SEC, Big Ten lead college football's toughest schedules in 2024, ranked (2024)

2024 schedule: Western Michigan, South Dakota, Alabama, at USC, Purdue, at Rutgers, at Northwestern, Penn State, at Iowa, Oregon, at Nebraska, Minnesota

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 5

Can Luke Fickell improve at Wisconsin in his second season? Well, the Badgers' schedulegot increasingly more difficult thanks to Big Ten expansion. Iowa is not ranked, but that doesn't mean November will be favorable since a trip to Nebraska looms. USC and Oregon are now on the schedule and there's a non-conference matchup with the defending SEC champion Crimson Tide in Week 3. That marks Kalen DeBoer's first true road game as head coach at Alabama and it will certainly be a hostile environment in Madison for that one.

2024 schedule: at Hawaii, Indiana, at LSU, Oregon, at Penn State, Minnesota, at Rutgers, at Nebraska, Iowa, at Washington, USC, Fresno State

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25:4

First-year coach Deshaun Foster is up against this nightmarish schedule, arguably the toughest in the expanded Big Ten. The Bruins finish up the back end of the two-game series with LSU in Baton Rouge a few weeks into the campaign, then host Oregon after that. Trips to Penn State and Washington remain, along with home games against Iowa and USC. The good news? UCLA doesn't have to play Michigan or Ohio State in 2024.

2024 schedule: Fresno State, Texas, Arkansas State, USC, Minnesota, at Washington, at Illinois, Michigan State, Oregon, at Indiana, Northwestern, at Ohio State

Ranked opponents in 247Sports'post-spring top 25: 4

No more complaining about Michigan's non-conference schedule, okay? Not only do the Wolverines host Texas in Week 2, but they'll take on Fresno State and Arkansas State as well, two teams that reached bowl games in 2023 and have loads of returning starters. All that happens beforethe Big Ten season commences with USC coming to Michigan Stadium on Sept. 21. The home schedule for the Wolverines is simply loaded with the Longhorns, Trojans, Spartans and Ducks.

2024 schedule: LSU (Las Vegas), Utah State, at Michigan, Wisconsin, at Minnesota, Penn State, at Maryland, Rutgers, at Washington, Nebraska, at UCLA, Notre Dame

Ranked opponents in 247Sports'post-spring top 25:4

If USC "upsets" LSU to open the season in Las Vegas, perhaps the Trojans can use that momentum into bigger and better things during their inaugural campaign in the Big Ten. In addition to playing the Tigers in a matchup of ranked teams, USC takes on Michigan, Penn State, Washington and Notre Dame with similar stakes.

2024 schedule: Southern Miss, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, at Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, at Florida, Auburn, at Tennessee, Murray State, at Texas, Louisville

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 5

The first two weeks of the 2024 season are crucial for Mark Stoops and the Wildcats, who entertain top-ranked Georgia in Week 3 with a chance to crack the top 10 with a victory. After that, Kentucky will play three top-15 teams away from Lexington — Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas — and closes it out with Louisville, which won 10 games last season, in the finale. Kentucky's won five-straight in the rivalry with the Cardinals, one of Stoops' most impressive feats during his long tenure.

2024 schedule: Georgia, Appalachian State, NC State, Stanford, at Florida State, at Wake Forest, Virginia, at Louisville, at Virginia Tech, at Pitt, The Citadel, South Carolina

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 5

Clemson moves into the nation's toughest schedules ahead of the new season with a harder-than-initially-expected November. The Tigers open with top-ranked Georgia in Atlanta and begin ACC play a couple weeks later against upstart NC State at home. That's not going to be an easy matchup by any stretch. Two weeks after that, a trip to Tallahassee could decide which one of the preseason elites is still in the league title picture.

2024 schedule: WKU, USF, at Wisconsin, Georgia, at Vanderbilt, South Carolina, at Tennessee, Missouri, at LSU, Mercer, at Oklahoma, Auburn

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 5

Before any "welcome to the SEC" wisecracks are tossed in the direction of first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, consider this: His schedule at Washington in 2024 would've been equally difficult in the uber-competitive Big Ten. Fourteen of our preseason top 15 teams for 2024 are from those two conferences, now superpowers across college football, comparatively. We're tracking five games — there could be six if the Badgers find a spot in the polls in August — against nationally-ranked teams including a home showdown with top-ranked Georgia in DeBoer's SEC debut.

