Ranking the Toughest 35 College Football Schedules in 2024

35. Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech has a favorable schedule that sets up nicely for the Hokies to have a memorable season. That written, there are a lot of games where they will only be slight favorites and could very easily drop them. In the ACC, the Hokies play at Miami and host Clemson, but they avoid North Carolina State and Florida State. They play at Vanderbilt to open the season, have a weird Week 3 game at Old Dominion, and host a capable Marshall team and a tough Rutgers squad. No cakewalks, but the Hokies should be 4-0. Games against Georgia Tech and Boston College could be tricky, but they are at Lane Stadium.

Virginia Tech 2024 Win Total: 8.5

2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are entertaining to watch under head coach Brent Key. After several losing seasons, the Yellow Jackets returned to the postseason with a 7-6 season in 2023 behind the play of quarterback Haynes King and electric running back Jamal Haynes. GT has a lot of speed and could have been a real sleeper in the ACC, but this schedule packs a lot of sting. The Yellow Jackets have their annual non-conference clash against the Georgia Bulldogs, which will significantly ratchet up the difficulty. They also draw Notre Dame in the scheduling agreement rotation. Beyond that, they play North Carolina State, Miami, at Virginia Tech, and at Louisville in ACC play. Also, they open the season in “Week Zero” against the Florida State Seminoles in Dublin, Ireland. They play seven teams that are expected to be ranked, the highest number of anyone in the ACC.

Georgia Tech 2024 Win Total: 5.5

3. USC Trojans

The USC Trojans are undergoing a program transformation, according to Lincoln Riley. After lighting up the scoreboard but finding limited success in the win/loss column, USC is going back to the drawing board on defense. They hired UCLA’s defensive coordinator to find some toughness on that side of the ball as they head to the Big Ten. The 2024 schedule will test how much progress they have made in that department. The Trojans open the season with LSU in Las Vegas and have Notre Dame in the non-conference slate. They then draw Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Nebraska, and they make exceptionally long road trips to Minnesota and Maryland. For a program with many questions, this schedule does not provide much comfort.

USC 2024 Win Total: 7.5

4. UCLA Bruins

Cross-town rival UCLA also finds a place in the most demanding schedule of the top ten, as first-year head coach Deshaun Foster gets a rough welcome to the Big Ten. The Bruins have a tricky opening week road trip to Hawaii and an early bye week. They also go to Baton Rouge in non-conference play and have a game against an excellent Fresno State squad. Their first year in the Big Ten sees games at Penn State, Rutgers, Nebraska, and a trip to Washington. They also host rival USC, Oregon, and the pain-in-the-neck Iowa Hawkeyes. UCLA only faces four projected ranked teams, but it would not be surprising to see that number end at six or seven.

UCLA 2024 Win Total: 5.5

5. Vanderbilt Commodores

The Vanderbilt Commodores are never going to have an easy schedule. They are in the SEC and don’t get to play, well, Vanderbilt. Why the Commodores insist on making things even harder on themselves is a mystery. They play Virginia Tech in Nashville for some strange reason, and instead of scheduling four “wins” in non-conference play, they have a likely loss. Vanderbilt draws South Carolina and Kentucky in SEC play, but everything else is a significant challenge: at Missouri, Alabama, Texas, Auburn, LSU, and Tennessee. Clark Lea is under pressure to show progress but will be hard-pressed to do it with this schedule.

Vanderbilt 2024 Win Total: 2.5

6. Purdue Boilermakers

The Big Ten West offered a refuge from brutal schedules, and with the extinction of divisions in the Big Ten, the Purdue Boilermakers are now looking squarely in the face of one of the nation’s toughest slates. After a disappointing 2023 under young head coach Ryan Walters, Purdue lost their top wide receiver and top defensive player to the transfer portal. They then drew a very tough schedule in the Big Ten and have an oddly demanding non-conference schedule. The Boilermakers play Notre Dame, travel to Oregon State, and have conference games against Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State. Their toss-up games mostly come on the road as they travel to Illinois, Michigan State, and Indiana.

