College Football Schedule 2024-25
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northwestern State | USA 87 , NWST 10 | Gio Lopez 257 | Fluff Bothwell 143 | Myles Kitt-Denton 80 | |
Texas State | ASU 31 , TXST 28 | Jordan McCloud 268 | Ismail Mahdi 68 | Jordyn Tyson 120 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas |
vs
UNLV
|
UNLV 23 , KU 20 | Jalon Daniels 153 | Matthew Sluka 124 | Lawrence Arnold 58 |
Arizona | KSU 31 , ARI 7 | Noah Fifita 268 | Avery Johnson 110 | Tetairoa McMillan 138 |
MATCHUP | RESULT | HI PASS | HI RUSH | HI REC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Texas | TTU 66 , UNT 21 | Behren Morton 273 | Tahj Brooks 109 | Miles Coleman 75 | |
Tulsa | OKST 45 , TLSA 10 | Alan Bowman 396 | Trent Howland 53 | De'Zhaun Stribling 174 | |
Wisconsin |
vs
Alabama
|
BAMA 42 , WISC 10 | Jalen Milroe 196 | Jalen Milroe 75 | Will Pauling 83 |
Central Michigan |
@
Illinois
|
ILL 30 , CMU 9 | Luke Altmyer 242 | Josh McCray 54 | Pat Bryant 102 |
Florida State |
vs
Memphis
|
MEM 20 , FSU 12 | Seth Henigan 272 | Mario Anderson Jr. 32 | Malik Benson 99 |
South Carolina |
vs
LSU
|
LSU 36 , SCAR 33 | Garrett Nussmeier 285 | Raheim Sanders 143 | Aaron Anderson 96 |
Arkansas State |
@
Michigan
|
MICH 28 , ARKST 18 | Jaylen Raynor 140 | Kalel Mullings 153 | Reginald Harden Jr. 52 |
Miami (OH) |
vs
Cincinnati
|
CIN 27 , MIA-OH 16 | Brett Gabbert 339 | Corey Kiner 126 | Cade McDonald 135 |
Louisiana Tech | NCSU 30 , LATECH 20 | Jack Turner 281 | Kendrick Raphael 63 | Tru Edwards 148 | |
Saint Francis U |
vs
Central Connecticut State
|
CENTCT 27 , STF-PA 20 | Brady Olson 163 | DeMarcus McElroy 124 | Michael Plaskon 53 |
LIU |
vs
Lehigh
|
LEHIGH 20 , LIU 17 | Luca Stanzani 154 | Luke Yoder 94 | Cory Nichols 54 |
Mercyhurst |
@
Robert Morris
|
RMOR 55 , MERCYH 28 | Anthony Chiccitt 307 | Tyvon Edmonds Jr. 133 | Noah Robinson 116 |
Marist |
@
Lafayette
|
LAF 56 , MARIST 14 | Dean DeNobile 241 | Jamar Curtis 88 | Elijah Steward 102 |
Boston College |
@
Missouri
|
MIZZOU 27 , BC 21 | Brady Cook 264 | Nate Noel 121 | Luther Burden III 117 |
Western Illinois |
@
Illinois State
|
ILLST 51 , WESTIL 34 | Nathan Lamb 269 | Wenkers Wright 106 | Matthew Henry 124 |
Massachusetts |
@
Buffalo
|
BUFF 34 , UMASS 3 | C.J. Ogbonna 185 | Lamar Sperling 86 | Jacquon Gibson 58 |
Georgetown |
@
Sacred Heart
|
SHEART 40 , GTOWN 14 | John Michalski 209 | Xavier Leigh 112 | Cam Pygatt 74 |
North Carolina A&T |
vs
Delaware
|
DEL 42 , NCA&T 13 | Ryan O'Connor 325 | Ryan O'Connor 47 | Phil Lutz 95 |
Fordham |
vs
Stony Brook
|
STNYBR 27 , FORD 21 | Malachi Marshall 268 | Julius Loughridge 99 | RJ Lamarre 96 |
Idaho State |
@
North Dakota
|
NORDAK 52 , IDAST 28 | Simon Romfo 287 | Hunter Hays 66 | Bo Belquist 165 |
Temple | COASTC 28 , TEM 20 | Evan Simon 185 | Ethan Vasko 92 | Dante Wright 99 | |
Stetson |
@
Furman
|
FURMAN 48 , STET 7 | Trey Hedden 267 | Gavin Hall 72 | Joshua Harris 164 |
Youngstown State |
vs
Duquesne
|
DUQ 28 , YSU 25 | Beau Brungard 193 | JaMario Clements 204 | Max Tomczak 62 |
Charleston Southern |
@
Richmond
|
RICH 38 , CHSOU 0 | Kyle Wickersham 128 | Zach Palmer-Smith 80 | Nick DeGennaro 71 |
Bryant |
vs
Holy Cross
|
HOLYCR 43 , BRYANT 22 | Jarrett Guest 259 | Jayden Clerveaux 104 | Landon Ruggieri 83 |
Morehead State |
@
Montana
|
MONT 59 , MOR 2 | Logan Fife 87 | Malae Fonoti 176 | Keelan White 40 |
Delaware State |
vs
Wagner
|
WAGNER 30 , DELST 7 | Jake Cady 202 | Rickey Spruill 143 | Jaylen Bonelli 117 |
Oregon State |
vs
Oregon
|
ORE 49 , ORST 14 | Dillon Gabriel 291 | Jordan James 86 | Tez Johnson 110 |
Washington | WSU 24 , UW 19 | Will Rogers 314 | Jonah Coleman 75 | Giles Jackson 162 | |
Tulane |
@
Oklahoma
|
OKLA 34 , TULN 19 | Jackson Arnold 169 | Jackson Arnold 97 | Deion Burks 80 |
Nevada | MINN 27 , NEVADA 0 | Max Brosmer 191 | Darius Taylor 124 | Daniel Jackson 61 | |
Florida |
vs
Texas A&M
|
TEXA&M 33 , FLA 20 | Graham Mertz 195 | Le'Veon Moss 110 | Elijhah Badger 94 |
West Virginia | PITT 38 , WVU 34 | Eli Holstein 301 | CJ Donaldson Jr. 79 | Kenny Johnson 79 | |
