| Daily Blog •August 24, 2012 |
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Every year in my magazine, one of the more popular articles is “Who Plays the Toughest Schedule?”
At the beginning of the season, the NCAA usually releases a rating of each team’s schedule based on their opponents’ win/loss record from the previous season. This is a good method but it does have its obvious flaws.
The first flaw is basing the ratings on opponent’s records from the PREVIOUS season. Last year I had Houston in my Top 25 and they finished 13-1 and ranked #18. I also had Georgia and Clemson on my Most Improved Teams List and counted them as a ranked tm for the upcoming schedule and they finished the regular season ranked #12 and #21. If you used the NCAA method you only got credit for playing 3 tms with losing records (all below .500 in ‘10).
The second flaw is basing it on pure overall records. If a team played an FCS school that was 11-1 in 2007, that counted as a MUCH tougher game in the NCAA ratings than facing a team like Alabama who was 7-6 in ‘07 but #1 at the end of ‘08 regular season! My ratings had Bama ranked as a MUCH tougher team than any FCS foe.
My rankings take two major factors into account. The first is my 9 sets of Power Ratings. This ensures that an FCS team is rated much lower than Ohio St or USF, two teams that finished with losing records last year!
The second factor is the amount of home and away games played. As an example, this year some teams will have as many as 8 home games, while others play as many as 8 on the road. Last year Central Michigan played 7 road games and this year they have 7 at home.
After my magazine went to press in Mid-May, I was going over my Toughest Schedule article and I think I found a minor flaw in my own ratings which severely punishes teams like Florida St who plays not one but TWO FCS opponents this year. An FCS team’s power rating is much lower than even a bottom-tier MAC/Sun Belt/WAC team. In Florida St’s case Savannah St is among the bottom teams in the FCS so their ranking was downgraded significantly. The Seminoles came in at #70 in my Toughest Schedule and that got me thinking that if it were down to Florida St or a SEC/Big 12 team for the last spot in the national title game, the Noles weak schedule would really hurt them in the minds of the voters and in the computer ratings.
With this in mind I wanted to come up with a different way at judging strength of schedule (SOS) by analyzing how many national title contenders, darkhorse national title contenders, ranked teams, ranked teams on the road and the number of bowl teams and bowl teams on the road that a team plays in a season. Basically, this is weighing the best teams a team may play in the upcoming season and eliminates some of the very weak teams they play.
First category I decided to look at was National Title Contenders. In my opinion the SEC this year has six legitimate national title contenders while the Big 10 does not have any. Here are the teams that play the most national title contenders.
| # of National Title Contenders | |
| Team | # |
| Mississippi | 4 |
| Kentucky | 4 |
| South Carolina | 4 |
| Florida | 4 |
| LSU | 4 |
| Tennessee | 4 |
| Missouri | 4 |
| Auburn | 4 |
| Texas A&M | 3 |
| Arkansas | 3 |
| Mississippi St | 3 |
| Washington | 3 |
| Vanderbilt | 3 |
| Notre Dame | 2 |
| California | 2 |
| Alabama | 2 |
| Arizona | 2 |
| Arizona St | 2 |
| Clemson | 2 |
| Colorado | 2 |
| Stanford | 2 |
| Georgia | 2 |
Only 22 teams play two or more National Title Contenders with naturally the SEC dominating this list. One of the main reasons why I picked a Florida St vs Oklahoma National Title game was the fact that LSU plays four legitimate national title contenders this year while Florida St and Oklahoma play one.
The next category I wanted to look at was a combo of National Title Contenders and Darkhorse National Title Contenders.
| # of NT/Darkhorse Contenders | |
| Team | # |
| South Carolina | 6 |
| Mississippi | 5 |
| Kentucky | 5 |
| Florida | 5 |
| Missouri | 5 |
| Auburn | 5 |
| Notre Dame | 5 |
| Duke | 5 |
| LSU | 4 |
| Tennessee | 4 |
| Mississippi St | 4 |
| Washington | 4 |
| Vanderbilt | 4 |
| Arizona | 4 |
| Michigan | 4 |
| Miami, FL | 4 |
| NC State | 4 |
| Florida St | 4 |
| Nebraska | 4 |
| Ohio St | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4 |
| Michigan St | 4 |
Again 22 teams play four or more National Title/Darkhorse National Title Contenders and you can see here that one of the main reasons why I am not as high on South Carolina as other preseason publications is in fact their tough schedule which has them playing SIX contenders this year more than any other team in the country.