Purdue 2024 Win Total: 4.5

7. Georgia Bulldogs

If the Georgia Bulldogs will fulfill their preseason hype as the likely No. 1 seed in the expanded College Football Playoff, they will have to earn it. The Bulldogs don’t have to play themselves but still have one of the nation’s most demanding schedules. They begin the season with a game in Atlanta against the Clemson Tigers. While UGA is a double-digit favorite, that will not be a game where they can work out many early-season kinks and still expect to coast. They also play a capable Georgia Tech squad to close the campaign. Conference road games include Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas, and Florida (in Jacksonville), and they host very capable squads in Tennessee and Auburn. Georgia is an elite team and should still push for 11 or 12 wins, even with this schedule, but they will be tested.

Georgia 2024 Win Total: 10.5

8. Houston Cougars

The only Big 12 team in the top ten most demanding schedules is the Houston Cougars. Willie Fritz takes over from Tulane, and the Cougars will have a tough time reaching a bowl game with this slate. They play at Oklahoma in a non-conference game in week two and have to play a competent UNLV team capable of upsetting them in the opener. The only top Big 12 team they miss is UCF, meaning they have to play Arizona, Kansas, Kansas State, and Utah. The only surefire win on this slate is a game against Rice, and even the Owls could threaten them as they return a lot of production. The season's final game is a tough trip to BYU, a difficult place to play, and the weather could play a role in November.

Houston 2024 Win Total: 4.5

9. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide are under new leadership as Nick Saban retired and Kalen DeBoer has been hired. The standard and expectations of the fanbase will not change, and DeBoer and his staff will have their work cut out for them in Year 1. The non-conference schedule is certainly navigable, but it’s not a piece of cake. They have a tricky road game at Wisconsin, a fringe top-25 team, and they play Byrum Brown and the USF Bulls early. With a rebuilt secondary in Tuscaloosa, that game could get uncomfortable. The Crimson Tide play Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma, and Auburn, with only games against Vanderbilt and South Carolina as relative breathers in league play.

Alabama 2024 Win Total: 9.5

10. Michigan Wolverines

First-year head coach Sherrone Moore is in a great spot in Ann Arbor as he takes over a program fresh off of a national title and is set up very well by his predecessor and former boss, Jim Harbaugh. Moore should be able to keep Michigan among the national leaders, but it will not be easy in Year 1. The Wolverines play Fresno State and Arkansas State in non-conference play, two competent “Group of Five” opponents that could at least make UM sweat a bit. The headliner is a visit from the Texas Longhorns. That is far tougher than anything Michigan has faced in the non-conference since the series with Notre Dame ended. They play USC, Washington, Oregon, and Ohio State in the conference and have potentially tricky road trips to Illinois and Indiana. Making the playoff with a rebuilt coaching staff will be an accomplishment with this schedule.

Michigan 2024 Win Total: 9.5

11. Arizona State Sun Devils

Kenny Dillingham’s tenure with the Arizona State Sun Devils has shown promise on the recruiting trail and the Sun Devils survived the death of the PAC-12 with a landing spot in the Big 12 but the 2024 schedule is a rough one. They drew all of the top teams in the Big 12 with matchups against Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Arizona all on the slate. The non-conference is no cakewalk either. The Sun Devils open with a Wyoming program that is perfectly capable of pulling an upset and then they host Mississippi State. Arizona State follows that up with a difficult road trip for a Thursday night showdown with Texas State. The Bobcats have a high-powered offense and that will be a test. There are no games on this schedule against elite teams but there are no games where Arizona State will be comfortable favorites either.

Arizona State 2024 Win Total: 4.5

12. Arkansas Razorbacks

No coach is on a hotter seat than Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman. Bobby Petrino is standing on the sidelines waiting for a move to happen and the schedule is not going to do Pittman any favors. The opener against Arkansas Pine-Bluff is a breeze but they have a non-conference game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater that will see them as Week 2 underdogs. The only conference game that Arkansas will not be a large underdog in will be October 26 against Mississippi State but that game is in Starkville. They play a number of expected ranked teams (Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri) and it’s very hard to see the Razorbacks doing enough to keep Pittman employed.

