College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, October 08, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo FIU LIB 31 , FIU 24 Keyone Jenkins 245 Quinton Cooley 174 Eric Rivers 95
Wednesday, October 09, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo New Mexico State JACST 54 , NMST 13 Tyler Huff 196 Tre Stewart 118 PJ Johnson III 84
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Friday, October 11, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Cornell
vs team logo Harvard
HARV 38 , COR 20 Jaden Craig 316 Xaviah Bascon 99 Cooper Barkate 130
team logo Maryland NW 37 , MD 10 Billy Edwards Jr. 296 Roman Hemby 42 Bryce Kirtz 123
team logo Utah State UNLV 50 , USU 34 Spencer Petras 461 Jai'Den Thomas 139 Jalen Royals 155
team logo Prairie View A&M
@ team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff
ARK-PB 21 , PVA&M 17 Jaden Johnson 268 BJ Curry 46 JaVonnie Gibson 183
team logo Utah ASU 27 , UTAH 19 Cameron Rising 209 Cam Skattebo 158 Jordyn Tyson 84
Saturday, October 12, 2024
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo South Carolina BAMA 27 , SCAR 25 LaNorris Sellers 238 Raheim Sanders 78 Germie Bernard 89
team logo Washington IOWA 40 , UW 16 Will Rogers 195 Kaleb Johnson 166 Giles Jackson 63
team logo UAB ARMY 44 , UAB 10 Jalen Kitna 242 Bryson Daily 136 Kam Shanks 119
team logo Massachusetts MIZZOU 45 , UMASS 3 Brady Cook 219 Marcus Carroll 91 Jakobie Keeney-James 80
team logo Kent State BALLST 37 , KENTST 35 Tommy Ulatowski 394 Braedon Sloan 76 Chrishon McCray 213
team logo Toledo BUFF 30 , TOL 15 John Alan Richter 227 Al-Jay Henderson 142 Jerjuan Newton 159
team logo Wake Forest CLEM 49 , WAKE 14 Cade Klubnik 309 Phil Mafah 108 Jake Briningstool 104
team logo North Carolina GT 41 , UNC 34 Jacolby Criswell 209 Jamal Haynes 170 J.J. Jones 64
team logo Rutgers WISC 42 , RUT 7 Braedyn Locke 240 Tawee Walker 198 Vinny Anthony II 81
team logo Davidson
@ team logo Dayton
DAYTON 16 , DAV 14 Drew VanVleet 110 Mason Hackett 218 Gavin Lochow 58
team logo Marist
vs team logo St. Thomas (MN)
STTHMN 39 , MARIST 32 Sonny Mannino 211 Hope Adebayo 113 Jack Melore 47
team logo Saint Francis U
vs team logo Duquesne
DUQ 38 , STF-PA 7 Darius Perrantes 185 JaMario Clements 87 Joey Isabella 94
team logo Stonehill
@ team logo LIU
LIU 31 , STONEH 7 Jack O'Connell 112 Ethan Greenwood 184 Chase Miller 66
team logo Wagner
vs team logo Columbia
COLUM 24 , WAGNER 6 Jake Cady 207 Joey Giorgi 111 Jaylen Bonelli 114
team logo Yale
vs team logo Dartmouth
DART 44 , YALE 43 Grant Jordan 412 Q Jones 84 David Pantelis 117
team logo Mercyhurst
@ team logo Central Connecticut State
CENTCT 38 , MERCYH 20 Adam Urena 286 Elijah Howard 169 Cameron Barmore 103
team logo Lafayette
vs team logo Georgetown
GTOWN 17 , LAF 0 Dean DeNobile 167 Bryce Cox 74 Elijah Steward 79
team logo Illinois State
vs team logo Missouri State
