10 easiest non-conference schedules for Power Five college football teams
Some Power Five college football teams took the hard road. Georgia bookends the regular season against Clemson and Georgia Tech. Stanford takes on three Power Five opponents outside of Pac-12 play.
Others will have it easier. For every Georgia or Stanford there is a Kentucky or Tennessee, which surrounds a single Power Five opponent in non-conference play with the flimsiest schedule possible.
The benefit? Scheduling down outside of the SEC can lock down a postseason berth for those teams that struggle to finish with more than three wins in league play. The downside? These are terrible games!
Here are the easiest non-conference schedules in the Power Five:
1. Kentucky: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, vs. Chattanooga, vs. New Mexico State, at Louisville
ULM had one of the worst seasons in Football Bowl Subdivision history in 2020 and, unsurprisingly, will have a new coaching staff in 2021. Chattanooga is a Football Championship Subdivision program and New Mexico State is historically one of the worst teams in the country.
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2. Tennessee: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Tennessee Tech, vs. South Alabama
At least this schedule will help coach Josh Heupel stay in the mix for bowl play in his debut season. Even with wins at a premium for the past 15 years, that Tennessee would schedule the combination of Bowling Green, Tennessee Tech and South Alabama is embarrassing.
3. Syracuse: at Ohio, vs. Rutgers, vs. Albany, vs. Liberty
It's better to play Rutgers now than in 2022 or 2023, when Greg Schiano's program will have progressed well past Syracuse's predictable mediocrity (or worse). Ohio made a summertime coaching change with Frank Solich's retirement. The saddest part of this schedule isn't the schedule itself but the fact that Syracuse could easily go 1-3.
4. Northwestern: vs. Indiana State, vs. Duke, vs. Ohio
This sort of non-conference schedule is more common than not for Northwestern, which will often face one FCS opponent (Indiana State in 2021), one MAC opponent (Ohio) and one Power Five opponent from a school with a similar academic focus. Since 2011, the Wildcats' Power Five foes have been Boston College (2011-12), Vanderbilt (2012), Syracuse (2012-13), California (2013-14), Notre Dame (2014 and 2018), Stanford (2015 and 2019), and Duke (2015-18).
5. Missouri: vs. Central Michigan, vs. Southeast Missouri State, vs. Boston College, vs. North Texas
The Tigers would face even more directional schools if the SEC didn't mandate that pesky game against a team from the Power Five. Boston College will be solid but the Tigers do get the Eagles at home.
6. Rutgers: vs. Temple, at Syracuse, vs. Delaware
Temple is hurtling back toward the bottom quarter of the FBS, Syracuse (as noted) is a trash heap and Delaware is from the FCS, so look for the Scarlet Knights to go 3-0 outside of the Big Ten and have a shot at getting to six wins.
7. Arizona State: vs. Southern Utah, vs. UNLV, at Brigham Young
BYU is going to take a step back after finishing No. 11 in the final Paste BN Sports AFCA Coaches Poll of 2020, though how far the Cougars slide depends on quarterback play and the offense as a whole. The other two games are easy wins.
8. Pittsburgh: vs. Massachusetts, at Tennessee, vs. Western Michigan, vs. New Hampshire
A road game in Knoxville doesn't mean what it used to. Otherwise, the Panthers take on one FCS team (New Hampshire) and an FBS program that should be in the FCS (UMass) in addition to a date with a solid MAC opponent in Western Michigan.
9. Texas A&M: vs. Kent State, vs. Colorado (in Denver), vs. New Mexico
Kent State's going to score a ton of points in the MAC and Colorado is solid, if unlikely to match last year's winning record under coach Karl Dorrell. But with the matchup against the Buffaloes moved to Denver, there are no true road games on the Aggies' non-conference schedule.
10. Texas Tech: at Houston, vs. Stephen F. Austin, vs. Florida International
At least Stephen F. Austin is one of the best teams in the FCS. In Texas Tech's defense, the program can use every win it can get in coach Matt Wells' third season.