Which college football teams have the toughest schedules in 2026? Texas, Michigan, USC lead the way
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The 2026 college football season is upon us.
The Indiana Hoosiers are the reigning national champions and are coming off an undefeated season. The slate has been wiped clean for every team, and a new quest for the College Football Playoff is about to begin.
Not every schedule is created equally — especially after the creation of these super conferences that are no longer bound by region. Some Power Four schools will have to run an absolute gauntlet over the course of the season.
For some schools, an incredibly tough schedule will be another résumé checkmark in the eyes of the CFP committee, if they can get through it. For others, an incredibly tough schedule means a rough couple of months ahead, with a bowl game appearance seeming like a faint dream.
Here are 10 teams with the toughest 2026 schedules. Even though some of these teams are considered College Football Playoff favorites, getting there will be no easy task.
*Preseason AP poll rankings shown in parentheses.
Texas Longhorns
Texas finished the season with a 10-3 overall record, going 6-2 in conference play. The Longhorns missed out on the CFP but did end up beating Michigan 41-27 in the Citrus Bowl.
The Longhorns could be playing their last season with QB Arch Manning, who is eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft.
Texas opens in Week 1 with Texas State, but that tune-up game will be overshadowed by a Week 2 matchup against Ohio State, the preseason No. 1 team in the country.
The Longhorns then face UTSA before playing nine conference games in a row. Texas' schedule is highlighted by a road game against Tennessee (No. 20), the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma (No. 10), a home game against Ole Miss (No. 9), and then road games against both LSU (No. 11) and Texas A&M (No. 8).
Those five opponents had a combined 49-18 record last season.
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan has a new head coach in Kyle Wittingham after finishing last season ranked 21st in the country with a 9-4 overall record and a 7-2 clip in the Big Ten.
Wittingham will make his debut in Week 1 against Western Michigan. The Wolverines will then host Oklahoma (No. 10) in Week 2 as their marquee non-conference matchup. After a Week 3 home game against UTEP, the Wolverines will play nine straight conference games.
The good news for Michigan is that it plays just four road games. The bad news is that two of them are at Oregon (No. 2) and Ohio State (No. 1), with both games coming in the final three weeks of the season.
The Wolverines also have tough home games against Iowa (No. 22), Penn State (No. 18), Indiana (No. 6) and UCLA, all of which should be competitive matchups.
USC Trojans
Lincoln Riley could be on the hot seat with the Trojans. He took over ahead of the 2022 season, and in four years so far, USC has gone 35-18 with no CFP berth.
Southern Cal will open in Week Zero at home against San Jose State. The Trojans will then play Fresno State and Louisiana before their first off week.
When USC returns, it starts conference play. The Trojans' Big Ten slate this season consists of games against Washington (No. 17), Penn State (No. 18), Ohio State (No. 1), Indiana (No. 6), and UCLA.
Even games that don't look tough on paper will be ones to watch out for, as USC lost games last year on the road to both Minnesota and Maryland, the latter of which only registered one conference win all year.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State was a perfect 12-0 last year before dropping games against Indiana in the Big Ten title game and then Miami in the College Football Playoff.
This year, the Buckeyes will open at Ball State in Week 1, but follow that up with a road night game against Texas (No. 5). Ohio State will then face Kent State at home in Week 3 before starting its Big Ten conference games in Week 4.
Ohio State will have to go on the road against Iowa (No. 22), Indiana (No. 6) and USC (No. 14), while hosting Oregon (No. 2) and Michigan (No. 16). The Buckeyes finally beat the Wolverines in 2025 after losing to their rival four consecutive seasons.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas is coming off a season to forget as the Razorbacks finished dead last in the SEC and didn't win a single conference game last year.
Former Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield will have to get his team ready quickly for a home game against North Alabama in Week 1 because Arkansas will go on the road to Utah (No. 21) in Week 2.
The Razorbacks will return home in Week 3, but will face Georgia (No. 3). After a game against Tulsa, Arkansas will finish with eight straight SEC matchups.
This season, the Razorbacks will play on the road against Texas A&M (No. 8), Vanderbilt, Auburn and Texas (No. 5). They have home games against Tennessee (No. 20), South Carolina and LSU (No. 11).
UNC Tar Heels
The Bill Belichick era got off to a rocky start last season as North Carolina hosted TCU and got obliterated, 48-14. UNC recovered with wins against Charlotte and Richmond, but only registered two conference wins the rest of the season to finish 4-8 overall.
The Tar Heels will kick off the 2026 regular season again against TCU, but this time the game will be in Dublin. After an off week, UNC will return home to take on East Tennessee State.
UNC travel to Clemson, Pittsburgh, Duke, and Virginia this season, while also hosting Miami (No. 7) and NC State.
UNC also managed to draw both independent schools and will take on both Notre Dame (No. 4) and UConn, with the latter being a road game.
Oregon Ducks
The Ducks went undefeated in Big Ten play in 2024, but finally registered a conference loss last season, falling to Indiana at home.
Oregon opens the 2026 season at home against Boise State, which is in its first year in the rebuilt Pac-12. The Ducks then head to Oklahoma State and face Portland State before beginning conference play.
They will have to play on the road against teams like USC (No. 14), Illinois and Ohio State (No. 1). The Ducks' home slate is also tough as they welcome Nebraska, Michigan (No. 16) and Washington (No. 17) to Autzen Stadium.
Florida Gators
The Jon Sumrall era is set to begin in The Swamp. Florida is coming off a 4-8 season that included a 2-6 conference record with wins against Texas and Mississippi State.
Florida will open the season in Week 1 against Florida Atlantic, then play Campbell before nine consecutive SEC matchups.
The Gators will play Auburn, Texas (No. 5) and Florida State on the road this year. Florida will host Ole Miss (No. 9), South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma (No. 10).
This year's World's Largest Cocktail Party against Georgia (No. 3) will take place on Halloween, which will surely make for a wild atmosphere. Florida has only beaten Georgia once since 2017 (during the 2020 season).
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma made the CFP last season, but lost in the first round to Alabama. The Sooners are expected to be back in the mix for this year's CFP, provided they can get through their schedule.
After opening in Week 1 against UTEP, OU gets its first big test on the road against No. 16 Michigan at The Big House.
Oklahoma then returns home to play New Mexico before going right back on the road to take on Georgia (No. 3). After an off week, the Sooners then have Texas (No. 5) in the Red River Rivalry game.
OU's second half of the season is a little lighter, but still includes home games against South Carolina, Ole Miss (No. 9) and Texas A&M (No. 8). The Sooners will also go on the road to face Florida and then will end their season away against Missouri (No. 25) in what could end up being a trap game in the final week of the season.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue finished last season with a 2-10 record, unable to register a conference win for the second consecutive season. Things won't get much easier for the Boilermakers this year as their three non-conference games are Indiana State, Wake Forest and No. 4 Notre Dame.
In addition to these games, the Boilermakers will go on the road to face UCLA, Illinois, Penn State (No. 18), Iowa (No. 22) and Indiana (No. 6) in one of the toughest road slates in football. Purdue will play Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Washington (No. 17) at home.
Dishonorable Mention: Northwestern Wildcats, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Michigan State Spartans, Florida State Seminoles, South Carolina Gamecocks.
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