MOSTU 41 , ILLST 7 Jacob Clark 343 Wenkers Wright 58 Xavier Loyd 99
team logo Maine
@ team logo Delaware
DEL 44 , MAINE 21 Zach Marker 279 Quincy Watson 66 Phil Lutz 133
team logo Valparaiso
@ team logo Stetson
Postponed
team logo Murray State
@ team logo Indiana State
INST 31 , MUR 27 Jayden Johannsen 256 Shen Butler-Lawson 68 Justice Hill 103
team logo Bryant
vs team logo Albany
ALBANY 24 , BRYANT 17 Jarrett Guest 233 Fabrice Mukendi 94 Levi Wentz 106
team logo Brown
@ team logo Rhode Island
URI 31 , BROWN 21 Devin Farrell 244 Devin Farrell 65 Marquis Buchanan 107
team logo Fordham
@ team logo Holy Cross
HOLYCR 19 , FORD 16 Jack Capaldi 199 Jayden Clerveaux 159 Mekai Felton 53
team logo Bucknell
@ team logo Penn
PENN 31 , BUCK 21 Ralph Rucker IV 241 Malachi Hosley 146 Josh Gary 137
team logo Sacred Heart
@ team logo Howard
HOW 21 , SHEART 14 Ja'Shawn Scroggins 153 Ja'Shawn Scroggins 85 Kasey Hawthorne 53
team logo VMI
@ team logo Wofford
WOF 31 , VMI 16 Pauly Seeley V 188 J.T. Smith Jr. 89 Rickie Shaw II 103
team logo Butler
@ team logo Drake
DRAKE 27 , BUTLER 17 Luke Bailey 213 Reagan Andrew 81 Taj Hughes 127
team logo Charleston Southern
@ team logo Lindenwood
LINDEN 29 , CHSOU 14 Nate Glantz 152 Nate Glantz 103 Jeff Caldwell 52
team logo Eastern Michigan MIA-OH 38 , EASTMI 14 Brett Gabbert 222 Keyon Mozee 100 Reggie Virgil 113
team logo Norfolk State
vs team logo Towson
TOWSON 28 , NOR 23 Sean Brown 306 Kevon King 96 Elyjah Mitchell 105
team logo Presbyterian
@ team logo Morehead State
MOR 14 , PRESBY 7 Carter Cravens 212 Zach Switzer 39 Ryan Upp 97
team logo Furman
vs team logo Chattanooga
CHAT 41 , FURMAN 10 Chase Artopoeus 232 Reggie Davis 93 Javin Whatley 168
team logo Elon
vs team logo New Hampshire
UNH 17 , ELON 10 Jack Salopek 185 TJ Thomas Jr. 78 Chandler Brayboy 72
team logo Citadel
@ team logo Western Carolina
WCU 30 , CIT 16 Cole Gonzales 294 Johnathan Bennett 155 Zion Booker 102
team logo Mississippi Valley State
@ team logo Alabama State
ALST 54 , MSVL 17 Kareem Keye 326 Jamarie Hostzclaw 54 Robert McMinn 122
team logo Northwestern State
vs team logo East Texas A&M
ETA&M 42 , NWST 21 Abram Johnston 301 BK Jackson 62 Amaaz Eugene 96
team logo Southern Illinois
vs team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 24 , SIU 3 Cam Miller 193 CharMar Brown 95 Bryce Lance 63
team logo UNI
@ team logo South Dakota
SOUDAK 42 , UNI 17 Aidan Bouman 284 Charles Pierre Jr. 105 Desmond Hutson 94
team logo Bethune-Cookman
@ team logo Alabama A&M
ALAA&M 56 , B-C 12 Xavier Lankford 315 Donovan Eaglin 125 Keenan Hambrick 111
team logo Grambling State
vs team logo Alcorn State
ALC 17 , GRAM 15 Myles Crawley 149 Jacorian Sewell 102 Stemarion Edwards 73
team logo Youngstown State
@ team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 63 , YSU 13 Beau Brungard 169 Chase Mason 161 Max Tomczak 78
team logo Houston Christian
vs team logo Southeastern Louisiana