Ball State | MIA-FL 62 , BALLST 0 | Cam Ward 346 | Ajay Allen 104 | Jacolby George 109 | |
Morgan State |
@
Ohio
|
OHIO 21 , MORGST 6 | Parker Navarro 162 | Anthony Tyus III 90 | Coleman Owen 112 |
VMI | GT 59 , VMI 7 | Haynes King 275 | Trelain Maddox 53 | Eric Singleton Jr. 102 | |
Prairie View A&M | MSU 40 , PVA&M 0 | Aidan Chiles 173 | Nate Carter 91 | Trejon Spiller 91 | |
Purdue |
vs
Notre Dame
|
ND 66 , PUR 7 | Hudson Card 124 | Jeremiyah Love 109 | Kam Brown 52 |
Maine |
vs
Monmouth
|
MONM 51 , MAINE 22 | Derek Robertson 390 | Rodney Nelson 91 | Josh Derry 227 |
Towson |
@
Villanova
|
VILL 14 , TOWSON 13 | Sean Brown 233 | Isaiah Ragland 141 | Carter Runyon 88 |
South Dakota |
@
Portland State
|
Postponed | |||
Albany |
@
Idaho
|
IDAHO 41 , ALBANY 13 | Myles Burkett 290 | Nate Thomas 75 | Levi Wentz 114 |
Northern Colorado |
vs
Abilene Christian
|
ABICHR 24 , NORCOL 22 | Maverick McIvor 229 | Darius Stewart 132 | Javon Gipson 102 |
Troy |
@
Iowa
|
IOWA 38 , TROY 21 | Cade McNamara 176 | Kaleb Johnson 173 | Devonte Ross 142 |
East Carolina | APP 21 , ECU 19 | Joey Aguilar 424 | Rahjai Harris 87 | Kaedin Robinson 129 | |
Norfolk State |
vs
Hampton
|
HAMP 37 , NOR 7 | Chris Zellous 185 | Elijah Burris 77 | Brennan Ridley 53 |
UAB |
@
Arkansas
|
ARK 37 , UAB 27 | Jacob Zeno 235 | Ja'Quinden Jackson 147 | Andrew Armstrong 137 |
Utah State |
vs
Utah
|
UTAH 38 , USU 21 | Isaac Wilson 239 | Micah Bernard 123 | Otto Tia 78 |
ETSU |
vs
North Dakota State
|
NDAKST 38 , EASTTN 35 | Cam Miller 250 | Bryson Irby 147 | Cameron Lewis 73 |
Gardner-Webb | CHAR 27 , G-WEBB 26 | Tyler Ridell 340 | Hahsaun Wilson 52 | Anthony Lowe 122 | |
FIU | FLAATL 38 , FIU 20 | Keyone Jenkins 281 | Zuberi Mobley 134 | Eric Rivers 101 | |
South Carolina State | GASO 42 , SCST 14 | JC French 211 | Eric Phoenix 63 | Caden High 81 | |
Old Dominion | VATECH 37 , ODU 17 | Kyron Drones 176 | Kyron Drones 117 | Jaylin Lane 106 | |
Colgate |
@
Akron
|
AKRON 31 , COLG 20 | Ben Finley 358 | Michael Brescia 60 | Adrian Norton 125 |
Connecticut |
@
Duke
|
DUKE 26 , UCONN 21 | Maalik Murphy 267 | Star Thomas 122 | Que'Sean Brown 87 |
North Carolina Central | UNC 45 , NCCENT 10 | Jacolby Criswell 161 | Omarion Hampton 210 | John Copenhaver 60 | |
UTEP |
@
Liberty
|
LIB 28 , UTEP 10 | Skyler Locklear 244 | Billy Lucas 104 | Treon Sibley 77 |
Bucknell |
vs
Merrimack
|
MERRIM 31 , BUCK 21 | Ayden Pereira 147 | Jermaine Corbett 166 | Eric Weatherly 77 |
Chattanooga |
vs
Mercer
|
MERC 10 , CHAT 3 | Chase Artopoeus 259 | Dwayne McGee 86 | Chris Domercant 115 |
Elon |
vs
Western Carolina
|
WCU 24 , ELON 17 | Matthew Downing 285 | TJ Thomas Jr. 101 | Calvin Jones 98 |
Wofford |
vs
William & Mary
|
W&M 28 , WOF 21 | Amari Odom 230 | Bronson Yoder 142 | Isaiah Scott 119 |
Stonehill |
@
New Hampshire
|
UNH 45 , STONEH 6 | Seth Morgan 387 | Ashur Carraha 71 | Caleb Burke 134 |
Dayton |
@
Indiana State
|
INST 24 , DAYTON 13 | Drew VanVleet 291 | Mason Hackett 46 | Jake Coleman 102 |
Campbell |
@
Rhode Island
|
URI 21 , CAMP 9 | Chad Mascoe Jr. 144 | Malik Grant 47 | Sincere Brown 61 |
West Georgia |
@
Eastern Kentucky
|
EASTKY 26 , WESTGA 7 | Matt Morrissey 277 | Rajaez Mosley 85 | Karmello English 109 |
Wake Forest |
vs
Ole Miss
|
MISS 40 , WAKE 6 | Jaxson Dart 377 | Henry Parrish Jr. 133 | Tre Harris 94 |
Bethune-Cookman | WESTMI 59 , B-C 31 | Hayden Wolff 305 | Jaden Nixon 189 | Anthony Sambucci 103 | |
Kennesaw State | SJSU 31 , KENNST 10 | Emmett Brown 355 | Jabari Bates 61 | Nick Nash 225 | |
Southern Miss | USF 49 , SOUMIS 24 | Byrum Brown 193 | Kelley Joiner 117 | Tiaquelin Mims 128 | |
UTSA |
@
Texas
|
TEX 56 , TX-SA 7 | Arch Manning 223 | Jerrick Gibson 75 | Ryan Wingo 127 |
Hawaii | SAMHOU 31 , HAWAII 13 | Brayden Schager 252 | Jay Ducker 148 | Qua'Vez Humphreys 106 | |
Middle Tennessee | WESTKY 49 , MIDDTN 21 | Nicholas Vattiato 456 | L.T. Sanders 54 | Omari Kelly 239 | |
North Alabama |
@
UT Martin
|
TN-MAR 43 , NORTAL 28 | Kaiya Sheron 170 | Patrick Smith 123 | Takairee Kenebrew 173 |
