College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Thursday, September 26, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Temple ARMY 42 , TEM 14 Evan Simon 224 Bryson Daily 152 Dante Wright 98
Friday, September 27, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Virginia Tech MIA-FL 38 , VATECH 34 Cam Ward 343 Bhayshul Tuten 141 Elijah Arroyo 88
team logo Washington RUT 21 , UW 18 Will Rogers 306 Jonah Coleman 148 Denzel Boston 125
Saturday, September 28, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo UAB NAVY 41 , UAB 18 Blake Horvath 225 Blake Horvath 84 Eli Heidenreich 108
team logo South Florida TULN 45 , USF 10 Darian Mensah 326 Makhi Hughes 61 Dontae Fleming 128
team logo Ole Miss UK 20 , MISS 17 Jaxson Dart 261 Henry Parrish Jr. 62 Tre Harris 176
team logo Baylor BYU 34 , BAYLOR 28 Sawyer Robertson 324 Jake Retzlaff 53 Josh Cameron 125
team logo Oklahoma State KSU 42 , OKST 20 Alan Bowman 364 DJ Giddens 187 De'Zhaun Stribling 157
team logo Buffalo UCONN 47 , BUFF 3 Joe Fagnano 217 Cam Edwards 97 Skyler Bell 153
team logo Northern Illinois NCSU 24 , NIU 17 Ethan Hampton 159 Antario Brown 114 Andrew McElroy 58
team logo Western Kentucky BC 21 , WESTKY 20 Caden Veltkamp 232 Elijah Young 85 River Helms 72
team logo Holy Cross SYR 42 , HOLYCR 14 Kyle McCord 385 LeQuint Allen 81 Jackson Meeks 161
team logo Maryland IU 42 , MD 28 Kurtis Rourke 359 Roman Hemby 117 Elijah Sarratt 128
team logo Minnesota MICH 27 , MINN 24 Max Brosmer 258 Kalel Mullings 111 Elijah Spencer 67
team logo Purdue NEB 28 , PUR 10 Dylan Raiola 244 Jacory Barney Jr. 66 Jahmal Banks 82
team logo Harvard
@ team logo Brown
BROWN 31 , HARV 28 Jake Willcox 288 Xaviah Bascon 63 Matt Childs 101
team logo Marist
vs team logo Dayton
DAYTON 47 , MARIST 14 Drew VanVleet 323 Mason Hackett 110 Jake Coleman 114
team logo Lehigh
vs team logo Bucknell
BUCK 38 , LEHIGH 35 Hayden Johnson 200 Luke Yoder 137 Geoffrey Jamiel 136
team logo Columbia
@ team logo Georgetown
GTOWN 20 , COLUM 17 Danny Lauter 292 Malcolm Terry II 59 Jimmy Kibble 164
team logo San Diego
@ team logo Drake
DRAKE 30 , SD 28 Grant Sergent 292 Blake Ellingson 69 Cole Monach 122
team logo Merrimack
vs team logo Dartmouth
DART 16 , MERRIM 14 Jackson Proctor 161 Jermaine Corbett 137 Painter Richards-Baker 75
team logo Valparaiso
@ team logo Morehead State
MOR 17 , VALPO 5 Carter Cravens 132 James Louis 60 Nate Garnett 75
team logo Indiana State
vs team logo Houston Christian
HOUCHR 27 , INST 24 Elijah Owens 131 Plez Lawrence 160 Deuce McMillan 37
team logo Fordham
@ team logo Monmouth
MONM 63 , FORD 21 Derek Robertson 180 Sone Ntoh 136 Gavin Nelson 62
team logo Colgate
@ team logo Penn
PENN 27 , COLG 17 Aidan Sayin 320 Malachi Hosley 131 Treyvhon Saunders 123
team logo Ball State JMU 63 , BALLST 7 Alonza Barnett III 280 Braedon Sloan 72 Taylor Thompson 91
team logo Southern Illinois
@ team logo South Dakota
