Rugged roads or easy street? Breaking down CFB’s a lot of and
-
Chris Low, ESPN Senior WriterJul 31, 2023, 07:00 AM ET Close College football reporter Signed up with ESPN.com in 2007
- Graduate of the University of Tennessee
We understand all schedules aren’t developed equal.Another truism
in college football is the viewed difficulty of a schedule can differ wildly depending upon your viewpoint. Let’s just say Alabama’s schedule is probably viewed differently in Birmingham, Alabama, than it is in Columbus, Ohio. The same chooses the understanding of Ohio State’s schedule in Atlanta, TCU’s schedule in Baton Rouge and Clemson’s schedule in Los Angeles.You get the idea.It’s
worth keeping in mind that 2023 will provide our very first taste of the new-look Big 12 with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining the league. It’s also the last season Oklahoma and Texas will complete in the Big 12 before jumping to the SEC in 2024. In addition, the ACC will move away from departments in 2023, leaving the Big Ten and SEC as the only Power 5 conferences still utilizing that format.As we do every year at this time, we’ll acknowledge some schedule superlatives
for the 2023 season– some lovely and some not so flattering. All rankings referenced are from ESPN’s latest Way-Too-Early Leading 25. And yes, preseason rankings aren’t constantly the best guide. Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas A&M all were in the AP’s preseason top 10 a year back, and all three ended up with losing records.On to the selections: Most difficult general Power 5 schedule After an unequal very first year at Florida, things don’t get any easier for Billy Napier and the Gators. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire How would you like to play the country’s most difficult schedule as a second-year coach coming off a losing season in Year 1? Invite to Billy Napier’s world. Florida opens the season on the road against two-time protecting Pac-12 champion Utah and closes in the house versus bitter competing Florida State, which is ranked No. 3 and is one of the favorites to win the ACC. In in between, the Gators have trips to Kentucky, South Carolina and LSU. They face No. 11 Tennessee in the house 2 weeks after opening the season at Utah, and there’s likewise the annual clash with No. 1 Georgia in Jacksonville– 2 weeks prior to checking out LSU on Nov. 11. If you’re counting, that’s 6 preseason top-25 opponents, with four in the leading 15. Ole Miss isn’t far behind Florida on the difficulty meter. The Rebels are the only SEC
group playing both Alabama and Georgia on the roadway. Most convenient general Power 5 schedule Jeff Hafley could use a breakthrough season after Boston College’s the 3-9 surface a year earlier, and fortunately is the schedule establishes the Eagles to make a run at their most successful season since Hafley arrived in 2020. There are no nonconference games against Power 5 challengers; the Eagles will remain in the Northeast for all 4 games, and the only road contest is at Army. Four of the Eagles’first 5 games are at home, and their toughest ACC match is at house versus Florida State. Clemson and North Carolina aren’t on the schedule, indicating BC will deal with just one preseason top-25 team.The honorable reference in this category goes to two-time safeguarding national champion Georgia. The only game the Dawgs play away from home versus a preseason top-25 team is at Tennessee in the next-to-last week of the season on Nov. 18.
Toughest Power 5 nonconference schedule
This was a close one in between Pittsburgh and Louisville, both of whom deal with three Power 5 challengers (consisting of Notre Dame). The Panthers get approval based upon having to play back-to-back games versus Cincinnati and West Virginia on Sept. 9 and 16, an especially challenging assignment provided how heated the “Yard Brawl” competition is and that it moves to Morgantown for the first time in the series’ renewal a year back. In addition, following their trip to Notre Dame on Oct. 28, the Panthers host No. 3 Florida State the next week.
Toughest Group of 5 nonconference schedule Entering its second season in the Sun Belt Conference, Southern Miss isn’t running away from stiff competitors outside the league. The Golden Eagles dip into Florida State on Sept. 9, then return home to deal with Tulane on Sept. 16, a pair of preseason top-25 groups being chosen to win their particular leagues. Then, on the next-to-last week of the season, Southern Miss sees SEC enemy Mississippi State on Nov. 18.
Easiest Power 5 nonconference schedule For the 2nd straight year, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are facing among the weakest nonconference schedules in the nation. Joseph Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports We have a repeat winner. For the 2nd season in a row, Michigan has actually made the”honor”of playing the country’s cushiest nonconference schedule. The two-time protecting Big Ten champion does not deal with a single Power 5 challenger. This was likewise the case a year ago, marking the first time in 78 years the Wolverines didn’t play a nonconference game against a current Power 5 member or Notre Dame. Michigan opens this season with 3 straight house games versus East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green. It initially had a home-and-home series with UCLA set for 2022 and 2023, however canceled it in 2019 to ensure at least 7 home games each season.The only team measuring up to Michigan in this classification is Georgia, which plays UT Martin, Ball State and UAB at home and closes the routine season versus in-state competing Georgia Tech on the roadway. The Bulldogs were initially scheduled to play Oklahoma, but the SEC determined that game be ditched with the Sooners joining the league in 2024.
