College Football Schedule 2025-26

Conference Schedules icon
Saturday, August 23, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Kansas State IAST 24 , KSU 21 Avery Johnson 273 Carson Hansen 71 Jayce Brown 78
team logo UIW
@ team logo Nicholls
NICH 20 , INCWOR 6 Deuce Hogan 221 Jaylon Spears 49 Chedon James 59
team logo Idaho State UNLV 38 , IDAST 31 Jordan Cooke 380 Jai'Den Thomas 147 Jaden Bradley 131
team logo Portland State
vs team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 42 , PORST 0 Victor Gabalis 152 Tre Page III 170 Cody Jackson 96
team logo Fresno State KU 31 , FRES 7 E.J. Warner 179 Daniel Hishaw Jr. 69 Cam Pickett 77
team logo Sam Houston WESTKY 41 , SAMHOU 24 Maverick McIvor 401 Hunter Watson 91 Matthew Henry 148
team logo Mercer
@ team logo UC Davis
Cancelled
team logo Stanford HAWAII 23 , STAN 20 Micah Alejado 210 Micah Ford 113 Pofele Ashlock 69
team logo Southern University
vs team logo North Carolina Central
NCCENT 31 , SOU 14 Walker Harris 183 Chris Mosley 174 Chance Peterson 42
Thursday, August 28, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Boise State USF 34 , BOISE 7 Maddux Madsen 223 Alvon Isaac 52 Chas Nimrod 96
team logo Ohio RUT 34 , OHIO 31 Athan Kaliakmanis 252 Parker Navarro 93 Chase Hendricks 115
team logo Lafayette BGSU 26 , LAF 7 Dean DeNobile 112 Kaderris Roberts 66 RJ Garcia II 32
team logo Mercyhurst
@ team logo Youngstown State
YSU 24 , MERCYH 15 Adam Urena 311 Beau Brungard 145 Dylan Evans 95
team logo Saint Francis U UL-MON 29 , STF-PA 0 Aidan Armenta 95 Braylon McReynolds 113 Tyler Griffin 32
team logo Dayton
@ team logo Eastern Illinois
EASTIL 24 , DAYTON 14 Bryce Schondelmyer 261 Cole LaCrue 193 Gavin Lochow 124
team logo Lindenwood
@ team logo St. Thomas (MN)
STTHMN 35 , LINDEN 13 Nate Glantz 318 Joseph Koch 154 Drew Krobath 128
team logo Akron WYO 10 , AKRON 0 Kaden Anderson 260 Sam Scott 132 Chris Durr Jr. 146
team logo East Carolina NCSU 24 , ECU 17 Katin Houser 366 Hollywood Smothers 76 Wesley Grimes 121
team logo Jacksonville State UCF 17 , JACST 10 Tayven Jackson 282 Myles Montgomery 79 Myles Montgomery 71
team logo Delaware State
@ team logo Delaware
DEL 35 , DELST 17 Nick Minicucci 270 Marquis Gillis 130 Jake Thaw 92
team logo Norfolk State
vs team logo Towson
TOWSON 27 , NOR 7 Otto Kuhns 219 Kemarrion Battles 79 DreSean Kendrick 125
team logo Central Arkansas MIZZOU 61 , CENARK 6 Beau Pribula 283 Ahmad Hardy 102 Marquis Johnson 134
team logo UT Martin OKST 27 , TN-MAR 7 Zane Flores 136 Kalib Hicks 56 Terrill Davis 75
team logo Samford
vs team logo West Georgia
WESTGA 34 , SAM 3 Davin Wydner 209 Latrelle Murrell 129 Preston Bird 95
team logo Elon DUKE 45 , ELON 17 Darian Mensah 389 Anderson Castle 69 Cooper Barkate 117
team logo Stephen F. Austin HOU 27 , SFA 0 Conner Weigman 159 Dean Connors 50 Tanner Koziol 63
team logo Buffalo MINN 23 , BUFF 10 Drake Lindsey 290 Darius Taylor 141 Jalen Smith 76
team logo Alcorn State
@ team logo Northwestern State
NWST 20 , ALC 10 Jaylon Tolbert 182 Abram Johnston 69 Elijah Griffin 58
team logo Alabama State UAB 52 , ALST 42 Andrew Body 312 Jevon Jackson 166 Jalen Jones 174
team logo Cincinnati NEB 20 , CIN 17 Dylan Raiola 243 Emmett Johnson 108 Nyziah Hunter 65