SOUDAK 42 , SIU 13 Hunter Simmons 306 Travis Theis 147 JJ Galbreath 100
team logo Austin Peay
vs team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 28 , APSU 17 Bronson Barron 243 Targhee Lambson 163 Gabe Nunez 149
team logo Murray State
@ team logo North Dakota
NORDAK 72 , MUR 35 Simon Romfo 276 Isaiah Smith 142 Bo Belquist 121
team logo West Georgia
vs team logo North Alabama
NORTAL 25 , WESTGA 16 TJ Smith 184 Rajaez Mosley 66 Chase Belcher 75
team logo Delaware State
@ team logo Campbell
CAMP 44 , DELST 41 Chad Mascoe Jr. 323 Jaden Sutton 198 Sincere Brown 133
team logo Robert Morris
@ team logo Eastern Kentucky
EASTKY 31 , RMOR 7 Matt Morrissey 265 Joshua Carter 123 Noah Robinson 89
team logo Samford
@ team logo Furman
Cancelled
team logo Elon
vs team logo Richmond
RICH 27 , ELON 17 Camden Coleman 203 Zach Palmer-Smith 167 Chandler Brayboy 88
team logo Gardner-Webb
vs team logo Tennessee Tech
TNTECH 52 , G-WEBB 21 Ren Hefley 116 Aidan Littles 118 Jordan Bly 66
team logo Yale
@ team logo Cornell
COR 47 , YALE 23 Jameson Wang 278 Ean Pope 72 Brendan Lee 99
team logo Northern Colorado
vs team logo Cal Poly
CALPLY 28 , NORCOL 7 Jaden Jones 189 Aiden Ramos 120 Michael Briscoe 108
team logo Texas State SAMHOU 40 , TXST 39 Jordan McCloud 326 Hunter Watson 105 Jaden Williams 133
team logo Eastern Illinois
vs team logo Lindenwood
LINDEN 28 , EASTIL 25 Pierce Holley 326 MJ Flowers 123 Jeff Caldwell 115
team logo Youngstown State
@ team logo Missouri State
MOSTU 38 , YSU 31 Jacob Clark 325 Beau Brungard 110 Jmariyae Robinson 104
team logo Illinois State
vs team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 42 , ILLST 10 Cam Miller 216 CharMar Brown 100 Bryce Lance 65
team logo Norfolk State
vs team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 37 , NOR 10 Walker Harris 245 J'Mari Taylor 86 Markell Quick 124
team logo Howard
@ team logo Princeton
PRINCE 30 , HOW 13 Jaylon Tolbert 134 John Volker 88 Se'Quan Osborne 42
team logo Wofford
vs team logo Mercer
MERC 22 , WOF 3 Hess Horne 100 Dwayne McGee 55 Kendall Harris 59
team logo Bethune-Cookman
vs team logo Alabama State
ALST 26 , B-C 21 Cam'Ron Ransom 143 Jamarie Hostzclaw 120 Omari Stewart 53
team logo Fresno State UNLV 59 , FRES 14 Mikey Keene 316 Hajj-Malik Williams 119 Ricky White III 127
team logo Wisconsin USC 38 , WISC 21 Miller Moss 308 Woody Marks 63 Ja'Kobi Lane 105
team logo Arkansas TEXA&M 21 , ARK 17 Taylen Green 279 Le'Veon Moss 117 Isaac TeSlaa 120
team logo Kansas TCU 38 , KU 27 Josh Hoover 356 Daniel Hishaw Jr. 85 Jack Bech 131
team logo San Diego State CMU 22 , SDSU 21 Joe Labas 275 Marquez Cooper 111 Louis Brown IV 149
team logo Liberty Cancelled
team logo Georgia State GASO 38 , GAST 21 Christian Veilleux 356 Jalen White 114 Ted Hurst 112
team logo Western Michigan MARSH 27 , WESTMI 20 Stone Earle 177 Jaden Nixon 146 Anthony Sambucci 56
