133 Cory Nichols 76
team logo William & Mary
@ team logo Richmond
RICH 27 , W&M 0 Darius Wilson 95 Zach Palmer-Smith 129 Hollis Mathis 50
team logo Brown
@ team logo Dartmouth
DART 56 , BROWN 28 Jackson Proctor 308 Jackson Proctor 171 Grayson O'Bara 124
team logo Cornell
@ team logo Columbia
COLUM 17 , COR 9 Caleb Sanchez 221 Joey Giorgi 165 Samuel Musungu 93
team logo Lafayette
@ team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 38 , LAF 14 Dean DeNobile 171 Jamar Curtis 131 Elijah Steward 78
team logo Georgetown
vs team logo Holy Cross
HOLYCR 34 , GTOWN 0 Joe Pesansky 100 Jayden Clerveaux 135 Nathan Schillinger 34
team logo Massachusetts UGA 59 , UMASS 21 Carson Beck 297 Nate Frazier 136 Arian Smith 110
team logo Mississippi Valley State
vs team logo Alabama A&M
ALAA&M 49 , MSVL 35 Ty'Jarian Williams 275 Donovan Eaglin 105 Nathan Rembert 107
team logo Murray State
@ team logo Southern Illinois
SIU 62 , MUR 0 Michael Lindauer 283 Allen Middleton 124 Keontez Lewis 104
team logo Eastern Illinois
@ team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 23 , EASTIL 6 Pierce Holley 129 Jalen Mitchell 131 Cooper Willman 86
team logo North Dakota
@ team logo Illinois State
ILLST 35 , NORDAK 13 Tommy Rittenhouse 187 Wenkers Wright 118 Xavier Loyd 121
team logo UTEP TENN 56 , UTEP 0 Nico Iamaleava 209 Dylan Sampson 77 Kenny Odom 70
team logo Western Kentucky LIB 38 , WESTKY 21 Caden Veltkamp 262 Quinton Cooley 166 Kisean Johnson 94
team logo Fordham
vs team logo Merrimack
MERRIM 19 , FORD 3 Ayden Pereira 131 Ayden Pereira 136 Jalen McDonald 67
team logo Maine
vs team logo New Hampshire
UNH 27 , MAINE 9 Carter Peevy 168 Caleb Mead 113 Trevin Ewing 64
team logo Penn
@ team logo Princeton
PRINCE 20 , PENN 17 Liam O'Brien 168 John Volker 130 Luke Colella 82
team logo Delaware State
vs team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 52 , DELST 10 Joshua Jones 199 Jaden Sutton 113 Chance Peterson 85
team logo Stetson
vs team logo Drake
DRAKE 49 , STET 10 Brady Meitz 221 Davion Cherwin 161 Dalton Bailey 130
team logo Howard
@ team logo Morgan State
MORGST 35 , HOW 21 Kobe Muasau 202 Jason Collins Jr. 114 Isiah Williams 92
team logo Butler
@ team logo Presbyterian
PRESBY 30 , BUTLER 27 Reagan Andrew 220 Quante Jennings 190 Dominic Kibby 65
team logo Morehead State
vs team logo San Diego
SD 37 , MOR 14 Grant Sergent 184 Isaiah Smith 205 Josh Heverly 82
team logo Delaware
@ team logo Villanova
VILL 38 , DEL 28 Connor Watkins 203 Marcus Yarns 100 Marcus Yarns 74
team logo North Carolina A&T
vs team logo Elon
ELON 31 , NCA&T 21 Matthew Downing 203 Rushawn Baker 106 Chandler Brayboy 118
team logo Stony Brook
vs team logo Monmouth
MONM 55 , STNYBR 47 Derek Robertson 536 Roland Dempster 95 TJ Speight 151
team logo Hampton
@ team logo Albany