Mississippi Valley State |
@
Murray State
|
MUR 59 , MSVL 8 | Jayden Johannsen 169 | Kywon Morgan 73 | Justice Hill 62 |
UIW |
@
Southern Illinois
|
SIU 35 , INCWOR 28 | Zach Calzada 366 | DJ Williams 79 | Keontez Lewis 148 |
Alabama State |
@
Samford
|
SAM 12 , ALST 7 | Quincy Crittendon 185 | Damonta Witherspoon 126 | Iaan Cousin 75 |
East Texas A&M |
vs
Grambling State
|
GRAM 35 , ETA&M 28 | Ron Peace 152 | BK Jackson 149 | Christian Jourdain 57 |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
@
Tennessee State
|
TENNST 41 , ARK-PB 28 | Mekhi Hagens 276 | CJ Evans 63 | JaVonnie Gibson 149 |
Southern University |
@
Jackson State
|
JKST 33 , SOU 15 | Noah Bodden 352 | Irv Mulligan 51 | Darren Morris 86 |
Austin Peay |
@
Central Arkansas
|
CENARK 45 , APSU 17 | Austin Smith 159 | ShunDerrick Powell 173 | Manny Smith 54 |
Lindenwood |
@
Missouri State
|
MOSTU 28 , LINDEN 14 | Jacob Clark 302 | Jacardia Wright 143 | Jeff Caldwell 137 |
Eastern Washington |
@
Southeastern Louisiana
|
SELA 28 , EASTWA 24 | Kekoa Visperas 243 | Antonio Martin Jr. 149 | Efton Chism III 83 |
Weber State |
@
Lamar
|
LAMAR 17 , WEB 16 | Richie Munoz 184 | Khalan Griffin 91 | Jacob Sharp 81 |
Vanderbilt | GAST 36 , VANDY 32 | Diego Pavia 270 | Freddie Brock 96 | Ted Hurst 128 | |
Jacksonville State | EASTMI 37 , JACST 34 | Tyler Huff 311 | Elijah Jackson-Anderson 87 | Cam Vaughn 94 | |
UCLA |
vs
Indiana
|
IU 42 , UCLA 13 | Kurtis Rourke 307 | T.J. Harden 48 | Miles Cross 90 |
Colorado State |
vs
Colorado
|
CU 28 , CSU 9 | Shedeur Sanders 310 | Avery Morrow 67 | Travis Hunter 100 |
Air Force |
@
Baylor
|
BAYLOR 31 , AF 3 | Sawyer Robertson 248 | Bryson Washington 106 | Ashtyn Hawkins 81 |
New Mexico |
@
Auburn
|
AUBURN 45 , NM 19 | Devon Dampier 291 | Jarquez Hunter 152 | Ryan Davis 100 |
Mississippi State |
vs
Toledo
|
TOL 41 , MSST 17 | Blake Shapen 319 | Willie Shaw III 62 | Kevin Coleman Jr. 77 |
TCU |
vs
UCF
|
UCF 35 , TCU 34 | Josh Hoover 402 | RJ Harvey 180 | Jack Bech 200 |
Eastern Illinois | NW 31 , EASTIL 7 | Jack Lausch 227 | Cam Porter 77 | A.J. Henning 117 | |
UNI |
@
Nebraska
|
NEB 34 , UNI 3 | Dylan Raiola 247 | Dante Dowdell 55 | Jaylen Lloyd 59 |
Kentucky |
vs
Georgia
|
UGA 13 , UK 12 | Carson Beck 160 | Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 98 | Dominic Lovett 89 |
Kent State | TENN 71 , KENTST 0 | Nico Iamaleava 173 | DeSean Bishop 120 | Dont'e Thornton Jr. 64 | |
Southern Utah |
vs
UC Davis
|
UCDAV 24 , SOUT 21 | Miles Hastings 266 | Targhee Lambson 149 | Lan Larison 92 |
Rice |
@
Houston
|
HOU 33 , RICE 7 | Donovan Smith 142 | Stacy Sneed 82 | Stephon Johnson 44 |
Stephen F. Austin |
@
McNeese
|
MCNE 28 , SFA 24 | Clifton McDowell 313 | Qualan Jones 155 | Isaiah Davis 87 |
Virginia |
vs
Maryland
|
MD 27 , UVA 13 | Billy Edwards Jr. 263 | Nolan Ray 53 | Tai Felton 117 |
Nicholls |
@
Sacramento State
|
SAC 34 , NICH 7 | Carson Conklin 264 | Elijah Tau-Tolliver 111 | Danny Scudero 102 |
Wyoming |
vs
BYU
|
BYU 34 , WYO 14 | Jake Retzlaff 291 | Jake Retzlaff 62 | Chase Roberts 129 |
Utah Tech |
vs
Northern Arizona
|
NOARI 45 , UTAHTE 17 | Ty Pennington 123 | Darvon Hubbard 130 | Ta'ir Brooks 76 |
New Mexico State | FRES 48 , NMST 0 | Mikey Keene 221 | Malik Sherrod 113 | Mac Dalena 82 | |
San Diego State | CAL 31 , SDSU 10 | Fernando Mendoza 198 | Jaivian Thomas 169 | Jordan Napier 53 |
All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone.
College Football Schedule
The United States probably has the biggest following with respect to any college sport in the world. In fact, there are plenty of people in America who are not as gung ho about the professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. as they are about the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) sports. There could be several reasons for this but the one thing that stands out is the passion individuals have for their school and the respective college team.