Arkansas 2024 Win Total: 4.5

13. Wisconsin Badgers

Luke Fickell’s first season in Madison did not play out as planned but hopes are high at Camp Randall for the Wisconsin Badgers to begin cranking up the offense in year two. The problem? The Big Ten West is a thing of the past and the 2024 schedule is very tough. Obviously, the headliner is the September 14 clash against Alabama. Wisconsin hosting the Crimson Tide is a very cool game but it’s going to be a very difficult early-season test for Wisconsin. They have conference road games against USC, Rutgers, Iowa and Nebraska and have to host top ten foes Penn State and Oregon. They get to play Purdue at home and they also host Western Michigan and South Dakota in non-conference action but the schedule is why Wisconsin’s win total is lower than many would expect.

Wisconsin 2024 Win Total: 6.5

14. South Carolina Gamecocks

The 2024 season for the South Carolina Gamecocks is going to be about one major thing: the development of young quarterback LaNorris Sellers. The dual-threat quarterback is an exciting talent and how he looks this season will go a long way toward determining Shane Beamer’s future as head coach of the Gamecocks. Their schedule is going to present a number of very tough challenges. Obviously, they play Clemson (at Death Valley) in the non-conference. That is an annual rivalry game in the Palmetto State and there’s no getting around it but the rest of the non-con schedule is easy. The conference slate is a rough one as they play at Kentucky, at Alabama and at Oklahoma. Williams-Brice Stadium offers a cool atmosphere but the Gamecocks have not turned that into some impenetrable fortress and they have to host LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri. The only breather in the league is a road trip to Vanderbilt.

South Carolina 2024 Win Total: 5.5

15. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Jeff Lebby gets a tough welcome in his first-year as a head coach. The former Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator has a rebuilding job with the Mississippi State Bulldogs and State has to battle a very difficult schedule in 2024. The Bulldogs don’t get Vanderbilt in-conference and they have to travel to Georgia, Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss. Those brutal trips are in addition to home games against Texas A&M, Florida and Missouri. The only relative toss-up in the SEC slate is a home game against Arkansas. The non-conference is winnable but even that features the aforementioned trip to Tempe to play Arizona State plus a home game against the best program in the MAC, the Toledo Rockets.

Mississippi State 2024 Win Total: 3.5

16. Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks enter the Big Ten for the 2024 season and immediately have a difficult flight path. The season begins with the Idaho Vandals and that should be a breeze but the other two non-conference games are Boise State and a trip to Oregon State to play the rival Beavers. Oregon should win both of those games but those are not easy contests. The Big Ten schedule features games against Ohio State and Michigan plus road trips to Wisconsin and UCLA. Home games against Illinois, Maryland and Washington are likely wins at Autzen Stadium but they don’t get complete breathers against the bottom of the league. A team as talented as Oregon won’t be bothered too much but they will have to earn a record good enough for the College Football Playoff.

Oregon 2024 Win Total: 10.5

17. Minnesota Golden Gophers

There are no easy schedules in the Big Ten. With a nine-game slate and several top 25 squads in the league, everyone is bound to play at least a few difficult games. Some are more favorable than others, looking at you Rutgers! The Minnesota Golden Gophers add in a Thursday night home game against North Carolina in the non-conference and they catch Michigan and Penn State in the league. What makes this schedule a bit more difficult than average is the number of toss-up games the Gophers have to play on the road. They play UCLA, Illinois, Rutgers and Wisconsin on the road. The venue moves those from games they would likely be favored in, to games the Gophers are underdogs in. Throw in tough home games against Iowa, USC and Maryland and no games against the expected bottom of the league (IU, Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State) and Minnesota did not get a favorable draw.

