NCAAF · 1 month ago

Phil Steele Ranks the Top 15 Hardest Schedules in College Football for 2026

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

15. LSU Tigers
No college football conversation can be complete without mention of Lane Kiffin, and Phil Steele checked that box by tossing the LSU Tigers at No. 15. LSU begins the season with a marquee matchup against the Clemson Tigers in Baton Rouge in primetime. The road schedule is fairly approachable with only two projected ranked teams on the road: Ole Miss (I’m sure they’ll be hospitable hosts to Lane Kiffin!) and Tennessee. Season ticket holders will get their money’s worth. In addition to Clemson, LSU has home games against Texas A&M, Alabama and Texas.
Schedules Matter, Phil Steele Ranks the Toughest Ones
Renowned college football expert Phil Steele has published his strength-of-schedule rankings for the 2026 season. With the campaign just a couple of weeks away, which 15 teams have the toughest path ahead? The list of the top 15 is, predictably, littered with schools from the SEC and the Big Ten, with the Texas Longhorns holding the number one spot.
1. Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are primed for a huge season, but they will have to earn a trip to the College Football Playoffs by going through the nation’s toughest schedule. Of the 20 teams with the best odds to reach the CFP, Texas is scheduled to face eight. They begin with Texas State before things get very serious, as the Ohio State Buckeyes invade Austin in a matchup that will likely determine who is ranked No. 1 for at least a few weeks. The Longhorns also have away matchups with Tennessee, Oklahoma, LSU, and Texas A&M, plus a home date with Ole Miss.
2. Michigan Wolverines
There is a case to be made for multiple Big Ten teams to be ranked at number two, but Phil Steele has the Michigan Wolverines with the toughest schedule in the league and the second-toughest in the country. Michigan plays Oklahoma in Ann Arbor as part of a massive Week 2 in college football with UTEP and Western Michigan rounding out the non-conference portion of the schedule. Kyle Whittingham’s welcome to the Big Ten includes clashes with Iowa, IU and Penn State at home plus road games against Oregon and rival Ohio State. In addition, they don’t get to play doormats Purdue or Maryland.
3. USC Trojans
Phil Steele stays in the Big Ten for the third-ranked schedule. The USC Trojans begin in Week 0 with San Jose State and ease into things with matchups with Fresno State and Louisiana. Things get a bit tricky as USC has to start dealing with lengthy travel on September 19 with a game in New Jersey at Rutgers. They return to the West Coast to host ranked foes Oregon and Washington, then head back east to play at Penn State, travel back home for a bye week, and then go two time zones again to play at Wisconsin. The Trojans close with No. 1 Ohio State and reigning national champs Indiana in Bloomington before playing Maryland and UCLA. In short, they should start 4-0 before playing five of six games against ranked teams.
4. Arkansas Razorbacks
Ryan Silverfield was not given a warm welcome to the SEC by the schedule makers. Phil Steele has Arkansas ranked with the fourth-toughest schedule thanks to a very tough conference draw plus an odd non-conference trip to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Utes on September 12 (Week 2 is loaded!). The Hogs play Georgia, Tennessee and LSU in Fayetteville and have road games to Texas A&M, Texas, Auburn and Vanderbilt. For a team that will probably be at a talent disadvantage in each SEC game, it’s easy to see why the over/under win total is only 3.5.
5. Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma fans seem confident that their offensive line has matured and can be a strength this season. Brent Venables better hope that is the case because the Sooners have Phil Steele’s fifth-hardest schedule. They play on Big Noon on FOX against the Michigan Wolverines on September 12, take on a well-coached New Mexico team on September 19, and then travel to Sanford Stadium to play Georgia in Week 4, all before an early bye week. The annual game against Texas is next, followed by a relative breather with games against Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida. The road trips to Starkville and Gainesville won’t be picnics. To close, Oklahoma hosts Ole Miss and Texas A&M before playing at Missouri.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
The third Big Ten team on the list and Phil Steele’s sixth-toughest schedule belongs to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The preseason No. 1 team had a bit of a cakewalk in the regular season last year, but that is far from the case in 2026. After opening with Ball State, Ohio State travels to Austin to play Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns. They have conference road games against Iowa, Indiana, USC and Nebraska in addition to hosting the Oregon Ducks and Michigan Wolverines. In total, that’s six games against preseason-ranked opponents, with four of them on the road.
7. Michigan State Spartans