The college football season typically starts from the end of August to the early part of January. Teams generally play anywhere between 8 to 12 games a year. They play an equal number of home and away games throughout the season but the scheduling process is quite complex to understand.
Understanding how the NCAA runs college football games can be quite confusing. The NCAA for instance does not control all aspects of college football games. It only has control over the rules and compliances on the field, apart from that everything else including the money and the tournaments is managed by the respective conferences of college football.
NCAA Football Conferences
The NCAA football constitutes first and foremost of four divisions which are Division 1 FBS, Division 1 FCS, Division 2, and Division 3. Most of the college football teams belong to either one of these divisions. Although not everything is set in stone, it is generally considered that playing college football for a Division 1 school will get you the maximum chance of going professional in the future.
We will check out only the Division 1 FBS in this article as it is the most important one and really the only one that matters. FBS stands for Football Bowl Subdivision and within this division, we have a total of 10 different conferences. The four teams of Notre Dame, Brigham Young University, Army, and Navy do not belong to any of the conferences despite being in the FBS.
Out of these ten, there are five conferences known as the Power Five Conferences, which are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The remaining five conferences which are at times referred to as the Non-Power Five (Group of 5) Conferences are the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA Conference, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).
NCAA Football Schedule Process
This is where things start getting tricky because every conference in college football has its individual freedom. That means all conferences have the autonomy to create their own schedules, but it is not as simple as just assigning two teams to play each other within their own conference.
Every conference has its own set of rules and guidelines which they use to schedule games. In addition to that, some conferences have more pull than others thereby directly impacting which teams get to play the best games. To create one national schedule from this is one tough ask.
It may come as a surprise that in today's day and age when the simplest of simple things are done with the help of an algorithm run by software, that college football schedules are drawn up by speaking to one another and agreeing to terms. The conference officials and the athletic directors all must come together and work out a possible schedule that works for everyone and which also allots an equal number of home and away games to each team.
There are three main factors which go into consideration during the scheduling of college football games. They are conference scheduling, non-conference scheduling, and TV broadcasting.
Conference scheduling
Since each conference has its own method of scheduling games, the process remains unique to all conferences. Generally, all the schools will play the other schools within their conference at least once a year. The Power Five conferences also play a few cross-divisional games in addition to their conference games.
Non-conference scheduling
These are the games that each team needs to play outside of their own conference against other teams. As each team must figure out with whom they will play and when and where, this can get a bit complicated, especially for the smaller school.
Power Five teams will normally play one or two non-conference games with other Power Five conferences as well as one or two games with teams from Group of Five conferences. Since the reward is greater for Group of Five teams when they go up against the Power Five competition, teams from the former conferences will generally try to play more games with the latter. In doing so, Group of Five teams will get a significantly more amount of revenue.