ALBANY 41 , HAMP 34 Van Weber 184 Alex Jreige 110 Levi Wentz 50
team logo Bryant
vs team logo Rhode Island
URI 35 , BRYANT 21 Hunter Helms 209 Malik Grant 204 Landon Ruggieri 105
team logo Colgate
@ team logo Bucknell
BUCK 48 , COLG 34 Ralph Rucker IV 437 Tariq Thomas 74 Eric Weatherly 174
team logo Saint Francis U
@ team logo Mercyhurst
MERCYH 21 , STF-PA 20 Nick Whitfield Jr. 245 Brian Trobel 50 Gavin Thomson 157
team logo Charleston Southern FSU 41 , CHSOU 7 Kaleb Jackson 218 Kam Davis 39 Ja'Khi Douglas 82
team logo Norfolk State
@ team logo South Carolina State
SCST 53 , NOR 21 Ryan Stubblefield 264 Kevon King 144 Justin Smith-Brown 101
team logo Montana
@ team logo Montana State
MONTST 34 , MONT 11 Logan Fife 117 Adam Jones 197 Keelan White 54
team logo Rice UAB 40 , RICE 14 E.J. Warner 222 Lee Beebe Jr. 161 Corri Milliner 90
team logo Davidson
@ team logo Valparaiso
VALPO 18 , DAV 17 Caron Tyler 157 Mason Sheron 110 Brandon Jimenez 51
team logo Dayton
@ team logo St. Thomas (MN)
STTHMN 32 , DAYTON 9 Drew VanVleet 198 Hope Adebayo 123 Jake Coleman 107
team logo East Texas A&M
vs team logo UIW
INCWOR 38 , ETA&M 24 Zach Calzada 333 Lontrell Turner 77 Jalen Walthall 125
team logo Austin Peay
vs team logo Chattanooga
CHAT 24 , APSU 17 Austin Smith 192 La'Vell Wright 50 Chris Domercant 93
team logo North Dakota State
@ team logo South Dakota
SOUDAK 29 , NDAKST 28 Aidan Bouman 272 Cam Miller 82 Javion Phelps 79
team logo Indiana State
@ team logo UNI
UNI 41 , INST 34 Aidan Dunne 204 Tye Edwards 229 Sergio Morancy 119
team logo Gardner-Webb
@ team logo Western Illinois
WESTIL 45 , G-WEBB 28 Nathan Lamb 352 Torrance Farmer Jr. 58 Matthew Henry 210
team logo Ball State BGSU 38 , BALLST 13 Connor Bazelak 255 Terion Stewart 32 Harold Fannin Jr. 125
team logo North Alabama
@ team logo Eastern Kentucky
EASTKY 21 , NORTAL 15 TJ Smith 325 Brayden Latham 103 Tanaka Scott 109
team logo Campbell
vs team logo Towson
TOWSON 45 , CAMP 23 Sean Brown 156 Devin Matthews 134 Sincere Brown 64
team logo Middle Tennessee NMST 36 , MIDDTN 21 Nicholas Vattiato 277 Seth McGowan 83 Seth McGowan 96
team logo James Madison APP 34 , JMU 20 Alonza Barnett III 232 Ahmani Marshall 108 Makai Jackson 162
team logo Eastern Washington
@ team logo Northern Arizona
NOARI 30 , EASTWA 18 Ty Pennington 312 Seth Cromwell 112 Kolbe Katsis 130
team logo Cal Poly
@ team logo Weber State
WEB 28 , CALPLY 17 Richie Munoz 191 Adrian Cormier 138 Michael Briscoe 94
team logo Utah Tech
@ team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 37 , UTAHTE 34 Reggie Graff 386 Targhee Lambson 164 Eni Falayi 133
team logo Louisiana-Monroe ARKST 28 , UL-MON 21 Jaylen Raynor 170 Ahmad Hardy 204 Courtney Jackson 69
team logo Southern Miss USA 35 , SOUMIS 14 Gio Lopez 193 Rodrigues Clark 115 Jamaal Pritchett 102
