The chaos of conference realignment ahead of the 2024 season has brought us larger conferences. And those larger conferences have led to some daunting schedules.
With the four remaining power conferences all going without divisions this season, many teams’ chances of making the expanded College Football Playoff or even a bowl game may hinge on not having an in-conference powerhouse or two on the schedule.
Other teams, like Florida, Colorado and even Georgia, appear to have drawn incredibly tough slates ahead of the 2024 season. Here’s a look at the teams that appear to have some of the toughest schedules this fall.
Florida
Year 3 of the Billy Napier era at Florida includes what looks to be the most difficult schedule in the country. Not only does Florida play the toughest SEC schedule of any team in the conference, but the Gators also have Miami and Florida State as non-conference opponents.
Florida opens the season against Miami before traveling to Florida State to end the season. After an off week in the final week of October, the Gators’ final stretch looks extremely rough with games against Georgia, Texas, LSU and Mississippi before taking on the Seminoles. Florida hasn’t won more than six games in each of Napier’s first two seasons. A six-win season would be an achievement in 2024 given the opponents on the schedule.
The Bruins’ first season in the Big Ten doesn’t look to be an easy one as former UCLA RB Deshaun Foster begins his time as the team’s head coach. The non-conference schedule opens with a game at Hawaii before a Week 4 trip to LSU.
After LSU, UCLA plays Oregon and Penn State before traveling across the country to Rutgers in the final of six games in a six-week stretch. The last four games of the season include Iowa, Washington, USC and Fresno State. A bowl game will be a huge accomplishment.
Colorado
The Buffaloes have a much tougher schedule in 2024 than they did a season ago. And they aren’t going to sneak up on anyone either.
Seven of Colorado’s nine Big 12 games are against teams who made a bowl a season ago. The Buffs’ schedule includes trips to Arizona and Kansas, plus home games against Big 12 favorites Kansas State, Utah and Oklahoma State. The non-conference schedule opens with a game against perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State on Aug. 29 before road games against an improved Nebraska and rival Colorado State.
Deion Sanders and his staff did a lot of work through the transfer portal to upgrade the offensive and defensive lines ahead of the 2024 season. That improvement will need to be significant if Colorado wants to make a bowl game.
Georgia
The Bulldogs are the most talented team in the SEC. And they’re the only team in the conference to have road games against three of the top four favorites to win the conference.
Georgia visits Alabama on Sept. 28 ahead of its annual rivalry game vs. Auburn a week later. On Oct. 19, the Bulldogs visit Texas for the first time since 1958. That game could be an SEC championship preview; Texas was voted to finish second behind Georgia in the preseason SEC media poll.
And a week after playing Florida in Jacksonville, the Bulldogs visit Mississippi before hosting Tennessee on Nov. 16. Oh, we also didn’t mention that Georgia opens the season against Clemson in Atlanta. An undefeated 2024 season would be an incredible accomplishment.
USC
Like their cross-town rivals, USC also plays LSU in 2024. The Trojans open against the Tigers on Sept. 1 in one of the marquee Week 1 games. Three weeks after playing LSU, USC visits Michigan and then hosts Wisconsin a week later.
Penn State also travels to Los Angeles and the Trojans have to visit Washington. USC avoids Oregon on its schedule in 2024, but ends the season against a Notre Dame team that has its sights set on the College Football Playoff. We’ll find out very early if USC’s defense is a lot better than it was a season ago.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide’s schedule isn’t as daunting as Georgia’s, but the slate for Kalen DeBoer’s first season in Tuscaloosa is far from easy.
Alabama visits Wisconsin in Week 3 before a bye week ahead of Georgia’s visit in Week 5. The end of October includes a trip to Tennessee on the 19th a week before Missouri visits on the 26th. Both the Volunteers and Tigers enter 2024 with playoff hopes.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier in November as the season’s final four weeks include trips to LSU and Oklahoma ahead of the annual Iron Bowl.