team logo Miami (OH) WISC 17 , MIA-OH 0 Danny O'Neil 120 Dilin Jones 73 Vinny Anthony II 57
team logo Stony Brook SDSU 42 , STNYBR 0 Jayden Denegal 208 Lucky Sutton 100 Jacob Bostick 56
Friday, August 29, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Army West Point
vs team logo Tarleton State
TARLST 30 , ARMY 27 Victor Gabalis 152 Caleb Lewis 107 Noah Short 81
team logo Campbell
@ team logo Rhode Island
URI 31 , CAMP 20 Devin Farrell 275 Antwain Littleton, Jr. 85 Marquis Buchanan 167
team logo Charlotte APP 34 , CHAR 11 AJ Swann 368 Rashod Dubinion 111 Jaden Barnes 134
team logo Kennesaw State WAKE 10 , KENNST 9 Robby Ashford 218 Coleman Bennett 65 Gabriel Benyard 103
team logo Western Michigan MSU 23 , WESTMI 6 Aidan Chiles 163 Makhi Frazier 114 Baylin Brooks 85
team logo Colgate
vs team logo Monmouth
MONM 42 , COLG 39 Derek Robertson 491 Rodney Nelson 169 Treyvhon Saunders 223
team logo Bethune-Cookman FIU 42 , B-C 9 Keyone Jenkins 187 Marqui Johnson 76 Javon Ross 109
team logo New Haven
@ team logo Marist
MARIST 31 , NEWHAV 14 AJ Duffy 377 Sonny Mannino 109 Joshua Tracey 145
team logo Wagner KU 46 , WAGNER 7 Jalon Daniels 280 Daniel Hishaw Jr. 89 Emmanuel Henderson Jr. 130
team logo Western Illinois ILL 52 , WESTIL 3 Luke Altmyer 217 Aidan Laughery 101 Hank Beatty 108
team logo Colorado GT 27 , CU 20 Kaidon Salter 159 Haynes King 156 Bailey Stockton 48
team logo Baylor AUBURN 38 , BAYLOR 24 Sawyer Robertson 419 Jackson Arnold 137 Kole Wilson 134
team logo Sam Houston UNLV 38 , SAMHOU 21 Anthony Colandrea 249 Landan Brown 85 Jaden Bradley 125
team logo San Jose State CMU 16 , SJSU 14 Walker Eget 308 Nahree Biggins 102 Danny Scudero 189
Saturday, August 30, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Southern Miss MSST 34 , SOUMIS 17 Blake Shapen 272 Davon Booth 80 Brenen Thompson 92
team logo Northwestern TULN 23 , NW 3 Preston Stone 161 Jake Retzlaff 113 Omari Hayes 74
team logo Florida Atlantic MD 39 , FLAATL 7 Malik Washington 258 DeJuan Williams 54 Easton Messer 87
team logo VMI NAVY 52 , VMI 7 Collin Shannon 197 Braxton Woodson 180 Owen Sweeney 126
team logo Syracuse TENN 45 , SYR 26 Steve Angeli 274 Star Thomas 91 Braylon Staley 95
team logo Texas OHIOST 14 , TEX 7 Arch Manning 170 Quintrevion Wisner 80 Jack Endries 50
team logo Duquesne PITT 61 , DUQ 9 Eli Holstein 215 Desmond Reid 66 Joey Isabella 120
team logo Ball State PUR 31 , BALLST 0 Ryan Browne 311 Kiael Kelly 63 Arhmad Branch 101
team logo Merrimack KENTST 21 , MERRIM 17 Ayden Pereira 176 Ayden Pereira 103 Cade Wolford 109
team logo Citadel
vs team logo North Dakota State
NDAKST 38 , CIT 0 Cole Payton 192 Cole Payton 101 RaJa Nelson 60
team logo Richmond
@ team logo Lehigh
LEHIGH 21 , RICH 14 Hayden Johnson 135 Jaden Green 88 Geoffrey Jamiel 68
team logo Toledo UK 24 , TOL 16 Tucker Gleason 270 Dante Dowdell 129 Junior Vandeross III 88
team logo Davidson
vs team logo Georgetown
GTOWN 51 , DAV 14 Danny Lauter 135 Savion Hart 123 Savion Hart 78
team logo Butler
@ team logo UNI
UNI 38 , BUTLER 14 Matthew Schecklman 214 Harrison Bey-Buie 81 Ethan Loss 81
team logo Robert Morris WVU 45 , RMOR 3 Nicco Marchiol 224 Jahiem White 93 Cam Vaughn 127
team logo Fordham BC 66 , FORD 10 Dylan Lonergan 268 Turbo Richard 48 Lewis Bond 138
