Last year we broke down the toughest schedules in college football for the 2010 season and had a lot of fun compiling the list.
This year we’ve compiled a list of the 30 toughest schedules for the 2011 college football season, using the same criteria that we used last year.
The process is pretty simple. We look at several preseason polls from Sports Illustrated, ESPN and National Champs and form a consensus on which teams are widely considered to be among the AP and Coaches top 25.
After getting a consensus, we review all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and determine how many games each team plays against the expected preseason top 25.
We then rank each schedule based on how many games each team plays against a top 25 opponent, giving preference to those teams who play more top 25 opponents on the road.
As was the case last season, the SEC has the most teams listed among our 30 toughest schedules.
All the preseason polls have seven teams from the Southeastern Conference among their top 25, so it stands to reason that every team from that league would have a difficult schedule.
The Big 12 Conference has nine teams in our toughest 30 schedules, followed by the Pac-12 with four, the Big Ten with three and the ACC with one.
Our 30th ranked toughest schedule is all about showing some love to the little guy.
Florida Atlantic opens their 2011 season with five straight road games, the first three of which are at Florida on September 3, at Michigan State on September 10 and at Auburn on September 24.
The Owls will more than likely get their doors blown off in all three of those games, but they deserve credit for having the stones to schedule those opponents.
These are what we believe are the 30 toughest schedules in college football for the 2011 season. The number in parentheses indicates the number of games that team plays against the preseason top 25.
1. LSU Tigers (7)
Home – Florida, Auburn, Arkansas
Away – Mississippi State, West Virginia, Alabama
Neutral – Oregon
2. Auburn Tigers (7)
Home – Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama
Away – South Carolina, LSU, Georgia, Arkansas
3. Alabama Crimson Tide (6)
Home – Arkansas, LSU
Away – Penn State, Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn
4. Arkansas Razorbacks (6)
Home – Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi State
Away – Alabama, LSU
Neutral – Texas A&M
5. Tennessee Volunteers (6)
Home – Georgia, LSU, South Carolina
Away – Florida, Alabama, Arkansas
6. Florida Gators (6)
Home – Alabama, Florida State
Away – LSU, Auburn, South Carolina
Neutral – Georgia
7. Mississippi State Bulldogs (6)
Home – LSU, South Carolina, Alabama
Away – Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas
8. Ole Miss Rebels (6)
Home – Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU
Away – Auburn, Mississippi State
9. Baylor Bears (6)
Home – TCU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas
Away – Texas A&M, Oklahoma State
10. Vanderbilt Commodores (5)
Home – Georgia, Arkansas
Away – South Carolina, Alabama, Florida
11. Missouri Tigers (5)
Home – Oklahoma State, Texas
Away – Arizona State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5)
Home – Texas A&M, Oklahoma State
Away – Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri
13. Kentucky Wildcats (5)
Home – Florida, Mississippi State
Away – LSU, South Carolina, Georgia
14. Oklahoma Sooners (5)
Home – Missouri, Texas A&M
Away – Florida State, Oklahoma State
Neutral – Texas
15. South Carolina Gamecocks (5)
Home – Auburn, Florida
Away – Georgia, Mississippi State, Arkansas
16. Kansas Jayhawks (5)
Home – Oklahoma
Away – Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M
Neutral – Missouri
17. Iowa State Cyclones (5)
Home – Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State
Away – Missouri, Oklahoma
18. Kansas State Wildcats (5)
Home – Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
Away – Oklahoma State, Texas
19. Texas A&M Aggies (5)
Home – Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas
Away – Oklahoma
Neutral – Arkansas
20. Georgia Bulldogs (5)
Home – South Carolina, Mississippi State, Auburn
Neutral – Boise State, Florida
21. Oregon State Beavers (4)
Home – Stanford
Away – Wisconsin, Arizona State, Oregon
22. Arizona Wildcats (4)
Home – Stanford, Oregon
Away – Oklahoma State, Arizona State
23. Colorado Buffaloes (4)
Home – Oregon
Away – Ohio State, Stanford, Arizona State
24. Michigan State Spartans (4)
Home – Wisconsin
Away – Notre Dame, Ohio State, Nebraska
25. USC Trojans (4)
Home – Stanford
Away – Arizona State, Notre Dame, Oregon
26. Oklahoma State Cowboys (4)
Home – Oklahoma
Away – Texas A&M, Texas, Missouri
27. Clemson Tigers (4)
Home – Auburn, Florida State
Away – Virginia Tech, South Carolina
28. Penn State Nittany Lions (4)
Home – Alabama, Nebraska
Away – Ohio State, Wisconsin
29. Texas Longhorns (4)
Home – Oklahoma State
Away – Missouri, Texas A&M
Neutral – Oklahoma
30. Florida Atlantic Owls (3)
Away – Florida, Michigan State, Auburn
