Ad Disclosure
Buckle up college football fans. Week 0 brings the official start of the season this Saturday with a handful of games, and the rest of the country will enter the fray next weekend throughout Week 1!
From top to bottom, the 2024 season will be unprecedented. Conference realignment moves far and wide go into effect this year, ushering in expanded super conferences and the concept of the “Core 4” leagues moving forward. All pushing toward the first 12-team Playoff.
The Big Ten expanded to 18 teams with 4 programs positioned on the West Coast shaking up the traditional landscape. Divisions are no more. It adds up to some major travel plans and the potential for road trips to impact the conference championship race more than ever before.
Which teams have the toughest slate to the College Football Playoff, and which teams could be doomed out of a bowl game by the time we reach November? What follows are the toughest schedules in the country per ESPN’s analytics, and the following list includes national title contenders and rebuilding programs alike.
Let’s dive in to the 10 most difficult schedules among B1G teams in 2024!
States: MD, MA, OH, NY, AZ, MI, KS, KY, TN, PA, NJ, VA, CO, IL, MI, WV, IA, WY, IN
GET THE APP10. USC (27th hardest schedule nationally)
USC’s schedule stands out for the way it is bookended by elite nonconference opponents. The Trojans will face LSU in Las Vegas to open the season before hosting Notre Dame in the season finale. There are plenty of ebbs and flows in between. USC must also trek to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in September and get a visit from Penn State in October. USC can remain competitive throughout, but projecting a major breakthrough season seems unlikely.
9. Maryland (25th)
Maryland opens with some winnable games, though there is the chance for things to get sideways. After a season-opener against UConn, the Terrapins jump straight into B1G play with a Week 2 visit from Michigan State. The Spartans are a major question mark in 2024, but Mike Locksley has his own questions to address. Things kick up in October as 4 of Maryland’s final 6 games come against teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25.
8. Wisconsin (24th)
Wisconsin will play every nonconference game at home. That’s a good sign, considering 2 of those games include a visit from one of the top FCS programs in the country (South Dakota) and Alabama. Notable road trips on the B1G slate include USC, Rutgers and Iowa, and the Badgers will also face Penn State and Oregon at home. It’s certainly not a given Wisconsin improves from the 7-5 record in the regular season a year ago.
7. Michigan State (19th)
Jonathan Smith’s first year in East Lansing features the potential to produce some bright spots. But it also features the chance to hit a skid Michigan State may not recover from. The nonconference schedule is not the toughest around, but a road trip to Boston College stands out as a very losable game. Then, from the end of September through the course of October, the Spartans will play 4 consecutive games against ranked B1G opponents. Two games will be on the road (at Oregon; at Michigan). November lines up positively, but that middle stretch of the season could take its toll.
6. Michigan (18th)
Michigan will not have an easy path in its attempt to repeat in the B1G and for the national title. The Wolverines get a home game against Texas, one of the top teams in the latest national title odds produced at FanDuel. Once in the B1G slate, the Wolverines will face USC and Oregon at home before ending the season with The Game in Columbus. Altogether, the Wolverines drew 3 teams that were ranked inside the top 5 on the preseason AP Top 25 (No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas). It’s not a stretch to envision Michigan dropping all 3 considering the changes in the offseason.
States: AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY Bet $5, Get $250 in OH and MA!
GET THE APP5. Ohio State (16th)
Those outside of Columbus likely scoff at the idea of Ohio State’s schedule, mainly because of the nonconference slate. Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall should not pose any upset threat, but 4 of Ohio State’s B1G games are against opponents ranked on the preseason AP Poll. That includes 3 games against top-10 teams — 2 on the road (at Penn State; at Oregon). If Ryan Day wants to win his first national title, he’ll have to earn it every step of the way throughout the B1G slate.
4. Illinois (15th)
Illinois is among those teams to finish 2023 outside of the bowl picture and in need of a rebound season. The Illini get a visit from a ranked Kansas squad in nonconference play, and the conference road trips include particularly tough visits to Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers and Oregon. A matchup against Michigan in Champaign gives Illinois 3 games against teams ranked inside the top 10 on the preseason AP Poll. Bret Bielema will need a special touch to navigate the slate this fall.
3. Washington (13th)
Washington’s nonconference schedule is not particularly elite, though maintaining the Apple Cup matchup against Washington State will be no cakewalk. The Huskies will get their first taste of travel in the B1G with trips to the east to face Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana and Penn State. Washington also has the annual rivalry showdown with Oregon — in Eugene — and home games against ranked opponents in USC and Michigan.
2. UCLA (12th)
UCLA is in the unique position of breaking in a new head coach while also making the transition into the B1G. That’s not a fun outlook, and that’s before we get into the specifics of the schedule. Strictly based on mileage, the Bruins will play a schedule like no other with road trips to Hawaii and LSU in nonconference before also heading to the East Coast twice in B1G play. Games against Penn State, Rutgers, Nebraska and Washington on the road are no laughing matter. UCLA must also face Oregon, Iowa and USC at home, giving the Bruins a total of 5 games against teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll.
1. Purdue (11th)
The Boilermakers hoping for a better finish than the 4-8 mark in Ryan Walters’ first season. Unfortunately, the schedule does not shape up well in that endeavor. The Boilers face 4 teams ranked in the preseason top 10.
Purdue hosts No. 7 Notre Dame and the Boilermakers also head to the West Coast for a showdown with Oregon State. The Boilermakers also drew road trips to Wisconsin and Ohio State in B1G play to go with home games against Oregon and Penn State. Things have a chance to get very ugly this season.
NJ, PA, WV, MI Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.