EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCollege football has never been a more chaotic mess off the field. Thank goodness we still have the actual games, which remain as great as ever.The start of the 2026 season is only a month away.And so, it's time to break down the schedules, analyzing which teams appear to have it tough and which, well, don't.Does anyone have a more difficult road than Ohio State, which must travel to potential preseason AP No. 1 Texas and defending national champ Indiana?Can Texas Tech overcome the loss of quarterback Brendan Sorsby and advance to the playoff for a second consecutive season?Will Ole Miss be able to exact revenge on former coach Lane Kiffin when LSU visits Oxford?Can Oklahoma and USC survive their brutal conference stretches?That and more on ESPN's annual preseason schedule evaluation.Toughest overall Power 4 schedule: Ohio State BuckeyesLast season, the Buckeyes beat then-top-ranked Texas in the opener and cruised through the rest of the regular season. Ohio State faced only two more opponents ranked -- No. 17 Illinois and No. 15 Michigan -- and rolled by a combined 36 points.The Buckeyes didn't see the Big Ten's other top teams -- Indiana, Oregon and USC -- and a Nov. 1 showdown against Penn State didn't materialize, as the Nittany Lions fell apart.Were last year's Buckeyes battled-tested for the postseason?They lost to the Hoosiers 13-10 in the Big Ten title game before falling 24-14 to Miami in a playoff quarterfinal. In both defeats, Ohio State got pushed around up front.This season's schedule is a different story. The Buckeyes go to Texas on Sept. 12. In mid-October, they travel to Indiana (Oct. 17) and USC (Oct. 31) before taking on Oregon on Nov. 7, capping a brutal three-game stretch.Should the Buckeyes return to the playoff, they'll definitely be battled-tested this time.Easiest overall Power 4 schedule: Texas Tech Red RaidersTexas Tech won't have Sorsby after a tumultuous offseason surrounding his eligibility in the wake of a gambling scandal. Yet the Red Raiders still have a path back to the playoff with Will Hammond at quarterback, thanks in part to a soft schedule.Texas Tech's toughest nonconference game is at Oregon State, which is coming off a 2-10 season. The Red Raiders also don't face Utah or BYU, the two other Big 12 teams ranked in the top 20 of ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25.Strength of schedule might hurt Texas Tech's case for an at-large bid. But the Red Raiders remain the favorites to win the Big 12 and punch their playoff ticket for a second straight year.Toughest overall Group of 6 schedule: Western Kentucky HilltoppersThe Hilltoppers have a vicious nonconference schedule, with consecutive road trips to Georgia (Sept. 12) and Indiana (Sept. 19). Western Kentucky also travels to Nevada in the opener and mercifully rounds out its nonleague slate against Mercyhurst.The Hilltoppers' last two Conference USA home games come against Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State, which played in the conference title game last year.To win its first Conference USA crown in a decade, Western Kentucky will have to earn it.Easiest overall Group of 6 schedule: Liberty FlamesThe Flames are one of the other preseason favorites in Conference USA, but they have a much easier road than Western Kentucky.Liberty opens at James Madison, which is coming off a playoff appearance, but the Flames don't play a Power 4 opponent, getting Ball State (No. 134 in Bill Connelly's preseason SP+ rankings) at home and the FCS' Gardner-Webb before traveling to Coastal Carolina (No. 119) on Sept. 24.Liberty also gets Western Kentucky at home Nov. 21 and doesn't have to play another Conference USA contender in Jacksonville State.Toughest Power 4 nonconference schedule: Georgia Tech Yellow JacketsUnder coach Brent Key, the Yellow Jackets have pulled off several marquee wins, and they'll have opportunities for more this season.Georgia Tech faces Colorado and Tennessee in Atlanta to start the year, then plays at Georgia again to end it. On Sept. 19, the Yellow Jackets also play Mercer.Georgia Tech has come oh-so close to upsetting the Bulldogs during the past three years, including falling in an eighth overtime in 2024. Could this be the year the Yellow Jackets finally topple their in-state rival?Easiest Power 4 nonconference schedule: Nebraska CornhuskersThe Huskers narrowly edge out the Hoosiers for the nod here. Indiana plays North Texas (which lost its top players via transfer to Oklahoma State), Howard (5-7 last year) and poor Western Kentucky (which will be coming off its game at Georgia).Yet Nebraska gets Ohio and Bowling Green from the MAC, plus North Dakota (a