Minnesota 2024 Win Total: 5.5

18. Colorado Buffaloes

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes draw a lot of attention and interest regardless of who they play. The Buffaloes do have one of the tougher schedules in the Big 12 and they will need to improve quite a bit to qualify for a bowl game. The season begins with a test against FCS North Dakota State. The Bison are very capable of challenging Colorado if they are not ready to go. After the opener, Colorado is on the road for matchups with Nebraska and Colorado State. Neither of those games will be easy and they will be underdogs in Lincoln. The Big 12 doesn’t have any elite teams but there are a number very good programs and the Buffaloes don’t miss any of the projected top teams. That means they play games against Kansas State, Kansas, Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma State. Additional road trips to the Bounce House (UCF) and Lubbock (Texas Tech) provide a challenge as well.

Colorado 2024 Win Total: 5.5

19. West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia takes a tough Big 12 schedule filled with “toss-up” games and throws in non-conference clashes against Penn State and at rival Pitt. PSU is the toughest opponent on paper but this schedule is filled with teams expected to be ranked somewhere 10 and 25 nationally: Kansas, at Oklahoma State, Kansas State, at Arizona. They also have potentially difficult road trips to Cincinnati and Texas Tech. The Mountaineers return a very strong rushing attack and the heart of a decent defense that can get after the quarterback (they led the Big 12 in sacks) but West Virginia will be hard-pressed to equal the 9-4 record they had last season thanks to a tougher schedule in 2024.

West Virginia 2024 Win Total: 6.5

20. Penn State Nittany Lions

James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions stand to gain as much as any program with the expanded College Football Playoff. Penn State is a perfect example of a program that would have made the 12-team playoff more times than not but came up short of making the four-team field. If they can continue to perform at the same level, they’ll safely make the 12-team field. The 2024 schedule is relatively tough with a non-conference game in raucous Morgantown to open the season. The Nittany Lions don’t leave home again until October 12 but that is a trip to the Coliseum to play USC followed by a trip to Madison to play Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions host number two Ohio State on November 2 and host Washington on November 9.

Penn State 2024 Win Total: 9.5

21. BYU Cougars

The BYU Cougars enter the 2024 season with a head coach on the hot seat as they deal with the changing Big 12 and search for an identity in the changed landscape. The schedule isn’t brutal but it does a team in need of wins absolutely no favors. They open with Southern Illinois but that is the only game on the slate that can be confidently projected as a win. The Cougars have non-conference road games at SMU and Wyoming and then conference road trips to Baylor, UCF, Utah and Arizona State. Three of those contests are toss-up games that become much harder on the road. They also have to play ranked foes Kansas State, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Kansas at home. The only game beyond the opener they would currently be favored in would be the finale against Houston.

BYU Cougars 2024 Win Total: 4.5

22. Oklahoma Sooners

Welcome to the SEC, Oklahoma! The Sooners have an explosive offense led by a five-star quarterback that will be tested during the 2024 season. Oklahoma gets Temple, Houston, Maine and Tulane at home in the non-conference slate. Houston is a power conference team (albeit a poor one right one) and Tulane should be a quality test but that is an easy non-conference schedule. The conference schedule more than makes up for it. OU takes on six opponents currently ranked in the top 16 in the Coaches Poll. That includes road trips to Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU and the neutral site game against Texas. Alabama and Tennessee will come to Norman and they throw in a road trip to Auburn. So, Oklahoma does not get to play Vanderbilt, Mississippi State or Arkansas as breathers during the gauntlet.

Oklahoma 2024 Win Total: 7.5

23. LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers are hoping a revamped defensive coaching staff can improve a unit that was shambolic in 2023. The Bayou Bengals had an electric offense led by the Heisman Trophy winner and never threatened for the SEC crown due to the defensive shortcomings. The 2024 schedule is going to test the Tigers and provide for a pretty tense season for Brian Kelly. The campaign begins against USC in Las Vegas. While LSU is favored, that is not a walk in the park. LSU also plays UCLA in the non-conference, a team that will at least challenge their run defense. In the SEC, the Tigers have to play Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma at home and travel to Texas A&M and Florida. The saving grace is games against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Arkansas that should be comfortable victories.