SELA 37 , HOUCHR 7 Eli Sawyer 144 Darryle Evans 128 Deuce McMillan 47
team logo Morgan State
vs team logo Merrimack
MERRIM 32 , MORGST 24 Duce Taylor 186 J.J. Davis 71 Marquez Phillips 54
team logo Delaware State
@ team logo Robert Morris
RMOR 23 , DELST 0 Anthony Chiccitt 224 Tyvon Edmonds Jr. 70 Carl Smith Jr. 88
team logo USC PSU 33 , USC 30 Drew Allar 391 Woody Marks 111 Tyler Warren 224
team logo San Jose State CSU 31 , SJSU 24 Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi 269 Avery Morrow 100 Armani Winfield 108
team logo Wyoming SDSU 27 , WYO 24 Danny O'Neil 254 Sam Scott 94 Jordan Napier 91
team logo Oklahoma TEX 34 , OKLA 3 Quinn Ewers 199 Quintrevion Wisner 118 Gunnar Helm 91
team logo Purdue ILL 50 , PUR 49 Luke Altmyer 379 Ryan Browne 118 Max Klare 133
team logo South Florida MEM 21 , USF 3 Bryce Archie 234 Brandon Thomas 67 Joshua Hardeman 69
team logo Georgia State ODU 21 , GAST 14 Christian Veilleux 191 Colton Joseph 98 Michel Dukes 73
team logo UCF CIN 19 , UCF 13 Brendan Sorsby 241 RJ Harvey 94 Kobe Hudson 114
team logo Akron WESTMI 34 , AKRON 24 Ben Finley 395 Jalen Buckley 103 Adrian Norton 168
team logo Bowling Green NIU 17 , BGSU 7 Josh Holst 89 Gavin Williams 102 Andrew McElroy 47
team logo California PITT 17 , CAL 15 Fernando Mendoza 272 Desmond Reid 120 Jack Endries 119
team logo Virginia LOU 24 , UVA 20 Anthony Colandrea 279 Isaac Brown 146 Malachi Fields 129
team logo Stanford ND 49 , STAN 7 Riley Leonard 229 Jeremiyah Love 53 Beaux Collins 85
team logo Princeton
@ team logo Mercer
MERC 34 , PRINCE 7 Whitt Newbauer 125 Ethan Clark 117 AJ Barber 51
team logo Samford
@ team logo ETSU
EASTTN 31 , SAM 28 Quincy Crittendon 306 Jaylen King 80 AJ Johnson 146
team logo Arizona BYU 41 , ARI 19 Noah Fifita 275 Hinckley Ropati 65 Darius Lassiter 86
team logo Northern Arizona
@ team logo Montana
MONT 31 , NOARI 20 Logan Fife 199 Eli Gillman 76 Kolbe Katsis 98
team logo Eastern Kentucky
@ team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 42 , EASTKY 21 Matt Morrissey 207 Targhee Lambson 170 Devin Downing 69
team logo Tennessee Tech
@ team logo Southeast Missouri State
SEMO 34 , TNTECH 3 Paxton DeLaurent 418 Cole Ruble 31 Cam Pedro 111
team logo Western Illinois
vs team logo UT Martin
TN-MAR 45 , WESTIL 17 Kinkead Dent 194 Patrick Smith 145 Max Dowling 88
team logo Lamar
vs team logo Stephen F. Austin
SFA 27 , LAMAR 20 Sam Vidlak 329 Qualan Jones 119 Sevonne Rhea 166
team logo Central Michigan OHIO 27 , CMU 25 Parker Navarro 147 Parker Navarro 176 Chase Hendricks 74
team logo Mississippi State UGA 41 , MSST 31 Carson Beck 459 Anthony Evans III 52 Arian Smith 134
team logo Southern Miss UL-MON 38 , SOUMIS 21 Aidan Armenta 188 Ahmad Hardy 121 Ahmad Hardy 53
team logo West Georgia
@ team logo Central Arkansas
CENARK 34 , WESTGA 33 Quincy Casey 299 ShunDerrick Powell 142 Karmello English 143
team logo Idaho State
vs team logo Portland State