Hardest available to the season West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said this summertime he wished to see Neal Brown and the football program develop some momentum as the Mountaineers are coming off back-to-back losing seasons. That’s going to be a challenge to start the season. West Virginia opens on the road against No. 8 Penn State, and after a home game against Duquesne, plays rival Pittsburgh in your home and after that starts Big 12 play versus Texas Tech in your home and TCU on the roadway, both preseason top-25 teams. Talk about a five-week onslaught to open a season that is important for Brown and the program.
Toughest near to the season It’s always nice to have the ruling Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, and USC is going to require Caleb Williams at his finest in October and November. 4 of the Trojans’ last 6 games are against preseason top-25 groups, as they deal with Notre Dame, Utah, Cal, Washington, Oregon and UCLA. Lincoln Riley’s Men of Troy will likewise play 9 straight weeks without a break to end the season.
Cushiest available to the season A toss-up here in between Kentucky and Michigan. The Wildcats win in a picture surface with their very first 3 games coming at house against Ball State, Eastern Kentucky and Akron, with a road game against Vanderbilt to follow. Four of Kentucky’s five games in September are at home. The schedule bites back to end the season, as the Wildcats play 3 of their last four on the road, and the only house game in that stretch is Alabama.The Wolverines, meanwhile, play 4 in a row in your home to open the season: three nonconference “buy” games against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green prior to the Big 10 opener versus Rutgers. Yawn.
Falcons flying Air Force hasn’t received almost the love it is worthy of under Troy Calhoun after publishing a minimum of 10 wins in each of its past 3 full seasons and winning 3 straight bowl games over teams from the Big 12, ACC and Pac-12. The Falcons’ 2023 schedule will be interesting, to state the least. They play 3 Friday games, and just when in the last 6 weeks of the season will the Falcons play a true home game. With Falcon Stadium undergoing remodellings, the Nov. 4 game versus Army will be played in Denver at Empower Field at Mile High.
Rocky road Arkansas’ road schedule is brutal. The Hogs, who played among the most difficult general schedules in the country a year back, play true roadway games versus three preseason top-25 groups– LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama– and also travel to the Swamp to face Florida. Arkansas goes 4 straight weeks without playing a home game, starting with the Sept. 23 game at No. 7 LSU and ending with the Oct. 14 game at No. 6 Alabama. At some time, Sam Pittman needs to be questioning what he did to the people creating these backbreaking schedules.
Road of least resistance As Luke Fickell takes over at Wisconsin, he acquires a roadway schedule that looks more than workable. The only nonconference road game is at Washington State in Week 2, and the Cougars aren’t selected to be among the Pac-12’s elite this season. The Badgers prevent Michigan and Penn State entirely in 2023 and get Ohio State in your home Oct. 28. It does not harmed, either, that Ohio State faces Penn State the week before making the trip to Madison. There are only two roadway dates the last five weeks of the season– at Indiana and at Minnesota– and no back-to-back roadway games all season for the Badgers.Oregon State likewise is in the discussion here. The Beavers’only nonconference road game is at San Jose State to open the season. In the Pac-12, they’re on the road at Washington State, Cal, Arizona and Colorado, in addition to a difficult one at Oregon to close the season Nov. 24. Toughest three-week stretch Michael Penix Jr. and Washington have a difficult November ahead. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports The requirements here are three games in three consecutive weeks with no byes. Rutgers, Syracuse and Florida might all make strong cases, however we’re opting for Washington. The Pac-12 ought to be as strong as it has actually been in years with excellent quarterback play across the league. The Huskies have their own star quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., and he and his colleagues will have their hands complete in November. Washington dips into USC on Nov. 4, home against Utah the next week and then back on the roadway versus Oregon State on Nov. 18. That three-game stretch is preceded by a road game versus Stanford. That’s 3 Pac-12 road games in four weeks.Must-see nonconference games The caution here is that to be considered, these games are used school,
not at a neutral site: – Florida
at Utah, Aug. 31 (Thursday)- Colorado at TCU, Sept. 2 – Texas at Alabama, Sept. 9 – Oregon at Texas Tech, Sept. 9 – Ole Miss at Tulane, Sept.