LSU 2024 Win Total: 9.5

24. Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern’s Big Ten schedule is not the most difficult draw they could have received but the slate is a tough one, particularly when the Wildcats will spend the season playing every home game at a temporary home field that might reduce whatever home-field advantage Ryan Field provided. The Wildcats begin with MAC Champion Miami (OH) before a clash with Duke. Those are both toss-ups. They have road trips to Washington, Maryland, Iowa, and Michigan and then “home” games against IU, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. Reaching a second straight bowl game is a tall task for head coach David Braun.

Northwestern 2024 Win Total: 4.5

25. Virginia Cavaliers

This is a pivotal season for Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott. The Cavaliers need to show real progress with quarterback Anthony Colandrea blossoming and a lot of positive markers but it’s a bottom line business and wins are needed for Elliott to feel safe. The Cavaliers play Maryland and have a strange road game at Coastal Carolina plus they draw Notre Dame in non-conference play. Maryland is a toss-up and Notre Dame is a near-certain loss. They have home league games against Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina, and SMU and very tough road games against Clemson and Virginia Tech. Add in toss ups against Wake Forest and Pitt on the road and it’s an uphill battle for Elliott and UVA.

UVA 2024 Win Total: 4.5

26. TCU Horned Frogs

This is a big year for Sonny Dykes and the TCU Horned Frogs. They were a huge surprise in 2022 and made the College Football Playoff Championship Game but stumbled to a disappointing losing record in 2023. Most consider the Horned Frogs a one-year wonder incapable of contending for a playoff bid, but there is opportunity in the reformed Big 12. No program in that league widely outstrips TCU for resources, and they should have every reason to expect to compete for a conference crown. The 2024 schedule is relatively demanding, with non-conference games against Stanford and rival SMU, both on the road. In Big 12 play, the Horned Frogs travel to Kansas and Utah and host Oklahoma State, Arizona, Texas Tech, and UCF. The only games they will be heavily favored are Long Island in Week 2 and Houston on October 4.

TCU 2024 Win Total: 7.5

27. Iowa Hawkeyes

The Big Ten West is no more and schools like Iowa will no longer be able to coast through a conference schedule that has avoided ranked teams for most of the season. The Hawkeyes hope a change at offensive coordinator can elevate their broken offense and that Norm Parker’s defense can continue to perform at a top-ten level. The schedule is not demanding, but it will challenge them. They host Iowa State and Troy in non-conference play before entering the Big Ten with back-to-back road trips. One is at Minnesota, and the other is to Columbus, where they will be heavy underdogs against Ohio State. They also have to play at UCLA and at Maryland and have potentially tricky home games against Washington, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. They avoid Michigan, Oregon, and Penn State but don’t get the two teams projected at the bottom either (Indiana and Purdue).

Iowa 2024 Win Total: 8.5

28. Michigan State Spartans

Jonathan Smith’s first season in East Lansing is not expected to be particularly pleasant for the Michigan State Spartans. His rebuilt roster is nowhere near where it needs to be on the lines of scrimmage, and the Spartans have a demanding schedule against which to battle. The non-conference is navigable but includes a road trip to Boston College to play the Eagles on September 21. Things get very tough in the Big Ten. Their first five Big Ten games are as follows: at Maryland, Ohio State, at Oregon, Iowa, and at Michigan. The ending is much more manageable with games against IU, Purdue, Rutgers, and Illinois, but what will be left of MSU’s roster after going through that five-game gauntlet earlier?

Michigan State 2024 Win Total: 4.5

29. Baylor Bears

This is a big year, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. His Bears need to show significant progress on the field if he is to remain in Waco. The Bears have a new quarterback and are hoping to turn things around after back-to-back disappointing campaigns. The draw in the Big 12 is not as tough as it could have been, but this will still be a tricky slate for a team in desperate need of wins. The non-conference features a potential headache of a game against Air Force on September 14, and they have a very tough road lineup that includes Utah, Colorado, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. Of the expected Big 12 favorites, Baylor does not have to play Kansas State or UCF, but they get the rest of them with home games against TCU, Oklahoma State, and Kansas.  