team logo Arizona TCU 49 , ARI 28 Noah Fifita 284 Savion Williams 80 Tetairoa McMillan 115
team logo Prairie View A&M
@ team logo Alabama State
ALST 9 , PVA&M 6 Jaden Johnson 122 Daquon Kincey 93 Ajai Harrell 45
team logo Samford
vs team logo Western Carolina
WCU 47 , SAM 42 Taron Dickens 408 Quincy Crittendon 209 AJ Colombo 116
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
vs team logo Texas Southern
TXSO 31 , ARK-PB 23 Jace Wilson 169 Quintell Quinn 154 Trenton Leary 78
team logo Central Arkansas
@ team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 39 , CENARK 14 Victor Gabalis 245 Kayvon Britten 154 Darius Cooper 110
team logo Alcorn State
vs team logo Jackson State
JKST 48 , ALC 10 Jacobian Morgan 211 Jacorian Sewell 119 Joanes Fortilien 91
team logo Northwestern State
@ team logo Houston Christian
HOUCHR 62 , NWST 24 Cutter Stewart 296 Calvin Hill 109 AJ Wilson 123
team logo Lindenwood
@ team logo UT Martin
TN-MAR 33 , LINDEN 26 Nate Glantz 327 Patrick Smith 80 Trevonte Rucker 87
team logo Missouri State
vs team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 45 , MOSTU 9 Mark Gronowski 258 Amar Johnson 58 Griffin Wilde 139
team logo Abilene Christian
@ team logo Stephen F. Austin
SFA 32 , ABICHR 19 Gavin Rutherford 260 Qualan Jones 62 Nehemiah Martinez I 127
team logo Florida Atlantic CHAR 39 , FLAATL 27 Deshawn Purdie 396 CJ Campbell Jr. 150 O'Mega Blake 205
team logo FIU KENNST 27 , FIU 26 Keyone Jenkins 204 Devonte Lyons 99 Eric Rivers 125
team logo Furman
@ team logo Mercer
MERC 49 , FURMAN 23 Whitt Newbauer 257 Dwayne McGee 74 Adjatay Dabbs 181
team logo Stanford CAL 24 , STAN 21 Fernando Mendoza 299 Ashton Daniels 63 Trond Grizzell 70
team logo San Diego State USU 41 , SDSU 20 Danny O'Neil 199 Bryson Barnes 193 Louis Brown IV 114
team logo BYU ASU 28 , BYU 23 Jake Retzlaff 297 Cam Skattebo 147 Jordyn Tyson 125
team logo North Texas ECU 40 , UNT 28 Katin Houser 293 Rahjai Harris 128 Anthony Smith 116
team logo Kentucky TEX 31 , UK 14 Quinn Ewers 191 Quintrevion Wisner 158 Matthew Golden 86
team logo Colorado KU 37 , CU 21 Shedeur Sanders 267 Devin Neal 207 Travis Hunter 125
team logo Oklahoma State TTU 56 , OKST 48 Behren Morton 404 Ollie Gordon II 156 De'Zhaun Stribling 135
team logo Minnesota PSU 26 , MINN 25 Drew Allar 244 Nicholas Singleton 63 Tyler Warren 102
team logo Wisconsin NEB 44 , WISC 25 Dylan Raiola 293 Emmett Johnson 113 Vinny Anthony II 137
team logo Tulsa USF 63 , TLSA 30 Bryce Archie 305 Kelley Joiner 131 Joseph Williams 126
team logo Coastal Carolina GASO 26 , COASTC 6 JC French 294 Braydon Bennett 138 Derwin Burgess Jr. 98
team logo UCF WVU 31 , UCF 21 Dylan Rizk 172 RJ Harvey 130 Hudson Clement 81
team logo Citadel CLEM 51 , CIT 14 Cade Klubnik 198 Jay Haynes 118 Javonte Graves-Billips 90