team logo Central Connecticut State UCONN 59 , CENTCT 13 Joe Fagnano 260 Cam Edwards 115 Skyler Bell 135
team logo Stonehill
@ team logo Sacred Heart
SHEART 12 , STONEH 7 Jack O'Connell 212 Chuck Webb 82 Dean Hangey 67
team logo William & Mary
@ team logo Furman
FURMAN 23 , W&M 21 Tyler Hughes 208 Tyler Hughes 57 Evan James 68
team logo Old Dominion IU 27 , ODU 14 Fernando Mendoza 193 Colton Joseph 179 Omar Cooper Jr. 52
team logo Hampton
@ team logo Jackson State
JKST 28 , HAMP 14 JaCobian Morgan 143 Ahmad Miller 172 MarShawn Ferguson Jr 59
team logo Eastern Kentucky LOU 51 , EASTKY 17 Miller Moss 223 Isaac Brown 126 Chris Bell 63
team logo Bucknell AF 49 , BUCK 13 Ralph Rucker IV 126 Tariq Thomas 80 Cade Harris 83
team logo South Dakota IAST 55 , SOUDAK 7 Rocco Becht 278 Dylan Lee 81 Gabe Burkle 85
team logo Holy Cross NIU 19 , HOLYCR 17 Cal Swanson 155 Chavon Wright 77 Max Mosey 71
team logo Nevada PSU 46 , NEVADA 11 Drew Allar 217 Chubba Purdy 55 Kyron Hudson 89
team logo Marshall UGA 45 , MARSH 7 Gunner Stockton 190 Gunner Stockton 73 Zachariah Branch 95
team logo Massachusetts TEM 42 , UMASS 10 Evan Simon 248 Jay Ducker 128 Jacquon Gibson 132
team logo Alabama FSU 31 , BAMA 17 Ty Simpson 254 Tommy Castellanos 72 Germie Bernard 146
team logo Montana State ORE 59 , MONTST 13 Dante Moore 213 Noah Whittington 68 Taco Dowler 107
team logo Maine LIB 28 , MAINE 7 Ethan Vasko 197 Sincere Baines 118 Reese Smith 40
team logo Florida A&M
vs team logo Howard
HOW 10 , FLAA&M 9 RJ Johnson 183 Thad Franklin Jr. 37 Jalen Rogers 51
team logo Alabama A&M ARK 52 , ALAA&M 7 Taylen Green 322 Mike Washington Jr. 79 O'Mega Blake 121
team logo Chattanooga MEM 45 , CHAT 10 Brendon Lewis 199 Brendon Lewis 94 Cortez Braham Jr. 52
team logo North Carolina A&T
@ team logo Tennessee State
TENNST 24 , NCA&T 21 Braxton Thomas 169 Kendric Rhymes 174 Devaughn Slaughter 102
team logo Mississippi Valley State
vs team logo Southern University
SOU 34 , MSVL 29 Josh Brown 146 Jason Gabriel 97 Mekhi Norris 73
team logo Murray State
@ team logo ETSU
EASTTN 45 , MUR 17 Jim Ogle 226 Devontae Houston 128 Darius Cannon 86
team logo Illinois State OKLA 35 , ILLST 3 John Mateer 392 Wenkers Wright 47 Keontez Lewis 119
team logo Albany IOWA 34 , ALBANY 7 Jack Shields 134 Xavier Williams 122 Caden Burti 56
team logo Coastal Carolina UVA 48 , COASTC 7 Chandler Morris 264 Chandler Morris 50 Cam Ross 124
team logo Weber State JMU 45 , WEB 10 Alonza Barnett III 134 George Pettaway 99 Michael Scott 38
team logo Western Carolina
vs team logo Gardner-Webb
G-WEBB 52 , WCU 45 Nate Hampton 263 Patrick Boyd Jr. 142 Chris Lofton 102
team logo North Carolina Central
vs team logo New Hampshire
UNH 27 , NCCENT 10 Matt Vezza 186 Chris Mosley 106 Caleb Burke 78
team logo Mercer
vs team logo Presbyterian
PRESBY 15 , MERC 10 Collin Hurst 303 Zach Switzer 33 Dominic Kibby 114
team logo Wofford
@ team logo South Carolina State
SCST 16 , WOF 15 William Atkins IV 175 KZ Adams 50 Jalen Johnson 93
team logo Southeast Missouri State ARKST 42 , SEMO 24 Jaylen Raynor 345 Brandon Epton Jr. 61 Donnie Cheers 96
team logo Morgan State USA 38 , MORGST 21 Bishop Davenport 166 Kentrel Bullock 127 Devin Voisin 69