solid FCS program, though not to be confused with powerhouse North Dakota State).The Huskers haven't finished with eight victories in a decade. With this nonconference slate, they have a decent chance to start 5-0 before Indiana visits Lincoln on Oct. 10.Toughest Power 4 home schedule: USC TrojansThis will be a pivotal season for coach Lincoln Riley, who has gone 11-7 through USC's first two seasons in Big Ten play.With quarterback Jayden Maiava, who led the country with a QBR of 91.2 last season, the Trojans have the goods to contend for a playoff berth. But USC's schedule, especially at the Coliseum, won't make it easy.The Trojans face Oregon (Sept. 26), Washington (Oct. 3) and Ohio State (Oct. 31) at home.USC also visits Penn State (Oct. 10) and Indiana (Nov. 14), making its overall schedule among the nation's most challenging.Easiest Power 4 home schedule: Virginia CavaliersThe Cavaliers' home slate features NC State (Aug. 29), Norfolk State (Sept. 11), Delaware (Sept. 26), Syracuse (Oct. 10), Duke (Oct. 23), Cal (Nov. 14) and North Carolina (Nov. 21).At No. 44, Duke, which toppled the Cavaliers in the ACC championship game last season, is the highest ranked of those opponents in the preseason SP+.Virginia does play West Virginia in Charlotte. But the Cavaliers don't have to see Miami as they try to keep momentum off last year's 11-win season.Toughest November: Oklahoma SoonersThe Sooners continue to face daunting conference stretches in their third SEC season.On Nov. 7, they go to Florida, return to Norman to play Ole Miss and Texas A&M before ending the regular season Nov. 28 at Missouri.The Rebels and Aggies made the playoff last year, are currently ranked in the ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 10 and have their quarterbacks (Trinidad Chambliss and Marcel Reed) returning.Florida has a new coach in Jon Sumrall and Missouri boasts arguably the top running back in the country in Ahmad Hardy.The Sooners also visit Michigan (Sept. 12) and Georgia (Sept. 26) and face Texas in Dallas (Oct. 10), giving them one of the most difficult overall schedules in the country.Toughest three-game stretch: Northwestern WildcatsAfter enduring a rough few years at the end of the Pat Fitzgerald era, the Wildcats bounced back under coach David Braun, including a 7-6 finish last season.This year, they'll have to survive this rugged three-week gauntlet: at Oregon (Oct. 31), Iowa (Nov. 7) and at Ohio State (Nov. 14).The Ducks and Buckeyes have national championship aspirations again and Iowa went 9-4 last year (with its four losses totaling a combined 15 points).Florida also deserved consideration here. The Gators travel to Texas, face Georgia in Atlanta and play Oklahoma in The Swamp. The Gators at least have a bye on Oct. 24 after playing the Longhorns.Save the dates: Oct. 10 and Oct. 17Let's hope nobody you know is getting married on either of these Saturdays.On Oct. 10, Oklahoma and Texas clash in Dallas, Georgia visits Alabama and USC goes to State College for first-year Penn State coach Matt Campbell's first big test.Oct. 17, however, might even be worse for a wedding.Ohio State travels to Indiana in a rematch of the Big Ten title game, the Crimson Tide visit rival Tennessee, Notre Dame heads to BYU, Florida State and Miami square off and the Nittany Lions visit the Big House in Ann Arbor.Other notable Oct. 17 matchups: Auburn-Georgia, Arizona State-Texas Tech, Florida-Texas, Missouri-Ole Miss, Kansas-Kansas State, TCU-Baylor, Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech and North Carolina-Duke.Serving revenge: The Kiffin BowlAfter bailing on the Rebels for the Tigers before the playoff, Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford on Sept. 19 with his new team for an ABC primetime kickoff.Both programs have playoff hopes. That -- plus massive bragging rights -- will be at stake in Week 3.International flair: Dublin and London (but not Rio)For the first time, the college football season almost featured three games outside North America.TCU and North Carolina face off on Aug. 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The Horned Frogs smoked UNC 48-14 last year in coach Bill Belichick's college debut.On Sept. 19, Kansas and Arizona State clash at Wembley Stadium in London for the Union Jack Classic.Virginia and NC State had their Aug. 29 game scheduled in Rio de Janeiro but ultimately relocated the opener from Brazil to Charlottesville.Jet lagged: Arizona StateIn addition to flying to London, the Sun Devils travel to College Station, Lubbock, Provo and Orlando.That's almost 20,000 miles of travel.Fortunately, Arizona State's regular-season finale is in Tucson, a short two-hour drive down Interstate 10.