Next up is the number of AP Top 25 Teams that a team plays. I decided to use the AP over the Coaches Poll because it includes Ohio St.
| # of AP Top 25 | |
| Team | # |
| Iowa St | 6 |
| Kansas | 6 |
| Baylor | 6 |
| Texas Tech | 6 |
| South Carolina | 5 |
| Mississippi | 5 |
| Kentucky | 5 |
| Auburn | 5 |
| Notre Dame | 5 |
| Michigan St | 5 |
| TCU | 5 |
| Kansas St | 5 |
| West Virginia | 5 |
| Texas | 5 |
| Oklahoma St | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 5 |
| Florida | 4 |
| Missouri | 4 |
| Duke | 4 |
| LSU | 4 |
| Tennessee | 4 |
| Washington | 4 |
| Arizona | 4 |
| Michigan | 4 |
| Nebraska | 4 |
| Ohio St | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4 |
| Texas A&M | 4 |
| California | 4 |
29 teams play at least four preseason AP Top 25 teams and it is here where you see the Big 12’s strength of schedule as they have six Preseason AP Top 25 teams and by playing nine conference games the bottom teams in the league all play six Top 25 teams.
The next category naturally was to look at how many of my Preseason Top 30 a team plays.
| # of My Top 30 | |
| Team | # |
| Mississippi | 8 |
| Auburn | 7 |
| Missouri | 7 |
| LSU | 7 |
| Alabama | 7 |
| South Carolina | 6 |
| Kentucky | 6 |
| Michigan St | 6 |
| Florida | 6 |
| Texas A&M | 6 |
| Mississippi St | 6 |
| Arkansas | 6 |
| Notre Dame | 5 |
| Duke | 5 |
| Tennessee | 5 |
| Michigan | 5 |
| Ohio St | 5 |
| Vanderbilt | 5 |
| Miami, FL | 5 |
19 teams play at least five of my preseason Top 30 teams and since I have 10 SEC teams in my Top 30 you can see that the SEC dominates this list with Mississippi playing EIGHT Top 30 teams.
Next category I wanted to look at was to analyze how many ranked teams on the road a team plays. For ranked teams I used a combo of any team ranked in the AP Top 25, Coaches Top 25 or my Top 30.
| # of Ranked Tms on Road | |
| Team | # |
| Missouri | 5 |
| Mississippi | 4 |
| LSU | 4 |
| Alabama | 4 |
| Kentucky | 4 |
| Florida | 4 |
| Arkansas | 4 |
| Tennessee | 4 |
| Michigan | 4 |
| Georgia Tech | 4 |
| Auburn | 3 |
| South Carolina | 3 |
| Texas A&M | 3 |
| Notre Dame | 3 |
| Duke | 3 |
| Iowa St | 3 |
| Kansas | 3 |
| Baylor | 3 |
| Texas Tech | 3 |
| TCU | 3 |
| Kansas St | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 3 |
| Maryland | 3 |
| NC State | 3 |
| Georgia | 3 |
| Texas | 3 |
| Illinois | 3 |
| UAB | 3 |
| East Carolina | 3 |
29 teams play at least three ranked teams on the road this year. Missouri plays an amazing FIVE ranked teams on the road. I have taken a lot of heat for projecting Michigan much lower than most preseason publications. However, keep in mind last year the Wolverines played a total of TWO ranked teams in the regular season. This year they play FOUR ranked teams on the road!
Next up was to look at the number of bowl caliber teams a team plays. For this I used my bowl projections plus naturally added teams like Ohio St and North Carolina which are ineligible to play in a bowl but are certainly bowl caliber as well as a few more MAC teams that may finish 7-5/8-4 and not make a bowl due to limited number of spots slotted for that conference.
| # of Bowl Caliber | |
| Team | # |
| Notre Dame | 11 |
| Michigan | 10 |
| Iowa St | 10 |
| Miami, FL | 10 |
| Virginia Tech | 10 |
| Penn St | 10 |
| Texas A&M | 9 |
| Duke | 9 |
| TCU | 9 |
| Nebraska | 9 |
| Ohio St | 9 |
| Minnesota | 9 |
| California | 9 |
| Boston College | 9 |
| Indiana | 9 |
15 teams this year play at least 9 bowl caliber teams and Notre Dame which plays my toughest schedule in the country according to my magazine leads the NCAA by playing 11 bowl teams this year and does not have really any lay-ups like a lot of other teams do.