TV Broadcasting
The third factor that goes into scheduling college football games is that of TV broadcasting. This is because all top networks want to show the best possible games at the best time slots on their respective networks. Therefore, many times the TV networks will also have a say in the scheduling matters and may request any changes or modifications as they see fit.
Power 5 and Group of 5 Conferences
Typically, the best of the best teams are all in the Power 5 conferences. They are the ones who receive the maximum media attention, the maximum revenue, and boast of the maximum fan following as well. The teams in these conferences have a long-standing history of winning and producing the best talent that will carry forward to the professional league.
Each conference in the Power Five has its own rules for scheduling and not all conferences play the same number of games within their own conference. For example, teams in the Big Ten conference will play nine conference games and three non-conference games, but the same is not the case with the SEC as they play only eight conference games and four non-conference games.
However, a lot of mixing up and shaking up of the conferences and their rules keep taking place and therefore not everything can be attributed to a permanent way of functioning. For instance, some teams are looking to jump from one conference to another while some conferences that are playing eight inter-conference games want to move to nine.
Therefore, for the various conferences to make their schedules, a lot of attention must be given to all the guidelines and a committee needs to monitor all the intricacies such as the competitive balance between the teams, broadcast terms and conditions, an equal number of home and away games, and more.
As for the Group of Five conferences, most of them will play eight inter-conference games and four non-conference games. The same level of thought process must go into making the schedule for these conferences as well. But one disadvantage for the Group of 5 teams is that they must strive harder to get a matchup with some of the Power 5 teams.
Conference Scheduling
Since all conferences have their unique ways of creating a schedule, not all teams will play each other from their respective conference on an annual basis. Such a case arises because there are a greater number of teams in conferences than the number of games a team can play. Therefore, each conference needs to resort to a rotation-based design to ensure that teams will play each other once every few years.
For example, if we look at the Big 12 conference, it has a total of ten teams. This conference plays 9 conference and 1 non-conference game throughout the season. Thus, as per the rotation policy, each team will play all other teams in the conference at least once in two years.
Taking the example of the SEC, which is probably the most popular conference today, it has fourteen teams within the conference and it is also subdivided into two divisions, namely: the East and the West. Each team will play a total of eight conference games out of which six are from their own division and the other two are from the other division. This conference also has 1 permanent rival for each team and it rotates the other seven conference games every year.
Non-Conference Scheduling
Scheduling the non-conference games does not require any rotational policy as teams are free to select their opponents mutually. However, teams will want to play games against top-quality opposition to ensure they remain at a high level when they play their conference games. Also, the Group of 5 conference teams can take this opportunity to not only see where they are in terms of performance with the top tier teams, but they can also generate much more income from these games as more media and revenue are associated with the Power 5 teams.
When it comes to non-conference scheduling, there are many teams that have created matchups with one another years in advance. This is done as careful planning is required to generate proper revenue for home games and to maintain steady competition. Teams will alternate between easy and difficult games every other year as a way of balancing out their schedules.
FBS Power 5 Conferences
ACC Scheduling
From 2023, the ACC will play their games with the newly introduced 3-5-5 format. That means that each team will play three of their rivals on a permanent basis which leaves ten teams. These ten teams will be separated into two groups of five and they will be flipped every other year. Therefore, within the conference the ACC will play eight teams and then they will play a further four teams outside of their conference as well.
As of 2023, the ACC consists of 14 schools in the conference which are as follows:
- Boston College Eagles
- Clemson Tigers
- Duke Blue Devils
- Florida State Seminoles
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- Louisville Cardinals
- Miami Hurricanes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- North Carolina State Wolfpack
- Pittsburgh Panthers
- Syracuse Orange
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The permanent matchups for the ACC teams are as below:
University | Rival 1 | Rival 2 | Rival 3 |
Boston College | Miami | Pittsburgh | Syracuse |
Clemson | Florida State | Georgia Tech | NC State |
Duke | North Carolina | NC State | Wake Forest |
Florida State | Clemson | Miami | Syracuse |
Georgia Tech | Clemson | Louisville | Wake Forest |
Louisville | Georgia Tech | Miami | Virginia |
Miami | Boston College | Florida State | Louisville |
North Carolina | Duke | NC State | Virginia |
NC State | Clemson | Duke | North Carolina |
Pittsburgh | Boston College | Syracuse | Virginia Tech |
Syracuse | Boston College | Florida State | Pittsburgh |
Virginia | Louisville | North Carolina | Virginia Tech |
Virginia Tech | Pittsburgh | Virginia | Wake Forest |
Wake Forest | Duke | Georgia Tech | Virginia Tech |
Big 10 Scheduling
The Big 10 which is divided into the East and West division follows a nine game conference schedule. Seven teams are placed in both divisions based upon their locality. The Big 10 schedules six divisional games and three cross divisional games. The Indiana and Perdue game is an annual cross division game which is a permanent fixture. Apart from this, each team will face three non-conference teams as well.
