The start of the 2010 college football season is still more than three months away, but all of the schedules are set and it’s time to look at which team has the toughest road to the BCS national championship.
After researching every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, I’ve compiled this list of 26 programs who have college football’s toughest schedules.
The method I used for compiling the list was pretty simple. First, find out how many games each team plays against the preseason top 25.
I used the preseason rankings from the list compiled by National Champs – these guys have a strong track record of accurately predicting which teams will be ranked when the AP and Coaches polls are released in August.
Next, I narrowed the list by how many games each team plays against the preseason top 10.
Finally, I looked at how many of those games against top 25/top 10 opponents were at home and on the road.
For example, the Tennessee Volunteers have one of the toughest 2010 schedules in the nation with five games against preseason top 25 opponents, three of which are in the top 10.
But all three of their games against top 10 opponents are at home.
Mississippi State has two games against top 10 opponents, one less than the Vols, but the Bulldogs play both of those games on the road.
Thus, I rated Mississippi State’s schedule as the tougher of the two.
Every team listed plays at least four games against the preseason top 25.
You’ll note I also included some of the tougher games on every team’s schedule, even if that team wasn’t in the preseason top 25.
Five teams from the ACC, two from the Big XII, eight from the SEC, two from the Mountain West, two from the Big East, two from the Big Ten and five Pac-10 teams make up the 26 toughest schedules in college football this season.
Below the list of 26 are the other programs with notable schedules this season, generally including two or three games against teams in the preseason top 25.
The team with the toughest schedule in college football this year?
You’ll be surprised.
1. Virginia Cavaliers
(6 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, None in the Top 10)
Home – Florida State, North Carolina, Miami (FL)
Away – Southern California, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech
2. Iowa State Cyclones
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 3 in the Top 10)
Home – Texas Tech, Utah, Nebraska
Away – Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas
Away – LSU, Houston, Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss
4. Tennessee Volunteers
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 3 in the Top 10)
Home – Oregon, Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss
Away – LSU, Georgia, South Carolina
5. LSU Tigers
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss
Neutral – North Carolina (Atlanta)
Away – Florida, Auburn, Arkansas
6. Minnesota Golden Gophers
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 3 in the Top 10)
Home – Southern California, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa
Away – Wisconsin
7. Miami (FL) Hurricanes
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, South Florida
Away – Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Georgia Tech
8. North Carolina Tar Heels
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, None in the Top 10)
Home – Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech
Neutral – LSU (Atlanta)
Away -Florida State, Miami (FL)
9. North Carolina State Wolfpack
(5 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, None in the Top 10)
Home – Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Florida State
Away – Georgia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina
10. Wyoming Cowboys
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 3 in the Top 10)
Home – Boise State, Utah
Away – Texas, TCU, BYU
11. Oregon State Beavers
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 3 in the Top 10)
Home – California, Southern California, Oregon
Neutral – TCU (Dallas)
Away – Boise State, UCLA, Arizona, Stanford
12. UCLA Bruins
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Stanford, Houston, Arizona, Oregon State, USC
Away – Kansas State, Texas, California, Oregon, Washington
13. Ohio State Buckeyes
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Miami (FL), Penn State, Michigan
Away – Wisconsin, Iowa
14. Washington Huskies
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Nebraska, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA
Away – BYU, USC, Arizona, Oregon, California
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, Arizona
Away – Wisconsin, Oregon State, Washington, California, Southern California
16. Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Wisconsin, TCU
Away – Utah, West Virginia, BYU
17. Arizona Wildcats
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Iowa, California, Washington, Southern California, Oregon State
Away – UCLA, Stanford, Oregon
18. Texas A&M Aggies
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Missouri
Neutral – Arkansas (Dallas)
Away – Texas
19. South Carolina Gamecocks
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 2 in the Top 10)
Home – Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas
Away – Auburn, Florida, Clemson
20. Florida Gators
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – South Florida, LSU, South Carolina
Neutral – Georgia (Jacksonville)
Away – Tennessee, Alabama, Florida State
21. South Florida Bulls
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – Pittsburgh, Connecticut
Away – Florida, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Miami (FL)
22. Auburn Tigers
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia
Away – Ole Miss, Alabama
23. Alabama Crimson Tide
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – Penn State, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn
Away – South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU
24. Vanderbilt Commodores
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – LSU, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee
Away – Ole Miss, Connecticut, Georgia, Arkansas
25. Virginia Tech Hokies
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, 1 in the Top 10)
Home – Georgia Tech
Neutral – Boise State (Landover, MD)
Away – Boston College, North Carolina, Miami (FL)
26. Pittsburgh Panthers
(4 Preseason Top 25 Opponents, None in the Top 10)
Home – West Virginia, Miami (FL)
Away – Utah, Notre Dame, South Florida, UConn Cincinnati
Other Notable Schedules
California Golden Bears
Home – UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, Washington
Away – Arizona, Southern California, Oregon State,
Penn State Nittany Lions
Home – Michigan
Away – Alabama, Iowa, Ohio State
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Home – Michigan, Stanford, Pittsburgh, Utah
Away – Boston College, Southern California
Air Force Falcons
Home – BYU, Utah
Away – Oklahoma, TCU
Brigham Young Cougars
Home – Washington
Away – Florida State, TCU, Utah
New Mexico Lobos
Home – Texas Tech, TCU, Utah
Away – Oregon, BYU
Oklahoma Sooners
Home – Florida State, Texas Tech
Neutral – Texas (Dallas)
Away – Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Missouri
Oregon Ducks
Home – Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Arizona
Away – Tennessee, Southern California, California, Oregon State
Stanford Cardinal
Home – Southern California, Arizona, Oregon State
Away – UCLA, Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington, California
Southern California
Home – Virginia, Washington, California, Oregon, Notre Dame
Away – Minnesota, Stanford, Oregon State, Arizona, UCLA
Arkansas Razorbacks
Home – Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU
Neutral – Texas A&M (Dallas)
Away – Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina
Georgia Bulldogs
Home – Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia Tech
Neutral – Florida (Jacksonville)
Away – South Carolina, Auburn
You call Oregon State playing TCU at Cowboys Stadium as neutral? You mean now that 80,000 Horned Frog fans can go to the game instead of 45,000 that fits in their home stadium?
That’s good stuff. On the other hand, I will be flying to the see the game in person and I have always been considered to be loud….
I agree with you, but it’s still technically a neutral field. I know OSU won’t consider it a neutral field when they play the game.
Tennessee plays #1 and #3 preseason.
This is easily the toughest schedule.
UVA plays none in the top 10.
Moondog… Miami.
Not knowing which poll you used…USA has Miami playing (6) top 25 and (2) in top 10 (OSU and VT)
http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
and bye the bye… There is no way Virginia should be in 1 spot over # 2 through 7, if not playing top 10. For that matter (2) thru (19)… IMO
But other then that A great attempt… Thanks
Cat5Cane
I used the poll I linked in the post. Based on the AP and Coaches polls that were just released, it would revise the list some. Maybe I’ll revise the post now that all of the polls have been released.
Thanks.
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