Phil Steele stayed in the Big Ten and put Michigan State at number seven. The Spartans brought head coach Pat Fitzgerald back to the Big Ten, and he begins his first season in East Lansing with a game against a potentially dangerous Toledo team before hosting Eastern Michigan. Things get tougher as they play at Notre Dame to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. The rest of September and October is not bad at all with no games against the top of the league, but November is rough with a trip to rival Michigan and home games against Washington and Oregon.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Jeff Lebby could really use a winning record in his third season in Starkville, but the schedule is not doing him any favors. Phil Steele has the Mississippi State Bulldogs at No. 8 for the toughest schedules thanks to an important road game at Minnesota in the non-conference and conference games against at least five teams that will be ranked. That includes road trips to LSU, Texas and Ole Miss and home games against Alabama and Oklahoma. Stealing a road win at South Carolina is possible, but they’ll probably need to protect home field against Missouri, Vanderbilt and Auburn to find six wins.
9. Purdue Boilermakers
When you are the conference doormat, catching some breaks in the schedule is imperative to outperform expectations. Unfortunately for Barry Odom and the Purdue Boilermakers, their schedule offers very little respite. Phil Steele has the Boilers with the ninth-toughest schedule, and they play 11 of their 12 games against teams that are in power conferences (and Notre Dame). The opening game against Indiana State should be a blowout win, and the week two home game against Wake Forest is important. Purdue avoids Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Oregon, but they also miss potentially winnable games like Michigan State and Northwestern. Conference home games against Minnesota and Maryland are their best bets to snap the conference losing streak.
10. Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are routinely on the list of toughest schedules, and that does not change this season as Phil Steele puts them at No. 10. They open with the aerial attack of Florida Atlantic and then find out how Camels (from Campbell) fare in The Swamp (hint: not well). Of course, the third non-conference game is rival Florida State. FSU is down, but that’s still a tougher game than most have for the non-conference. Within the SEC, the Gators take on Ole Miss, Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma, and they have tricky road trips to Auburn and Missouri. They also do not get to play Mississippi State or Arkansas.
11. Kentucky Wildcats
Will Stein’s first season as a head coach has generated a lot of excitement in Lexington, and there are plenty of reasons for UK fans to be optimistic. This season’s schedule is not one of those reasons. Phil Steele ranks Kentucky's schedule as the 11th-hardest. Of course, the Wildcats close the regular season with rival Louisville, and in the SEC, they don’t draw Mississippi State or Arkansas. On the plus side, they avoid Georgia and Texas, but Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Missouri are all on the slate.
12. Stanford Cardinal
The toughest schedule for a team not in the SEC or Big Ten belongs to the Stanford Cardinal of the ACC. Phil Steele puts the Cardinal at number 12. Hawaii is a challenging opener in week zero, and they begin ACC play in week one with a home game against conference favorite Miami. The Cardinal play at Notre Dame on October 10 and also have to play three straight road games with trips to Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Cal.
13. North Carolina Tar Heels
Phil Steele stays in the ACC and slots North Carolina at number 13. The Tar Heels open with TCU in Dublin on August 29 and then take week one off. A trip to Clemson awaits on September 19, before bye week number two on September 26. That means UNC has to play nine straight games without a break, and the list of opponents includes Notre Dame, Miami and Louisville. The only good news for Bill Belichick? It seems somewhat unlikely he’ll be required to stick around for the whole season before collecting his buyout check.
14. Northwestern Wildcats
Phil Steele goes back to the Big Ten and selects David Braun’s Northwestern Wildcats with the 14th-toughest schedule. The Wildcats are opening a new stadium that looks fantastic, and they have home games against South Dakota State, Colorado, Penn State, Rutgers, Iowa and Illinois. The slate also includes a brutal road draw with trips to IU, Oregon and Ohio State plus a game at Minnesota on November 21 that could be incredibly cold. Perhaps the toughest part of this schedule will be dealing with a bye week on September 12, which then requires Northwestern to play 11 straight games with no break.
15. LSU Tigers
No college football conversation can be complete without mention of Lane Kiffin, and Phil Steele checked that box by tossing the LSU Tigers at No. 15. LSU begins the season with a marquee matchup against the Clemson Tigers in Baton Rouge in primetime. The road schedule is fairly approachable with only two projected ranked teams on the road: Ole Miss (I’m sure they’ll be hospitable hosts to Lane Kiffin!) and Tennessee. Season ticket holders will get their money’s worth. In addition to Clemson, LSU has home games against Texas A&M, Alabama and Texas.
Schedules Matter, Phil Steele Ranks the Toughest Ones
Renowned college football expert Phil Steele has published his strength-of-schedule rankings for the 2026 season. With the campaign just a couple of weeks away, which 15 teams have the toughest path ahead? The list of the top 15 is, predictably, littered with schools from the SEC and the Big Ten, with the Texas Longhorns holding the number one spot.

Phil Steele Ranks the Top 15 Hardest Schedules in College Football for 2026

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