As of 2023, the Big Ten’s two divisions and their respective teams are as follows:
East | West |
Ohio State Buckeyes | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Iowa Hawkeyes |
Maryland Terrapins | Wisconsin Badgers |
Michigan Wolverines | Illinois Fighting Illini |
Michigan St. Spartans | Purdue Boilermakers |
Penn St. Nittany Lions | Northwestern Wildcats |
Indiana Hoosiers | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
Big 12 Scheduling
The Big 12’s current scheduling system is a 14 team round robin event. Upon its conclusion, the top two teams in the conference will fight it out in the Championship game to declare the eventual winner of the conference.
The current teams playing in the Big 12 conference are:
- BYU Cougars
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Houston Cougars
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Texas Longhorns
- UCF Knights
- Baylor Bears
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- West Virginia Mountaineers
PAC-12 Scheduling
The PAC-12 which once followed divisions of two has done away with them and now hold a round robin system similar to that of the Big 12. Once the season comes to an end the top two teams in the conference will play the Championship game.
The PAC-12 football conference is made up of the following teams:
- USC Trojans
- Arizona Wildcats
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- California Golden Bears
- Colorado Buffaloes
- Oregon Ducks
- Oregon State Beavers
- Stanford Cardinal
- UCLA Bruins
- Utah Utes
- Washington Huskies
- Washington State Cougars
SEC Scheduling
Considered by many to be the best conference in college football at least since the past few years, the SEC operates in a division format with two divisions of seven teams each. However, with more teams joining next year, it is expected that the current system will undergo a change to better accommodate the expansion of the conference. At present though, each team within the conference plays eight conference games.
From the division itself, each team plays all the other six teams every year. Then, each team has a permanent cross division rival for the seventh game and the eighth game is a cross divisional rotation.
The SECs permanent cross-divisional matchups are:
- Alabama vs. Tennessee
- Arkansas vs. Missouri
- Auburn vs. Georgia
- LSU vs. Florida
- Mississippi State vs. Kentucky
- Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt
- Texas A&M vs. South Carolina.
The teams participating in the SEC conference as of 2023 are:
East | West |
Vanderbilt Commodores | Alabama Crimson Tide |
Georgia Bulldogs | Arkansas Razorbacks |
Kentucky Wildcats | Auburn Tigers |
Missouri Tigers | Ole Miss Rebels |
Tennessee Volunteers | Mississippi State Bulldogs |
Florida Gators | TexasA&M Aggies |
South Carolina Gamecocks | LSU Tigers |
FBS Group of Five Conferences
AAC Scheduling
The AAC scheduling system has just recently undergone a change which is expected to be continued till 2026. Featuring a conference of 14 teams, each team is set to play 8 conference games. As per this schedule, each team within the conference will face every other team twice in a period of four years getting one home game and one away game respectively. The ACC has also included six annual matchups which are as follows:
- North Texas vs. SMU
- UAB vs. Memphis
- Rice vs. UTSA
- Charlotte vs. East Carolina
- Florida Atlantic vs. South Florida
- Navy vs. Temple
The 14 members of the AAC are as follows:
- Memphis Tigers
- Charlotte 49ers
- Florida Atlantic Owls
- Navy Midshipmen
- Rice Owls
- SMU Mustangs
- South Florida Bulls
- Temple Owls
- Tulane Green Wave
- Tulsa Golden Hurricane
- UAB Blazers
- UTSA Roadrunners
- East Carolina Pirates
- North Texas Mean Green
C-USA Scheduling
This conference has been quite unstable since its formation. Several teams have left to join different conferences while new teams are making their way to the C-USA. This conference is set to expand further by next year making it one of the most unpredictable conferences in college football. As a result, the current schedule is in place only for the 2023 season and is expected to undergo some type of modification before the 2024 season. As for now, all nine teams from the conference will play each other in a round robin format.
The nine teams which make up the C-USA conference are:
- Liberty Flames
- Jacksonville State Gamecocks
- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
- Sam Houston Bearkats
- FIU Panthers
- New Mexico State Aggies
- UTEP Miners
MAC Scheduling
The MAC conference is quite simple as it is divided into divisions featuring six teams each. Teams in this conference are set to play eight conference games which includes five divisional games and three cross divisional games.
The divisions of the MAC are as below:
East | West | |
Ohio Bobcats | Central Michigan Chippewas | |
Akron Zips | Eastern Michigan Eagles | |
Bowling Green Falcons | Northern Illinois Huskies | |
Miami (OH) RedHawks | Toledo Rockets | |
Buffalo Bulls | Western Michigan Broncos | |
Kent State Golden Flashes | Ball State Cardinals |
MWC Scheduling
The MWC has made a change from 2023 onwards. Earlier this conference had a divisional system but now that has been scrapped. The twelve-team conference will play a 2-6 format wherein the 2 games will be against fixed opponents every year. The remaining six games will be rotation based and will be flipped every other year.