| # of Bowl Caliber On Road | |
| Team | # |
| Notre Dame | 6 |
| Virginia Tech | 6 |
| Navy | 6 |
| Michigan | 5 |
| Miami, FL | 5 |
| Penn St | 5 |
| Texas A&M | 5 |
| TCU | 5 |
| Nebraska | 5 |
| Boston College | 5 |
| Indiana | 5 |
| Kentucky | 5 |
| Alabama | 5 |
| Kansas | 5 |
| Maryland | 5 |
| UAB | 5 |
| Syracuse | 5 |
| UTEP | 5 |
| Missouri | 5 |
| Stanford | 5 |
| Hawaii | 5 |
| Eastern Michigan | 5 |
| Idaho | 5 |
23 teams play at least 5 bowl caliber teams on the road and are led by Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Navy who each play six.
To come up with a new ranking of for toughest schedule I assigned a point total for each column and then weighed some columns (National Title Contenders) more than others (Bowl Teams).
Here is a complete ranking of #1-124 with each column.
| Nat'l | Darkhorse | My | Vs Bowl | Vs Bowl | ||||||
| Title | Title | Comb | AP | Cchs | Top 30 | Ranked | Caliber | Caliber | ||
| RK | SCHOOL | Contend | Contend | Contend | Rnk'd | Rnk'd | Rnk'd | On Road | Opp | On Road |
| 1 | Mississippi | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 2 | Missouri | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 6 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 5 | Florida | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| 7 | LSU | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 8 | Auburn | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 9 | Michigan | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 5 |
| 11 | Alabama | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 13 | Duke | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
| 14 | Iowa St | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 16 | Kansas | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| 17 | TCU | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 5 |
| 18 | Miami, FL | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| 19 | Baylor | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 5 |
| 20 | Texas Tech | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 22 | Kansas St | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 23 | Arizona | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| 23 | Michigan St | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 25 | Minnesota | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 25 | Georgia Tech | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 25 | Washington | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 25 | Ohio St | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| 25 | Mississippi St | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 30 | Maryland | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| 30 | California | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 32 | Virginia Tech | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 34 | NC State | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 35 | Boston College | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| 35 | Florida St | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 37 | Texas | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 37 | Vanderbilt | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| 39 | Penn St | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| 39 | Illinois | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 41 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 41 | West Virginia | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 43 | UAB | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| 43 | Wake Forest | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| 45 | Purdue | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 45 | Clemson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 47 | Syracuse | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
| 47 | Oklahoma St | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 49 | Indiana | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 5 |
| 49 | Oregon St | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| 49 | Colorado | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 52 | Northwestern | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 53 | UTEP | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 |
| 53 | Wisconsin | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 55 | Stanford | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| 56 | Iowa | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 57 | East Carolina | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 57 | Rutgers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| 59 | Virginia | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| 60 | Arizona St | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| 60 | Pittsburgh | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 62 | USC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 62 | Southern Miss | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 64 | Washington St | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| 65 | Hawaii | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| 65 | Idaho | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 67 | Fresno St | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| 67 | Florida Atlantic | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| 69 | USF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 69 | Arkansas St | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 69 | Bowling Green | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 72 | Connecticut | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 73 | Cincinnati | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 74 | Oregon | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 75 | Miami, OH | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 75 | Louisiana | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 77 | UCLA | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 78 | Temple | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 78 | North Carolina | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| 80 | Marshall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| 81 | Eastern Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 81 | New Mexico | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 81 | Wyoming | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 84 | Louisville | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| 85 | BYU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 85 | ULM | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 85 | North Texas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 88 | Air Force | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 89 | Navy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 89 | Tulsa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 91 | Ball St | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 92 | Boise St | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 93 | San Diego St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 93 | Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 93 | UCF | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| 96 | SMU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| 97 | Utah | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 97 | Akron | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 97 | San Jose St | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 100 | WKU | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 101 | Nevada | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 102 | Utah St | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 103 | UNLV | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 104 | Massachusetts | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 105 | Louisiana Tech | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 105 | Colorado St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 107 | FIU | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 108 | Troy | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 109 | Middle Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 110 | Rice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 111 | South Alabama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 111 | New Mexico St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 111 | Central Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 114 | Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 114 | Kent St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 114 | Army | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 117 | Northern Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 117 | Memphis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 119 | Texas St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 119 | Tulane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 121 | Toledo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 122 | Western Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 123 | Ohio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 124 | UTSA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Mississippi due to the strength of playing four national title contenders gets the top spot here. 8 of the Top 10 teams are from the SEC with Notre Dame and Michigan being the other two.