team logo Northwestern MICH 50 , NW 6 Davis Warren 195 Kalel Mullings 92 Bryce Kirtz 67
team logo Bethune-Cookman
vs team logo Florida A&M
FLAA&M 41 , B-C 38 Cam'Ron Ransom 196 Thad Franklin Jr. 195 Maleek Huggins 177
team logo Northern Colorado
@ team logo Portland State
PORST 45 , NORCOL 13 Kaiden Box 221 Quincy Craig 137 Carver Cheeks 94
team logo Louisiana Tech ARK 35 , LATECH 14 Taylen Green 221 Rashod Dubinion 112 Andrew Armstrong 81
team logo Wofford SCAR 56 , WOF 12 LaNorris Sellers 307 Raheim Sanders 72 Kyle Watkins 133
team logo Pittsburgh LOU 37 , PITT 9 Tyler Shough 293 Isaac Brown 93 Chris Bell 101
team logo Mississippi State MIZZOU 39 , MSST 20 Brady Cook 268 Davon Booth 124 Luther Burden III 91
team logo Southeast Missouri State
@ team logo Tennessee State
TENNST 28 , SEMO 21 Paxton DeLaurent 233 Jaden McGill 73 CJ Evans 107
team logo Sacramento State
vs team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 42 , SAC 39 Miles Hastings 398 Lan Larison 148 Samuel Gbatu Jr. 143
team logo Troy UL-LAF 51 , TROY 30 Chandler Fields 323 Damien Taylor 67 Lance LeGendre 109
team logo Idaho State
vs team logo Idaho
IDAHO 40 , IDAST 17 Kobe Tracy 249 Nate Thomas 171 Jordan Dwyer 134
team logo Washington State ORST 41 , WSU 38 Ben Gulbranson 294 Anthony Hankerson 83 Trent Walker 136
team logo Wyoming BOISE 17 , WYO 13 Maddux Madsen 168 Ashton Jeanty 169 Jaylen Sargent 86
team logo Texas State GAST 52 , TXST 44 Jordan McCloud 302 Freddie Brock 133 Jaden Williams 91
team logo Houston BAYLOR 20 , HOU 10 Sawyer Robertson 204 Bryson Washington 113 Michael Trigg 96
team logo Army West Point ND 49 , ARMY 14 Riley Leonard 148 Bryson Daily 139 Jordan Faison 46
team logo Utah IAST 31 , UTAH 28 Rocco Becht 256 Carson Hansen 57 Jayden Higgins 155
team logo Texas A&M AUBURN 43 , TEXA&M 41 Payton Thorne 301 Jarquez Hunter 130 Cam Coleman 128
team logo Alabama OKLA 24 , BAMA 3 Jalen Milroe 164 Jackson Arnold 131 Germie Bernard 60
team logo Old Dominion MARSH 42 , ODU 35 Colton Joseph 229 Colton Joseph 158 Isiah Paige 103
team logo Vanderbilt LSU 24 , VANDY 17 Garrett Nussmeier 332 Josh Williams 90 Kyren Lacy 85
team logo Cincinnati KSU 41 , CIN 15 Brendan Sorsby 200 DJ Giddens 143 Tre Spivey 63
team logo McNeese
vs team logo Lamar
LAMAR 26 , MCNE 24 Alex Flores 256 RJ Carver 122 Jer'Michael Carter 77
team logo Virginia Tech DUKE 31 , VATECH 28 Maalik Murphy 332 Bhayshul Tuten 84 Eli Pancol 188
team logo Nevada AF 22 , NEVADA 19 Brendon Lewis 268 Owen Allen 107 Cortez Braham Jr. 123
team logo Colorado State FRES 28 , CSU 22 Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi 303 Bryson Donelson 140 Jamari Person 126
team logo UCLA USC 19 , UCLA 13 Ethan Garbers 265 T.J. Harden 98 J.Michael Sturdivant 117

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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