2024 schedule: Clemson (Atlanta), Tennessee Tech, at Kentucky, at Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, at Texas, Florida (Jacksonville), at Ole Miss, Tennessee, UMass, Georgia Tech

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25:5

You would be hard-pressed to find a tougher road schedule than what Kirby Smartmust overcome. They play away from Sanford Stadium five times, including the neutral-site opener against Clemson. The others include Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss — three preseason top-10 teams. That's brutal, even for a program well-equipped to handle heavyweight fights like Georgia.

2024 schedule: EKU, at Arizona State, Toledo, Florida, at Texas, at Georgia, Texas A&M, Arkansas, UMass, at Tennessee, Missouri, at Ole Miss

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 6

If you're first-year coach Jeff Lebby, overlooking non-conference tilts with Arizona State and Toledo prior to the SEC home opener against Florida is a bad idea. Those won't be easy games for the Bulldogs, who will be working their way into a new scheme. At least there's an open date between battles with Texas and Georgia on the road, right? Mississippi State will be double-digit road underdogs in both contests. And like the No. 1 team in this schedule ranking, the final few games of the season are incredibly tough against Tennessee, Missouri and Ole Miss. Getting to bowl eligibility will not be easy for Lebby and Co.

2024 schedule: Florida State (Dublin, Ireland), Georgia State, at Syracuse, VMI, at Louisville, Duke, at UNC, Notre Dame, at Virginia Tech, Miami, NC State, Georgia

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 7

One of only two ACC teams in our toughest schedules rankings, Georgia Tech has a difficult road ahead, especially if November when the Yellow Jackets play Miami, NC State and Georgia to end it. Brent Key must have this team ready to go every week, or else getting to bowl eligibility will be a challenge.

2024 schedule: Virginia Tech, Alcorn State, at Georgia State, at Missouri, Alabama, at Kentucky, Ball State, Texas, at Auburn, South Carolina, at LSU, Tennessee

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 6

This schedule simply does not let up for the Commodores and coach Clark Lea. They open against ACC dark horse Virginia Tech in Nashvilleand get two winnable games after that in the non-conference prior to the SEC gauntlet kicking off at Missouri. From there, Vanderbilt plays three top-10 opponents prior to the season-ending stretch against the Gameco*cks, Tigers and Vols. Another winless conference season could be on the horizon, unfortunately.

2024 schedule: Temple, Houston, Tulane, Tennessee, at Auburn, Texas (Dallas), South Carolina, at Ole Miss, Maine, at Missouri, Alabama, at LSU

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 6

The Sooners only leave Norman once in September, but that's when the difficult stretch begins if Oklahoma's able to get past Tennessee in the SEC opener for a potential 4-0 start. What follows is a trip to Auburn, then five games against top-25 teams over the final seven to close it out. Few teams face the late-November gauntlet that Oklahoma must endure with trips to Missouri and LSU with a home bout against the defending SEC champion in the middle.

2024 schedule: Old Dominion, at Kentucky, LSU, Akron, Ole Miss, at Alabama, at Oklahoma, Texas A&M, at Vanderbilt, Missouri, Wofford, at Clemson

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 7

South Carolina's football schedule is always a challenge, but one would think missing annual rivals Georgia, Tennessee and Florida for the first time in decades would make things easier on the Gameco*cks. Hardly. South Carolina hosts LSU and Ole Miss and travels to Alabama, Oklahoma and Clemson next season. That's five games against teams who could likely be inside the top 15 at the time of contest. That Week 2 road game against Kentucky is pivotal for both based on the difficult schedules for each.

2024 schedule: Arkansas Pine Bluff, at Oklahoma State, UAB, at Auburn, Texas A&M (Arlington), Tennessee, LSU, at Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas, Louisiana Tech, at Missouri

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 7

The schedule at Arkansas for Sam Pittman has been treacherous since his arrival and the 2024 slate is no different. The Razorbacks travel to Stillwater for the first time in decades to take on last year's Big 12 runner-up in Week 2 and have to go to Auburn two weeks after that. From there, Arkansas still has four preseason top-10 teams on the docket, including home bouts with LSU, Ole Miss and Texas.

2024 schedule: Miami, Samford, Texas A&M, at Mississippi State, UCF, at Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia (Jacksonville), at Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State

Ranked opponents in 247Sports post-spring top 25: 8

One ofonlythree teams in college football tasked with facing 11 Power-conference teamsthis fall, the Gators have their work cut out for them during what amounts to a contract season for Billy Napier after consecutive losing campaigns. Miami and Texas A&M appeared in our post-spring rankings, bringing the total of nationally-ranked opponents to eight this fall. The brutality includes five straight games in November against top-25 opponents, beginning with Georgia and ending with defending ACC champion Florida State in Tallahassee. Florida's trip to Texas in November is sandwiched between the Georgia game and a home showdown with LSU.