Next I wanted to see how these rankings differed from the rankings I had in the magazine.
Toughest Schedule Difference
Rk |
Team | New Rank | Mag Rank | Diff |
| 1 | Bowling Green | 69 | 109 | 40 |
| 2 | Tennessee | 10 | 46 | 36 |
| 3 | Florida St | 35 | 70 | 35 |
| 4 | Hawaii | 65 | 99 | 34 |
| 5 | East Carolina | 57 | 90 | 33 |
| 6 | Georgia | 41 | 72 | 31 |
| 6 | Air Force | 88 | 119 | 31 |
| 8 | Texas Tech | 20 | 50 | 30 |
| 8 | Rutgers | 57 | 87 | 30 |
| 10 | Navy | 89 | 116 | 27 |
| 10 | NC State | 34 | 61 | 27 |
| 10 | Arkansas St | 69 | 96 | 27 |
| 13 | UAB | 43 | 67 | 24 |
| 13 | Miami, OH | 75 | 99 | 24 |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 25 | 48 | 23 |
| 15 | Louisiana | 75 | 98 | 23 |
| 17 | Duke | 13 | 35 | 22 |
| 17 | LSU | 7 | 29 | 22 |
| 19 | Connecticut | 72 | 91 | 19 |
| 20 | Southern Miss | 62 | 80 | 18 |
| 20 | Tulsa | 89 | 107 | 18 |
| 22 | Alabama | 11 | 28 | 17 |
| 22 | Missouri | 2 | 19 | 17 |
| 22 | Minnesota | 25 | 42 | 17 |
| 22 | Florida Atlantic | 67 | 84 | 17 |
| 26 | Pittsburgh | 60 | 76 | 16 |
| 26 | New Mexico | 81 | 97 | 16 |
| 28 | Illinois | 39 | 54 | 15 |
| 28 | Cincinnati | 73 | 88 | 15 |
| 30 | Mississippi St | 25 | 38 | 13 |
| 31 | Virginia Tech | 32 | 44 | 12 |
| 31 | Kansas St | 22 | 34 | 12 |
| 31 | Iowa | 56 | 68 | 12 |
| 34 | Vanderbilt | 37 | 47 | 10 |
| 34 | Wyoming | 81 | 91 | 10 |
| 36 | Auburn | 8 | 17 | 9 |
| 36 | Colorado St | 105 | 114 | 9 |
| 36 | South Alabama | 111 | 120 | 9 |
| 39 | South Carolina | 5 | 13 | 8 |
| 40 | Purdue | 45 | 52 | 7 |
| 40 | Fresno St | 67 | 74 | 7 |
| 40 | San Diego St | 93 | 100 | 7 |
| 40 | Northwestern | 52 | 59 | 7 |
| 40 | North Carolina | 78 | 85 | 7 |
| 45 | Boston College | 35 | 41 | 6 |
| 45 | Kentucky | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| 45 | Louisiana Tech | 105 | 111 | 6 |
| 45 | Middle Tennessee | 109 | 115 | 6 |
| 49 | Nebraska | 20 | 25 | 5 |
| 49 | Northern Illinois | 117 | 122 | 5 |
| 51 | Indiana | 49 | 53 | 4 |
| 51 | Clemson | 45 | 49 | 4 |
| 51 | San Jose St | 97 | 101 | 4 |
| 51 | Houston | 114 | 118 | 4 |
| 55 | Maryland | 30 | 33 | 3 |
| 55 | Arkansas | 15 | 18 | 3 |
| 55 | Wisconsin | 53 | 56 | 3 |
| 58 | Utah St | 102 | 104 | 2 |
| 59 | Idaho | 65 | 66 | 1 |
| 59 | Mississippi | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 59 | ULM | 85 | 86 | 1 |
| 59 | Nevada | 101 | 102 | 1 |
| 59 | FIU | 107 | 108 | 1 |
| 59 | Central Michigan | 111 | 112 | 1 |
| 65 | Florida | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 65 | Memphis | 117 | 117 | 0 |
| 65 | Ohio | 123 | 123 | 0 |
