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There are just over 90 days left until the return of College Football and ESPN recently released data on the hardest College Football schedules of 2023.
It should come as no surprise, but the SEC dominates the list of the 25 hardest College Football schedules of 2023. The mere fact that so many SEC teams start each season ranked highly causes the schedule rankings to be stacked.
Coming in at #1, owners of the toughest schedule in the nation next season, are Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels. Ole Miss has road games at Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia. They’ll also face LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State.
In total, 12 of the 25 hardest college football schedules in 2023 are held by SEC teams. Pretty much every other spot is held by a Big Ten team. Those two conferences are going to be BRUTAL in 2023.
Here’s how the list shakes out:
1. Ole Miss Rebels – SEC
2. Minnesota Golden Gophers – Big Ten
3. Florida Gators – SEC
4. Maryland Terrapins – Big Ten
5. Auburn Tigers – SEC
6. Arkansas Razorbacks – SEC
7. Michigan State Spartans – Big Ten
8. Tennessee Volunteers – SEC
9. Rutgers Scarlet Knights – Big Ten
10. Indiana Hoosiers – Big Ten
11. South Carolina Gamecocks – SEC
12. Texas Longhorns – Big 12
13. Kentucky Wildcats – SEC
14. Penn State Nittany Lions – Big Ten
15. LSU Tigers – SEC
16. Texas A&M Aggies – SEC
17. Purdue Boilermakers – Big Ten
18. Alabama Crimson Tide – SEC
19. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Independent
20. Missouri Tigers – SEC
21. Michigan Wolverines – Big en
22. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – ACC
23. Ohio State Buckeyes – Big Ten
24. Mississippi State Bulldogs – SEC
25. Wisconsin Badgers – Big Ten
Sam Gillenwater of on3 points out that all 7 teams from the SEC West are on the list.
Georgia Tech is the only ACC team in the top 25 for hardest schedules. FSU has the 29th hardest schedule in the nation followed by Wake Forest at 35, Duke at 46, Pitt at 52, Miami at 56, UNC at 58, and Clemson at 59.
On the same page where ESPN lists the toughest schedules in the nation they’ve also ranked teams according to FPI.
It is worth noting that FPI has Deion Sanders’ Colorado as the worst team in the nation next season. But you can also sort by ‘best’ to see how ESPN’s FPI predicts your team will perform in 2023.