The teams making up the Mountain West Conference are:
- Air Force Falcons
- Fresno State Bulldogs
- Wyoming Cowboys
- San Diego State Aztecs
- New Mexico Lobos
- UNLV Rebels
- Utah State Aggies
- Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
- San Jose State Spartans
- Colorado State Rams
- Boise State Broncos
- Nevada Wolf Pack
The two permanent fixtures per team are as below:
University | Rival 1 | Rival 2 |
Air Force | Colorado State | Wyoming |
Boise State | New Mexico | Utah State |
Colorado State | Air Force | Wyoming |
Fresno State | Nevada | San Jose State |
Hawaii | San Diego State | UNLV |
Nevada | Fresno State | UNLV |
New Mexico | Boise State | San Jose State |
San Diego State | Hawaii | Utah State |
San Jose State | Fresno State | New Mexico |
UNLV | Hawaii | Nevada |
Utah State | Boise State | San Diego State |
Wyoming | Air Force | Colorado State |
SBC Scheduling
The SBC conference is another one divided into two divisions of seven teams each. According to their scheduling, each team will play two cross divisional games, one at home and one away. Furthermore, each team will play against all six divisional opponents every year for a total of eight conference games.
The divisions of the SBC conference are as below:
East | West |
Old Dominion Monarchs | Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks |
Georgia Southern Eagles | South Alabama Jaguars |
Georgia State Panthers | Southern Miss Golden Eagles |
James Madison Dukes | Texas State Bobcats |
Marshall Thundering Herd | Troy Trojans |
Appalachian State Mountaineers | Arkansas State Red Wolves |
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns |
Independents (FBS) Scheduling
The Independent programs in college football are very few today with only four of them left. Most of the independent schools from earlier have joined other conferences as they can then earn revenue from television broadcasting. In addition to that, joining a conference makes their scheduling worries easier. However, the independent schools do get more flexibility to schedule their matchups as they are not conference bound. This gives them added advantage in having interesting games throughout the year.
The four independent football schools that are remaining are:
- Army West Point Black Knights
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Connecticut Huskies
- Massachusetts Minutemen
The Army has fixed annual games against the Navy and Air Force. They also have a rivalry game with Notre Dame but it is not on an annual basis and is scheduled quite randomly. As for Notre Dame, they have many long-standing rivalry matchups throughout the year and they also have a deal with the ACC which gives them five games every year.
UConn was earlier part of the AAC but their other sports faced some issues due to which they had to leave the conference in 2020. Nowadays, as their football program is not so strong, many FBS schools play against them in order to fill out their schedules.
FCS Conferences
The conferences in the FCS division of college football are undergoing regular changes with new conferences coming up and teams leaving and joining every passing year. As a result of which the scheduling format for these conferences keep on changing and information pertaining to the same is scantily available.
Big Sky Scheduling
The Big Sky Conference consists of twelve teams currently. Their schedule from 2022 to 2024 is set at eight league games which comprises two fixed annual opponents and six rotating ones. This new format was put into action to make sure that teams would get to play other teams in the conference more frequently than earlier. Teams have also been afforded the flexibility to choose at least one of their permanent opponents.
The Big Sky’s twelve-member conference is as follows:
- Idaho Vandals
- Montana Grizzlies
- Sacramento State Hornets
- Weber State Wildcats
- Cal Poly Mustangs
- Montana State Bobcats
- UC Davis Aggies
- Eastern Washington Eagles
- Idaho State Bengals
- Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
- Northern Colorado Bears
- Portland State Vikings
Big South Scheduling
The Big South Conference is one of the newest conferences in college football. Initially starting out with nine teams, it has quickly been reduced to only four at present. This conference has decided to merge with the Ohio Valley Conference in 2026 as both conferences do not have sufficient teams. Due to so many ongoing changes, the exact scheduling format for the Big South Conference is not available.
The four teams in the Big South Conference are as below:
- Bryant Bulldogs
- Charleston Southern Buccaneers
- Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
- Robert Morris Colonials
Coastal Athletic Association Conference Scheduling
The CAA conference which consists of fifteen teams has each team playing eight games in the conference. Moreover, each team has been allotted two permanent rivals annually while the remaining six games are on rotation basis. This means each team will play every other team at home and away at least once in eight years.
The fifteen members of the CAA conference are:
- William & Mary Tribe
- Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
- Monmouth Hawks
- Rhode Island Rams
- Villanova Wildcats
- Hampton Pirates
- New Hampshire Wildcats
- Albany Great Danes
- Elon Phoenix
- Maine Black Bears
- North Carolina A&T Aggies
- Richmond Spiders
- Campbell Fighting Camels
- Towson Tigers
- Stony Brook Seawolves
Independents (FCS) Conference Scheduling
In the FCS division of college football, the Kennesaw State Owls are the only team which are playing as an independent conference. The Owls are slowly beginning their transition from the FCS to the FBS as they are moving to Conference USA football conference in 2024.
Ivy League Conference Scheduling
There are a total of eight Ivy League Schools featuring in the college football program. The Ivy League Conference usually starts a little later than the other conferences, mostly near mid-September. These schools play ten games each which include a complete round-robin system where each team plays all the other seven teams. The remaining three games are scheduled against non-conference teams.
Ivy League Conference teams include:
- Dartmouth Big Green
- Harvard Crimson
- Columbia Lions
- Princeton Tigers
- Cornell Big Red
- Penn Quakers
- Yale Bulldogs
- Brown Bears
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Scheduling
The MEAC is a conference consisting of six football teams. As per their schedule for the 2023 season, teams will play non-conference games at the start and the end of the season with conference games being sandwiched in between.