| 65 | UTSA | 124 | 124 | 0 |
| 69 | TCU | 17 | 16 | -1 |
| 69 | Texas | 37 | 36 | -1 |
| 69 | Western Michigan | 122 | 121 | -1 |
| 72 | Notre Dame | 3 | 1 | -2 |
| 72 | Penn St | 39 | 37 | -2 |
| 72 | Ohio St | 25 | 23 | -2 |
| 72 | Michigan St | 23 | 21 | -2 |
| 76 | Texas A&M | 11 | 8 | -3 |
| 77 | Wake Forest | 43 | 39 | -4 |
| 77 | BYU | 85 | 81 | -4 |
| 77 | Kent St | 114 | 110 | -4 |
| 80 | Michigan | 9 | 4 | -5 |
| 80 | Kansas | 16 | 11 | -5 |
| 80 | WKU | 100 | 95 | -5 |
| 83 | North Texas | 85 | 79 | -6 |
| 83 | Texas St | 119 | 113 | -6 |
| 85 | Syracuse | 47 | 40 | -7 |
| 86 | UTEP | 53 | 45 | -8 |
| 86 | Virginia | 59 | 51 | -8 |
| 86 | Army | 114 | 106 | -8 |
| 86 | New Mexico St | 111 | 103 | -8 |
| 90 | Miami, FL | 18 | 9 | -9 |
| 90 | Arizona | 23 | 14 | -9 |
| 90 | Temple | 78 | 69 | -9 |
| 93 | West Virginia | 41 | 31 | -10 |
| 93 | UCF | 93 | 83 | -10 |
| 95 | Iowa St | 14 | 3 | -11 |
| 95 | UNLV | 103 | 92 | -11 |
| 97 | Baylor | 19 | 7 | -12 |
| 97 | Oklahoma | 32 | 20 | -12 |
| 97 | USF | 69 | 57 | -12 |
| 100 | California | 30 | 15 | -15 |
| 100 | Akron | 97 | 82 | -15 |
| 100 | Troy | 108 | 93 | -15 |
| 103 | Buffalo | 93 | 77 | -16 |
| 103 | Toledo | 121 | 105 | -16 |
| 105 | Colorado | 49 | 32 | -17 |
| 106 | Marshall | 80 | 62 | -18 |
| 107 | Washington | 25 | 6 | -19 |
| 107 | Louisville | 84 | 65 | -19 |
| 107 | Oregon | 74 | 55 | -19 |
| 110 | Eastern Michigan | 81 | 60 | -21 |
| 110 | Washington St | 64 | 43 | -21 |
| 110 | Boise St | 92 | 71 | -21 |
| 110 | SMU | 96 | 75 | -21 |
| 114 | Oregon St | 49 | 24 | -25 |
| 114 | Oklahoma St | 47 | 22 | -25 |
| 114 | Tulane | 119 | 94 | -25 |
| 117 | Massachusetts | 104 | 78 | -26 |
| 118 | USC | 62 | 30 | -32 |
| 119 | Ball St | 91 | 58 | -33 |
| 120 | Arizona St | 60 | 26 | -34 |
| 120 | Utah | 97 | 63 | -34 |
| 122 | Rice | 110 | 73 | -37 |
| 123 | Stanford | 55 | 12 | -43 |
| 124 | UCLA | 77 | 26 | -51 |
Bowling Green, Tennessee and Florida St top the list as teams that play a tougher schedule with this new formula compared with what I had in the magazine. Meanwhile, UCLA and Stanford and the Pac-12 conference as a whole due to the fact that they play nine conference games and beat up each other providing less bowl caliber opponents on their schedules rate as much lower in this formula.
In next year’s magazine, I will include this new way of looking at toughest schedules into my formula in addition to my power ratings and number of home/away, which I think are still vital since they also weigh the lesser teams on the schedule.