Which teams have the strongest scheduling power heading into the college football season?
It’s hard to believe, but we’re only a few months away from ramping up to the 2026 college football regular season.
We’ve already seen the release of some early, stat-driven rankings that make one obvious point: there are two conferences that dominate the sport. The Big Ten Conference, at least based on last year’s performance, personnel rankings, and returning talent, is expected to have three of the top five teams.
Meanwhile, the SEC will once again demonstrate its quality depth. Seven of the top 15 teams are expected to come from the SEC, although there is one in the top five.
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As in many years, the 2025-2026 season was dominated by debate and discussion about the strength of the schedule. Especially with the Group of Five teams reaching the College Football Playoff, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish getting knocked out of the tournament in favor of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Those discussions will only increase this coming season, as the playing field remains locked at 12. And perhaps most importantly, scheduling philosophies change quickly as programs improve to reach the postseason.
Well, we already have a new ranking of the ten toughest schedules for next season, and, spoiler alert, it’s those two conferences again.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning warms up before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 22, 2025. (Photos by Scott Wachter/Imagn)
The SEC dominates the toughest schedules, with the Big Ten coming in second
Bill Connelly, creator of the statistics-based SP+ ranking system housed at ESPN, posted on X this week about the current strongest schedules in the country, based on the top teams considered in SP+. And the SEC dominates the list, with a few Big Ten teams in between.
Per Connelly, the Texas Longhorns are expected to have the toughest schedule in the country, and if you look at it, you can see why. They host Ohio State, which is expected to be the best team in college football. They play at Tennessee, have their traditional rivalry game against Oklahoma, host Florida and Ole Miss, go on the road at Missouri and LSU, host Arkansas, and finish with another rivalry game at Texas A&M. There is only one team that may be at the top, but in a few weeks they are facing lower quality opponents.
Speaking of Ohio State, they are the Big Ten’s top-ranked team, coming in at #4, with plenty of tough games available in 2026. On the road in Texas, home to Illinois, Iowa, defending national champion Indiana, USC, home to Oregon, Nebraska, and home to Michigan. Two top five teams, and many teams that are probably top 20 or 25.
Here is the complete list:
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- Texas Longhorns
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Oklahoma Soon
- The Ohio State Buckeyes
- The Michigan Wolverines
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Ole Miss Rebels
- The Kentucky Wildcats
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- The Florida Gators
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin falls for a pass against Rutgers during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 22, 2025. (Jay LaPrete/AP)
So seven of the top ten are from the SEC, and the remaining three are from the Big Ten. No surprise there. But the fact that there is so little surprise, and the strength of both conferences, makes it clear why there will continue to be scheduling conflicts between the Fourth Power going forward.
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The SEC, and the Big Ten as well, will have strong arguments to make that they deserve multiple playoff spots due to the difficulty of finishing in each conference. And they’ll certainly have a lot to say about Notre Dame’s playoff schedule as well.
The Irish are now guaranteed a place if they finish in the top 12. Their plan for 2026 shows that they are well aware of it.
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- In Wisconsin
- Rice
- State of Michigan
- at Purdue
- in North Carolina
- Stanford
- at BYU
- in the Navy
- Miami
- Boston College
- SMU
- in Syracuse
Compare that to Texas or Ohio State, and you see where the disagreement will be. Expanding the playoffs to 16 teams, for example, would allow for more playoff spots and remove some of the disadvantages of strong schedules in those conferences. However, for now, it will be a tough road for many SEC teams, and many Big Ten teams as well.