team logo Nicholls TROY 38 , NICH 20 Deuce Hogan 184 Tae Meadows 186 Miequle Brock Jr. 87
team logo UTSA TEXA&M 42 , TX-SA 24 Marcel Reed 289 Robert Henry Jr. 177 Mario Craver 122
team logo Middle Tennessee
vs team logo Austin Peay
APSU 34 , MIDDTN 14 Chris Parson 142 Jekail Middlebrook 50 Shemar Kirk 69
team logo North Alabama WESTKY 55 , NORTAL 6 Maverick McIvor 305 Jaden McGill 46 K.D. Hutchinson 113
team logo Charleston Southern VANDY 45 , CHSOU 3 Diego Pavia 275 Sedrick Alexander 83 Eli Stowers 86
team logo North Dakota KSU 38 , NORDAK 35 Avery Johnson 318 Sawyer Seidl 62 Jayce Brown 109
team logo Sacramento State
@ team logo South Dakota State
SDAKST 20 , SAC 3 Chase Mason 190 Julius Loughridge 159 Lofton O'Groske 76
team logo Eastern Washington
@ team logo UIW
INCWOR 31 , EASTWA 21 Richard Torres 332 Harlan Dixon 75 Jameson Garcia 146
team logo LIU FLA 55 , LIU 0 Tramell Jones Jr. 131 Jadan Baugh 104 Vernell Brown III 79
team logo Missouri State USC 73 , MOSTU 13 Jayden Maiava 295 King Miller 77 Makai Lemon 90
team logo UTEP USU 28 , UTEP 16 Bryson Barnes 233 Miles Davis 88 Kenny Odom 97
team logo Southeastern Louisiana LATECH 24 , SELA 0 Trey Kukuk 126 Clay Thevenin 58 Luke Besh 60
team logo Arkansas-Pine Bluff TTU 67 , ARK-PB 7 Behren Morton 201 Cameron Dickey 89 Reggie Virgil 56
team logo New Mexico MICH 34 , NM 17 Bryce Underwood 251 Justice Haynes 159 Marlin Klein 93
team logo Clemson LSU 17 , CLEM 10 Cade Klubnik 230 Caden Durham 74 Aaron Anderson 99
team logo Georgia State MISS 63 , GAST 7 Austin Simmons 341 Kewan Lacy 108 Harrison Wallace III 130
team logo San Diego
vs team logo Cal Poly
CALPLY 41 , SD 17 Ty Dieffenbach 263 Adam Criter 79 Michael Briscoe 110
team logo Portland State BYU 69 , PORST 0 Bear Bachmeier 97 LJ Martin 131 Carsen Ryan 47
team logo Louisiana RICE 14 , UL-LAF 12 Walker Howard 88 Quinton Jackson 119 Shelton Sampson Jr. 59
team logo Eastern Michigan TXST 52 , EASTMI 27 Noah Kim 248 Lincoln Pare 167 Beau Sparks 82
team logo Lamar UNT 51 , LAMAR 0 Drew Mestemaker 329 Kiefer Sibley 38 Cameron Dorner 98
team logo Abilene Christian TLSA 35 , ABICHR 7 Kirk Francis 218 Dominic Richardson 142 Javon Gipson 73
team logo Texas Southern
vs team logo Prairie View A&M
PVA&M 22 , TXSO 21 Cameron Peters 295 Athean Renfro 66 Kheagian Heckaman 73
team logo Idaho State
@ team logo Southern Utah
SOUT 46 , IDAST 24 Jordan Cooke 334 Joshua Dye 180 Michael Shulikov 115
team logo Bryant NMST 19 , BRYANT 3 Logan Fife 171 Elijah Elliott 29 Donovan Faupel 70
team logo East Texas A&M SMU 42 , ETA&M 13 Kevin Jennings 171 Chris Johnson Jr. 34 Romello Brinson 102
team logo Georgia Southern FRES 42 , GASO 14 JC French IV 120 Bryson Donelson 73 Josh Dallas 48
team logo Northern Arizona ASU 38 , NOARI 19 Sam Leavitt 131 Kyson Brown 49 Jordyn Tyson 83
team logo Idaho WSU 13 , IDAHO 10 Jaxon Potter 78 Joshua Wood 56 Joshua Meredith 31
team logo Utah Tech
vs team logo UC Davis
UCDAV 31 , UTAHTE 24 Caden Pinnick 253 Jordan Fisher 105 Samuel Gbatu Jr. 93
team logo Hawaii ARI 40 , HAWAII 6 Micah Alejado 74 Quincy Craig 54 Tre Spivey 27
team logo Oregon State CAL 34 , ORST 15 Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 150 Kendrick Raphael 24 Trond Grizzell 71
team logo Colorado State UW 38 , CSU 21 Demond Williams Jr. 24 Jalen Dupree 59 Jonah Coleman 22