Baylor 2024 Win Total: 5.5

30. Florida State Seminoles

The Florida State Seminoles enter the season as the favorite to win the ACC Championship. If they repeated as conference champions, they would not be denied a trip to the College Football Playoff as they were in 2023. To repeat, they will face a more demanding schedule than they did last year. Florida State has an interesting “Week Zero” game in Dublin against an explosive Georgia Tech squad before returning home and playing Boston College on Labor Day. They get a week off before playing another explosive offense: the Memphis Tigers. Their non-conference games are later in the season as they finish conference play on November 2, a real rarity. They are at Notre Dame on November 9 and then versus Charleston Southern and Florida to close the year. In the conference, they have to play at Miami and at SMU and host Clemson on October 5.

Florida State 2024 Win Total: 9.5

31. Illinois Fighting Illini

The Illinois Fighting Illini are among the many mid-level teams expected to be hovering on the edge of bowl eligibility. The schedule is incredibly important for those teams and can make or break what they can do. The 2024 draw for the Illini is quite tricky and features four games against currently ranked teams: at Penn State, Michigan, at Oregon, and in Week 2 against Kansas. Illinois will be a heavy underdog against three of those teams, and to reach a bowl game, they’ll need to go 6-3 against the rest of the schedule. They still have a chance because of games against Central Michigan, Eastern Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan State. Toss-up games at Nebraska, at Rutgers, and then against Northwestern and Minnesota will likely decide the fate of the season.

Illinois 2024 Win Total: 5.5

32. Stanford Cardinal

The actual games on the schedule for the Stanford Cardinal in 2024 are not incredibly tough. The travel involved and the cumulative impact that could have over a long season makes Stanford’s schedule particularly tricky. From September 20 to November 2, the Cardinal will travel to Syracuse (New York), Clemson (South Carolina), Notre Dame (Indiana) and North Carolina State (North Carolina). That will be a tough stretch for a team that will probably do a lot of losing. Add in a home game to open the season against TCU and games against Virginia Tech and SMU, and the Cardinal will have a long first campaign in the ACC.

Stanford 2024 Win Total: 3.5

33. Washington Huskies

The Washington Huskies were a surprise participant in the National Championship Game. It was no fluke; they earned it with a spectacular offense, but they are hitting the reset button for the 2024 season with a new head coach, largely a new roster, and a new conference as they join the Big Ten. The Huskies begin with two easy games at home and the Apple Cup against Washington State. They kick off conference play with Northwestern at home, and then the fun starts with a very long road trip to Rutgers. Washington has to play in New Jersey, at Iowa, at Indiana, at Penn State and at Oregon. That is a challenging road slate, and they welcome Michigan and USC to Husky Stadium. Getting to a solid bowl game would be an accomplishment in year one for Jedd Fisch.

Washington 2024 Win Total: 6.5

34. Clemson Tigers

Clemson’s 2024 schedule can be reasonably broken into two parts. The first part is as challenging as nearly anyone else’s nationally. They begin with No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta and then head home for a clash against one of the better Group of Five programs in the country in Appalachian State. ACC play begins against North Carolina State on September 21, and then they play at Florida State on October 5. That is a challenging first five weeks, but they have a chance to build momentum if they can survive at 4-1 or 3-2. After very winnable games against Wake Forest, Virginia, and Louisville, the Tigers are at Virginia Tech. Then they play Pitt, The Citadel, and host South Carolina to wrap up the season.

Clemson 2024 Win Total: 8.5

35. Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech has a favorable schedule that sets up nicely for the Hokies to have a memorable season. That written, there are a lot of games where they will only be slight favorites and could very easily drop them. In the ACC, the Hokies play at Miami and host Clemson, but they avoid North Carolina State and Florida State. They play at Vanderbilt to open the season, have a weird Week 3 game at Old Dominion, and host a capable Marshall team and a tough Rutgers squad. No cakewalks, but the Hokies should be 4-0. Games against Georgia Tech and Boston College could be tricky, but they are at Lane Stadium.

Virginia Tech 2024 Win Total: 8.5