PORST 42 , IDAST 38 Kobe Tracy 275 Dante Chachere 202 Eric Denham 127
team logo Eastern Illinois
@ team logo Tennessee State
TENNST 41 , EASTIL 17 Pierce Holley 338 MJ Flowers 57 Cooper Willman 141
team logo Fresno State WSU 25 , FRES 17 Mikey Keene 220 Elijah Gilliam 120 Mac Dalena 61
team logo Cal Poly
@ team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 56 , CALPLY 10 Miles Hastings 458 Lan Larison 76 Michael Briscoe 103
team logo Air Force NM 52 , AF 37 Devon Dampier 179 Quentin Hayes 103 Nic Trujillo 85
team logo UTSA RICE 29 , TX-SA 27 E.J. Warner 347 Owen McCown 53 Dean Connors 109
team logo Arkansas State TXST 41 , ARKST 9 Jordan McCloud 320 Ismail Mahdi 164 Joey Hobert 101
team logo Nicholls
@ team logo UIW
INCWOR 55 , NICH 10 Zach Calzada 270 Jaylon Spears 44 Jalen Walthall 80
team logo Abilene Christian
@ team logo North Alabama
NORTAL 47 , ABICHR 34 Maverick McIvor 275 Jalen Fletcher 123 Kobe Warden 112
team logo Texas Southern
vs team logo Southern University
SOU 22 , TXSO 19 Noah Bodden 181 Corey Russell 55 Trenton Leary 59
team logo Utah Tech
@ team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 42 , UTAHTE 0 Victor Gabalis 201 Kayvon Britten 135 Darius Cooper 141
team logo Florida Atlantic UNT 41 , FLAATL 37 Cam Fancher 351 CJ Campbell Jr. 89 DT Sheffield 126
team logo Florida TENN 23 , FLA 17 Nico Iamaleava 169 Dylan Sampson 112 Chimere Dike 76
team logo Oregon State NEVADA 42 , ORST 37 Gevani McCoy 348 Anthony Hankerson 154 Trent Walker 96
team logo Ohio State ORE 32 , OHIOST 31 Dillon Gabriel 341 Jordan James 115 Evan Stewart 149
team logo Ole Miss LSU 29 , MISS 26 Garrett Nussmeier 337 Ulysses Bentley IV 107 Cayden Lee 132
team logo Appalachian State UL-LAF 34 , APP 24 Joey Aguilar 236 Kanye Roberts 148 Terrance Carter 107
team logo Kentucky VANDY 20 , UK 13 Brock Vandagriff 158 Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 59 Dane Key 83
team logo Weber State
vs team logo Northern Colorado
NORCOL 21 , WEB 17 Richie Munoz 171 Damon Bankston 108 Marcus Chretien 57
team logo Marshall GASO 24 , MARSH 23 JC French 194 A.J. Turner 97 Dalen Cobb 93
team logo West Virginia IAST 28 , WVU 16 Rocco Becht 265 Carson Hansen 96 Jayden Higgins 102
team logo North Carolina State SYR 24 , NCSU 17 Kyle McCord 346 LeQuint Allen 91 Jackson Meeks 116
team logo UCLA MINN 21 , UCLA 17 Ethan Garbers 293 Darius Taylor 30 J.Michael Sturdivant 107
team logo Sacramento State
vs team logo Eastern Washington
EASTWA 35 , SAC 28 Carson Conklin 238 Tuna Altahir 102 Jared Gipson 68
team logo Colorado KSU 31 , CU 28 Shedeur Sanders 388 DJ Giddens 182 Omarion Miller 145
team logo Idaho
@ team logo Montana State
MONTST 38 , IDAHO 7 Jack Wagner 134 Tommy Mellott 140 Tony Harste 48
team logo Hawaii BOISE 28 , HAWAII 7 Brayden Schager 264 Ashton Jeanty 217 Cameron Camper 111

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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