team logo Wake Forest UL-LAF 41 , WAKE 38 Ben Wooldridge 257 Bill Davis 95 Lance LeGendre 123
team logo UCF CU 48 , UCF 21 Shedeur Sanders 290 RJ Harvey 77 Will Sheppard 99
team logo Akron OHIO 30 , AKRON 10 Parker Navarro 204 Parker Navarro 113 Coleman Owen 130
team logo Kent State EASTMI 52 , KENTST 33 Tommy Ulatowski 345 Delbert Mimms III 145 Chrishon McCray 188
team logo Massachusetts MIA-OH 23 , UMASS 20 Brett Gabbert 181 Keyon Mozee 114 Jakobie Keeney-James 150
team logo Louisville ND 31 , LOU 24 Tyler Shough 264 Isaac Brown 72 Ja'Corey Brooks 71
team logo Albany
vs team logo Maine
MAINE 34 , ALBANY 20 Myles Burkett 202 Jaharie Martin 82 Seven McGee 72
team logo Morgan State
@ team logo Stony Brook
STNYBR 22 , MORGST 3 Malachi Marshall 132 Roland Dempster 158 Cal Redman 62
team logo Sacred Heart
@ team logo Delaware
DEL 49 , SHEART 0 Zach Marker 183 Jo'Nathan Silver 53 Phil Lutz 62
team logo Auburn OKLA 27 , AUBURN 21 Payton Thorne 338 Jarquez Hunter 97 J.J. Hester 86
team logo Sacramento State
@ team logo Northern Arizona
NOARI 34 , SAC 16 Ty Pennington 240 Elijah Tau-Tolliver 77 Bryzai White 89
team logo Northwestern State
@ team logo Southeast Missouri State
SEMO 19 , NWST 0 Paxton DeLaurent 237 Darrell Smith 127 Cam Pedro 58
team logo UTSA ECU 30 , TX-SA 20 Jake Garcia 294 Brandon High Jr. 92 Willie McCoy 91
team logo North Carolina DUKE 21 , UNC 20 Jacolby Criswell 251 Star Thomas 166 J.J. Jones 89
team logo Mississippi State TEX 35 , MSST 13 Arch Manning 325 Quintrevion Wisner 88 DeAndre Moore Jr. 104
team logo Bowling Green ODU 30 , BGSU 27 Connor Bazelak 303 Aaron Young 74 Harold Fannin Jr. 192
team logo Citadel
vs team logo ETSU
EASTTN 34 , CIT 17 Johnathan Bennett 187 Bryson Irby 126 Tyler Cherry 69
team logo Idaho State
vs team logo Montana State
MONTST 37 , IDAST 17 Kobe Tracy 183 Scottre Humphrey 159 Rohan Jones 93
team logo Charleston Southern
@ team logo Tennessee State
TENNST 13 , CHSOU 9 Draylen Ellis 105 Autavius Ison 157 Bryant Williams 49
team logo Wagner FLAATL 41 , WAGNER 10 Cam Fancher 150 CJ Campbell Jr. 129 Omari Hayes 137
team logo Louisiana Tech FIU 17 , LATECH 10 Evan Bullock 218 Lexington Joseph 73 Eric Rivers 97
team logo Kennesaw State
vs team logo UT Martin
TN-MAR 24 , KENNST 13 Kinkead Dent 132 Patrick Smith 123 Blake Bohannon 54
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo South Carolina State
SCST 45 , NCA&T 25 Eric Phoenix 367 Cameren Dalrymple 93 Caden High 152
team logo LIU
@ team logo Villanova
VILL 24 , LIU 10 Connor Watkins 128 David Avit 160 Jaylan Sanchez 55
team logo Hampton
@ team logo William & Mary
W&M 49 , HAMP 7 Darius Wilson 198 Tyler Hughes 130 Sean McElwain 97
team logo Rice CHAR 21 , RICE 20 E.J. Warner 254 Dean Connors 121 O'Mega Blake 153
team logo Tulsa UNT 52 , TLSA 20 Chandler Morris 439 Bill Jackson 77 Blair Conwright 115
team logo Troy UL-MON 13 , TROY 9 Aidan Armenta 108 Ahmad Hardy 106 Jake Godfrey 57