9 – Pittsburgh at West Virginia,
Sept. 16 – Washington at Michigan State
, Sept. 16 – Ohio State at Notre Dame,
Sept. 23 – Notre Dame at Clemson, Nov. 4 – Clemson at South Carolina, Nov. 25 Going back-to-back Colorado, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Utah and Virginia Tech are the only Power 5 teams that will play nonconference games versus Power 5 challengers in back-to-back weeks. Colorado travels to TCU to open the season Sept. 2, then returns house to deal with Nebraska in coach Deion Sanders’Stone debut on Sept. 9. Pitt plays Cincinnati in your home Sept. 9, then takes a trip to West Virginia the next week. Purdue plays at Virginia Tech on Sept. 9, then at home against Syracuse the next week. Utah opens the season with games versus Florida in the house Aug. 31 and Baylor on the road Sept. 9. Virginia Tech plays Purdue in your home Sept. 9 and at Rutgers the next week. Clash of cultures The culture shock game of the year has to be Auburn taking a trip to Cal on Sept. 9, the first meeting ever in between the teams. At Auburn, they have actually been understood to roll trees with toilet tissue after big wins. At Cal, they have actually been known to strip naked and climb trees to save them. It’s a 2,438-mile trip for the Tigers and only Auburn’s 3rd regular-season game ever on the West Coast. The Bears are 9-1 in your home in nonconference games under Justin Wilcox. The hardwoods will be watching. Goodbye to Chaos This could be it for
Chaos
, a minimum of for the foreseeable future, with Oklahoma moving to the SEC in 2024. Long time competitors Oklahoma and Oklahoma State satisfy Nov. 11 in Norman, and neither side has appeared too interested in continuing the competition. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said in 2015 that OU and Texas “took the money and ran” by joining the SEC and “took a great deal of history out of college football with them.” With the Huge 12’s new look this season, Oklahoma State’s schedule will be practically Texas totally free. The Cowboys do not deal with Baylor, TCU, Texas or Texas Tech (they do take a trip to Houston on Nov. 18).
No napping for the Vols Which Power 5 groups could get tripped up in the house by a Group of 5 group, a la Appalachian State winning at Texas A&M last season? One game to view is UTSA at Tennessee on Sept. 23. The Vols have an away game with Florida the week prior to and a house date the week after with South Carolina, which torched Tennessee 63-38 a year ago and destroyed the Vols’ playoff chances. UTSA brings back 15 starters, consisting of record-setting quarterback Frank Harris, after going 11-3 and winning 2 straight Conference U.S.A. titles.
What a welcome BYU, moving to the Big 12 from independent status, has a bye week Oct. 7 after facing Cincinnati at home, then plays seven conference games in seven weeks. The Cougars are the only Big 12 beginners to play both Oklahoma and Texas this season. In that seven-game stretch are three roadway games in 4 weeks– TCU on Oct. 14, Texas on Oct. 28 and West Virginia on Nov. 4. And speak about frequent flier points: The Cougars make a “short” 1,258-mile trip to Austin, Texas, then take a trip almost 2,000 miles the next week to Morgantown, West Virginia.
Loving the Lone Star State Another Big 12 beginner, Houston will not leave Texas to play a game till the final weekend of October when the Cougars travel to Kansas State. Houston’s just other game outside the state is the regular-season ending against UCF on Nov. 25. Six of Houston’s first seven games remain in the city of Houston.
Rhule on the road In his first season at Nebraska, Matt Rhule and the Huskers will play their very first 2 games on the roadway against Minnesota on Aug. 31 and Colorado on Sept. 9. Not counting the 2020 COVID-interrupted season, it’s the first time considering that 1995 the Huskers have opened the season with 2 true roadway games. For what it’s worth, that 1995 Nebraska group is commonly considered to be one of the best in college football history. Those Huskers went 12-0, won their second straight championship game and had an average margin of victory of 38.7 points per game. Simply stating.
Hartman’s ACC encore Sam Hartman, one of the nation’s highest-profile transfers this offseason after leaving Wake Forest for Notre Dame, will deal with familiar ACC enemies Clemson, Duke, Louisville, NC State and Pittsburgh in 2023, not to discuss his old team, the Devil Deacons, on Nov. 18 in South Bend. Hartman, the ACC’s all-time leader with 110 touchdown passes, ended up 4-11 against those five ACC groups during his time at Wake Forest.Conference mayhem There’s constantly that a person weekend in conference play that shakes things up, offers some clearness for the remainder of the season and maybe even produces a few surprises. Week 8 has guaranteed possibilities: Editor’s Picks 2 Related – Tennessee at Alabama – Ole Miss at Auburn – Michigan at Michigan State – Penn State at Ohio State – Wisconsin at Illinois – Utah at USC – Clemson at Miami – Texas Tech at BYU – TCU at Kansas State – Texas at Houston
They’re playing where?Seeing Power
5 groups playing on the roadway at Group of 5 places is
constantly entertaining, especially when it’s Alabama traveling to South Florida for a Sept. 16 game. A few of the others: UCLA at San Diego State on Sept. 9, Ole Miss at Tulane on Sept. 9, Cal at North Texas on Sept. 2, Oregon State at San Jose State on Sept. 3, Oklahoma at Tulsa on Sept. 16, Miami at Temple on Sept. 23, NC State at UConn on Aug. 31 and Virginia Tech at Marshall on Sept. 23. Power blackouts Just seven Power 5 teams do not have a nonconference game versus another Power 5 team or Notre Dame– Boston College, Houston, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon State, UCF
and UCLA.Powering up Louisville, with Jeff Brohm going back to his alma mater as coach, will play 3 Power 5 schools (consisting of Notre Dame )in the nonconference part of its schedule– at Indiana on Sept. 16