The six participating teams in MEAC are”
- North Carolina Central Eagles
- Howard Bison
- Morgan State Bears
- Norfolk State Spartans
- Delaware State Hornets
- South Carolina State Bulldogs
Missouri Valley Conference Scheduling
The Missouri Valley Conference is one of those which has somewhat of a complex history. It has undergone a couple of name changes over the years as well. This conference uses a simple round robin system to decide the eventual conference champion. The first three weeks are usually reserved for non-conference matchups while the remaining nine weeks are for conference games. Teams are also allowed to make changes to their schedule provided both teams have a written agreement in place.
- Teams participating in this conference currently are:
- Illinois State Redbirds
- North Dakota Fighting Hawks
- North Dakota State Bison
- South Dakota State Jackrabbits
- Southern Illinois Salukis
- Murray State Racers
- South Dakota Coyotes
- Youngstown State Penguins
- Indiana State Sycamores
- Missouri State Bears
- UNI Panthers
- Western Illinois Leathernecks
Northeast Conference Scheduling
The Northeast Conference features eight teams which will all play each other. Each team will get four home games and three away games in the conference. Each team will also play three away non-conference games for the 2023 season.
The eight teams making up the Northeast Conference are:
- Stonehill Skyhawks
- Duquesne Dukes
- LIU Sharks
- Merrimack Warriors
- Sacred Heart Pioneers
- Saint Francis U Red Flash
- Wagner Seahawks
- Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
Ohio Valley Conference Scheduling
The Ohio Valley Conference has joined forces with the Big South Conference as both conferences had lost several teams. Now the two conferences together have a total of ten teams and will play a schedule consisting of six conference games. As prior commitments with teams are still prevalent, more conference games cannot be played currently.
The Ohio Valley Conference teams are:
- Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
- Eastern Illinois Panthers
- Tennessee State Tigers
- UT Martin Skyhawks
- Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
- Lindenwood Lions
Patriot League Conference Scheduling
The Patriot League Conference features seven teams which are as follows:
- Georgetown Hoyas
- Fordham Rams
- Bucknell Bison
- Holy Cross Crusaders
- Lafayette Leopards
- Lehigh Mountain Hawks
- Colgate Raiders
Pioneer League Conference Scheduling
This conference is truly a one-of-a-kind conference given the fact that it has teams from both coasts and many more through the heart of the country. The eleven team conference boasts teams such as:
- Stetson Hatters
- Butler Bulldogs
- Dayton Flyers
- Morehead State Eagles
- Presbyterian Blue Hose
- St. Thomas (MN) Tommies
- Marist Red Foxes
- Davidson Wildcats
- Drake Bulldogs
- San Diego Toreros
- Valparaiso Beacons
Southern Conference Scheduling
The Southern Conference is a nine-team conference which is comprised of the following teams:
- Western Carolina Catamounts
- Mercer Bears
- Chattanooga Mocs
- ETSU Buccaneers
- Furman Paladins
- VMI Keydets
- Citadel Bulldogs
- Wofford Terriers
- Samford Bulldogs
Southland Conference Scheduling
With eight teams featuring in the Southland Conference, each team will play against the other teams in a round-robin format in 2023. This is the first time since 2013 that the round-robin format has been implemented. Apart from these seven games, teams will also play non-conference games.
The Southland Conference is made up of the following eight teams:
- Houston Christian Huskies
- UIW Cardinals
- Lamar Cardinals
- McNeese Cowboys
- Nicholls Colonels
- Northwestern State Demons
- Southeastern Louisiana Lions
- Texas A&M-Commerce Lions
Southwestern Athletic Conference Scheduling
The SWAC has been divided into two divisions and since 2021, it has implemented the following schedule to its football program. Each team will play five divisional and three non-divisional games. Three teams from the other division will be rotated every two years. The team with the best record in the conference will get the chance to host the Championship game.
The two divisions of the SWAC are as follows:
EAST | WEST |
Florida A&M Rattlers | Prairie View A&M Panthers |
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils | Alcorn State Braves |
Alabama A&M Bulldogs | Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions |
Alabama State Hornets | Grambling State Tigers |
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats | Southern University Jaguars |
Jackson State Tigers | Texas Southern Tigers |
United Athletic Conference Scheduling
The United Athletic Conference is a newly formed conference with the merger of two previously independent conferences, namely, the ASUN Conference and the Western Athletic Conference. Having nine teams currently as part of its membership, the UAC will be limited to six conference games for the 2023 season before it switches to a full round-robin system in 2024.
The UAC teams at present include:
- Tarleton State Texans
- Abilene Christian Wildcats
- Central Arkansas Bears
- Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
- Austin Peay Governors
- Eastern Kentucky Colonels
- Southern Utah Thunderbirds
- Utah Tech Trailblazers
- North Alabama Lions
Conclusion
In short, college football scheduling is not the same for each team as it has more flexibility. This is the case because the NCAA does not have a say in scheduling matters which is being handled by the respective conferences. Furthermore, each conference has its own set of rules that it follows to prepare its unique schedule taking into consideration various factors such as home and away games, conference, and non-conference games, and of course the broadcasting terms and conditions.
Sometimes, another issue which crops up during scheduling is the lack of availability of a stadium due to various factors beyond the team’s control. Considering all these factors, the committee members of each conference come out with a schedule which is then overseen by the NCAA.