The quality of schedule a team plays is more important now than ever before, given the weight that playing good competition is given when the College Football Playoff selection committee meets to pick the teams that will play for the national championship.
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And this season will be historic, as the CFP is set to expand from four teams to 12, something that gives teams a little more wiggle room when it comes to playoff selection, but that doesn't mean it still isn't important to be on the same field as good teams. These schools will have the most difficult paths of any other when the 2024 college football season kicks off.
UCLA's schedule: at Hawaii, vs. Indiana, at LSU, vs. Oregon, at Penn State, vs. Minnesota, at Rutgers, at Nebraska, vs. Iowa, at Washington, vs. USC, vs. Fresno State... First-year Bruins coach Deshaun Foster steps in for Chip Kelly facing what might be the toughest schedule in the Big Ten, including a tough early stretch that includes a road date in the SEC.
9. USC
USC's schedule: vs. LSU, vs. Utah St., at Michigan, vs. Wisconsin, at Minnesota, vs. Penn State, at Maryland, vs. Rutgers, at Washington, vs. Nebraska, at UCLA, vs. Notre Dame... USC needs a good showing against LSU in the opener in Vegas before playing Michigan on the road and at home against a good Nittany Lions team.
Georgia Tech's schedule: vs. Florida State, vs. Georgia St., at Syracuse, vs. VMI, at Louisville, vs. Duke, at North Carolina, vs. Notre Dame, at Virginia Tech, vs. Miami, vs. NC State, at Georgia... Tech faces not just the class of the ACC this season, save Clemson, but also faces two likely highly-ranked teams in the Bulldogs and Irish.
7. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt's schedule: vs. Virginia Tech, vs. Alcorn St., at Georgia St., at Missouri, vs. Alabama, at Kentucky, vs. Ball St., vs. Texas, at Auburn, vs. South Carolina, at LSU, vs. Tennessee... Not only do the 'Dores lose their top QB and WR, but they also face another tough SEC slate in addition to a hard non-conference game against the Hokies to open.
Mississippi State's schedule: vs. Eastern Kentucky, at Arizona State, vs. Toledo, vs. Florida, at Texas, at Georgia, vs. Texas A&M, vs. Arkansas, vs. UMass, at Tennessee, vs. Missouri, at Ole Miss... Jeff Lebby steps in as Bulldogs head coach facing a brutal second-half SEC schedule.
5. Georgia
Georgia's schedule: vs. Clemson, vs. TN Tech, at Kentucky, at Alabama, vs. Auburn, vs. Mississippi State, at Texas, vs. Florida, at Ole Miss, vs. Tennessee, vs. UMass, vs. Georgia Tech... A much harder slate this time around for the Bulldogs, who play four tough opponents away from home, including the opener in Atlanta, all against likely highly-ranked opposition.
South Carolina's schedule: vs. ODU, at Kentucky, vs. LSU, vs Akron, vs. Ole Miss, at Alabama, at Oklahoma, vs. Texas A&M, at Vanderbilt, vs. Missouri, vs. Wofford, at Clemson... Watch for a month-straight of tough games here, including back-to-back road dates against Bama and the Sooners.
3. Oklahoma
Oklahoma's schedule: vs. Temple, vs. Houston, vs. Tulane, vs. Tennessee, at Auburn, vs. Texas, vs. South Carolina, at Ole Miss, vs. Maine, at Missouri, vs. Alabama, at LSU... A brutal SEC debut for the Sooners, especially in the latter half of the year including 2 out of 3 games on the road.
Arkansas' schedule: vs. Ark. Pine Bluff, at Oklahoma State, vs. UAB, at Auburn, vs. Texas A&M, vs. Tennessee, vs. LSU, at Mississippi State, vs. Ole Miss, vs. Texas, vs. La. Tech, at Missouri... The Hogs' run stop will get tested early at the Cowboys and stud back Ollie Gordon, and then they go against what could be as many as four top-10 ranked teams in the SEC portion.
1. Florida
Florida's schedule: vs. Miami, vs. Samford, vs. Texas A&M, at Mississippi State, vs. UCF, at Tennessee, vs. Kentucky, vs. Georgia, at Texas, vs. LSU, vs. Ole Miss, vs. Florida State... There isn't a tougher second-half schedule in college football than this murderer's row of games, a stiff test for head coach Billy Napier and his fragile tenure in the Swamp.
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