team logo UCLA UTAH 43 , UCLA 10 Devon Dampier 51 Wayshawn Parker 31 Smith Snowden 26
Sunday, August 31, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo Virginia Tech SCAR 24 , VATECH 11 Kyron Drones 222 Oscar Adaway III 60 Nyck Harbor 99
team logo Notre Dame MIA-FL 27 , ND 24 CJ Carr 221 Mark Fletcher Jr. 66 Eli Raridon 97
Monday, September 01, 2025
MATCHUP RESULT HI PASS HI RUSH HI REC
team logo North Carolina TCU 48 , UNC 14 Josh Hoover 284 Kevorian Barnes 113 Jordan Dwyer 136

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.

Ad

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

Ad

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).

Ad

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

Ad

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.

Ad

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.

Ad

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

Ad

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

Ad

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.

Ad

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.

Ad

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

Ad

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.

Ad

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

Ad

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.

Ad

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:

Ad
  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

Ad

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:

Ad
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:

Ad
  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:

Ad
  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.

Ad

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
Ad

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
Ad

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:

Ad
  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
Ad

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:

Ad
  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

Ad

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

Ad

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:

Ad
  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.

Ad

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.

Ad

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:

Ad
  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:

Ad
  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:

Ad
  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.

Ad

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
Ad

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

Ad

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
Ad

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:

Ad
  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:

Ad
  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
Ad

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:

Ad
  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:

Ad
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:

Ad
  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.

Ad
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
bell-icon Manage notifications