There are 128 days until the magazine goes to the press. On page 26 of the magazine, I list the Toughest Schedules for the previous year. For the article I compare the toughest REGULAR season schedules from the previous year compared to the current years schedules. I then list the teams that have much easier schedules than last year and list them in the Going Up box. I expect most of these teams to have a better record purely based on schedule strength. Last year I listed 24 Teams in the Going Up box and of the 24, 14 had a stronger record, 4 had the same record and only 6 had a weaker record. Here is last years box from the magazine.

The teams at the very top had great success. East Carolina was my #1 Most Improved team in the preseason and went from 2 to 8 wins. Indiana was the #2 team in easier schedule as they moved from the Big Ten East and went from 3-0 to 11-2!
At the other end of the spectrum is the Going Down box or the teams that face much tougher schedules. I expect these teams to have a weaker record the next year as the opponents are much tougher. Last year I listed 16 teams in the Going Down Box and of the 16 only ONE managed to improve their record and that was New Mexico which went from 4-8 to 5-7! Here is last year’s box from the magazine.

Florida State was the poster child for this box as they went from 13-1 all the way down to 2-10. Michigan went from 15-0 to just 8-5. UCLA faced the easiest schedule in the Pac 12 in 2023 to one of the toughest in the Big Ten last year and went from 8-5 to 5-7. Washington went from 14-1 and playing in the national title game to just 6-7.
I am in the process of finalizing the chart for the magazine, but I thought I would give you a chart that will not be n the magazine. This chart is the final records for 2024’s regular season opponents. Here is the chart.
Now let me go over some notes from the chart. Naturally a team like Ohio St which faced Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame in the playoff faced a tougher overall schedule than any team in 2024. I do not include post season game as it would skew the chart pushing all those teams towards the top. I only compare last year’s regular season record with the current years to give you an accurate comparison of the two years schedules.
I also take out the teams win loss record from this chart. As an Example Ohio St went 13-2. Their opponents this past year were actually 90-65 but that includes 13 losses to Ohio State. If I include all the games than Stronger teams which give their opponents losses would be graded easier schedule and weaker teams who give their opponents wins would be rated as tougher schedules.
Michigan’s regular season foes were 100-48 (taking out results vs Michigan) and that 67.6% rated as the toughest schedule in the country based on opponent’s records. The rest of the top 5 toughest regular season schedules based on win percentage were Kansas, Alabama, Miss St and UCLA.
Which team took on the most teams that finished with a winning record this past year? Miss St is at the top of the chart with 11 and there were 15 teams that took on teams that had 9 wins. I also include how many opponents made it to the postseason this past year and 3 teams are at the top in Miss St, UCLA and Florida State. This number differs as some bowl teams finish at 6-7.
Which teams took on the most ranked teams during the regular season? Miss St again is at the top with Kansas, Oklahoma and Purdue all facing SIX ranked teams during the regular season and none of those 4 teams finished above .500! Florida St, Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida and Vandy all faced 5 ranked teams during the season. When I say ranked teams, I am referring to teams that were ranked at the end of the year. As an example, Florida St was ranked the first few weeks of the season but did not finish ranked so they would not have counted.
Why is this not my final ratings for 2024’s toughest schedule That is easy. Take a team like Rice which is #20 on the chart with their foes having a 84-57 record this past year. Just below them is South Carolina. Purely using opponent records, Rice had the tougher schedule. Rice faced Sam Houston, Texas Southern, Houston, Army, Charlotte, UTSA, Tulane, UConn, Navy, Memphis UAB and USF. They faced one P4 team in Houston. During the year South Carolina faced EIGHT SEC teams including Ole Miss and Bama and also took on Clemson in non-conference play. Clearly, they faced the much tougher schedule and my 2024’s Toughest Schedule chart factors in the power ratings and will be different than this chart.
Don’t forget the VIP offers for the 2025 magazine are up and available on the web site and the magazines are sent out on a First Ordered first sent basis. I will have a blog in the upcoming week detailing the offer but if you signed up for the VIP this past year you had great success with it and I am sure you will be getting it again this year. Click Here to become a VIP today.