team logo Houston IAST 20 , HOU 0 Rocco Becht 153 Abu Sama III 101 Jayden Higgins 79
team logo Mississippi Valley State
vs team logo Alcorn State
ALC 42 , MSVL 21 Xzavier Vaughn 105 Jacorian Sewell 164 Kerrick Ross 64
team logo Grambling State
vs team logo Prairie View A&M
PVA&M 36 , GRAM 34 Myles Crawley 286 Connor Wisham 85 Javon Robinson 48
team logo Texas Southern
vs team logo Jackson State
JKST 43 , TXSO 14 Jacobian Morgan 185 Jacobian Morgan 96 Joanes Fortilien 62
team logo Southeastern Louisiana
@ team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 36 , SELA 33 Victor Gabalis 203 Antonio Martin Jr. 206 Darius Cooper 90
team logo Lamar
@ team logo Central Arkansas
CENARK 34 , LAMAR 14 Will McElvain 158 ShunDerrick Powell 187 Trejan Bridges 60
team logo Stanford CLEM 40 , STAN 14 Cade Klubnik 255 Micah Ford 122 Bryant Wesco Jr. 104
team logo Portland State
@ team logo Chattanooga
CHAT 45 , PORST 30 Chase Artopoeus 396 Reggie Davis 116 Sam Phillips 150
team logo Middle Tennessee MEM 24 , MIDDTN 7 Nicholas Vattiato 283 Mario Anderson Jr. 118 Omari Kelly 174
team logo Georgia BAMA 41 , UGA 34 Carson Beck 439 Jalen Milroe 117 Ryan Williams 177
team logo Illinois PSU 21 , ILL 7 Luke Altmyer 185 Kaytron Allen 102 Harrison Wallace III 50
team logo Michigan State OHIOST 38 , MSU 7 Will Howard 244 TreVeyon Henderson 69 Emeka Egbuka 96
team logo South Alabama LSU 42 , USA 10 Garrett Nussmeier 409 Caden Durham 128 Kyren Lacy 107
team logo Eastern Washington
vs team logo Montana
MONT 52 , EASTWA 49 Logan Fife 364 Nick Ostmo 160 Junior Bergen 150
team logo Air Force WYO 31 , AF 19 Evan Svoboda 165 Sam Scott 97 Cade Harris 106
team logo New Mexico State NM 50 , NMST 40 Devon Dampier 248 NaQuari Rogers 122 Caleb Medford 91
team logo Weber State
vs team logo McNeese
MCNE 28 , WEB 26 Clifton McDowell 203 Damon Bankston 140 Jonathan Harris 76
team logo Cincinnati TTU 44 , CIN 41 Brendan Sorsby 426 Tahj Brooks 172 Xzavier Henderson 127
team logo Florida State SMU 42 , FSU 16 Kevin Jennings 254 Brashard Smith 129 Jake Bailey 65
team logo Utah Tech
vs team logo Abilene Christian
ABICHR 55 , UTAHTE 30 Maverick McIvor 286 Sam Hicks 203 Blayne Taylor 128
team logo Idaho
@ team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 28 , IDAHO 26 Miles Hastings 248 Elisha Cummings 72 Jordan Dwyer 114
team logo Washington State BOISE 45 , WSU 24 John Mateer 327 Ashton Jeanty 259 Kyle Williams 142
team logo Utah ARI 23 , UTAH 10 Isaac Wilson 280 Micah Bernard 91 Dorian Singer 155
team logo UCLA ORE 34 , UCLA 13 Dillon Gabriel 278 Jordan James 103 Tez Johnson 121
Sunday, September 29, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Presbyterian
@ team logo Davidson
DAV 48 , PRESBY 37 Collin Hurst 358 Mari Adams 128 Worth Warner 132

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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