Phil Steele’s 10 toughest schedules for 2019. South Carolina (2018 rank: 51st) – South Carolina opens the season against North Carolina in Charlotte and later hosts Appalachian State and reigning national champion Clemson. The South Carolina Gamecocks have the toughest schedule in 2019, while the UAB Blazers have the easiest, per Steele. The rest of the nonconference slate (Tulane, Kent State, Samford) is Charmin soft. SOS: Strength of schedule played, from perspective of an average FBS team. Enter your email and we'll send you exclusive predictions and analysis. 27 team overall over the previous five seasons but is only No. That said, knowing SOS is important and it can still offer some guidance for navigating the postseason. I know, I know — imagine a largely subjective topic causing disagreement among the college football community! SOS: Strength of schedule played, from perspective of an average FBS team. FBSchedules - College and Pro Football Schedules, Phil Steele’s 2019 college football strength of schedule rankings. Statistical data provided by Gracenote. In SEC play, a home contest against Alabama rotates onto the Gamecocks’ schedule, which also includes games at Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas A&M and visits from Kentucky and Florida. More season info. Notre Dame plays Phil Steele’s #25 VaTech at home, and his #22 Stanford, #4 Georgia and #3 Michigan away and it can do no better than #53 in his SOS rankings? Joga Bonito. 2019 NFL strength of schedule: Patriots and Redskins have it easiest, Raiders face roughest ride Here are the strength of schedule rankings for all 32 teams heading into the 2019 season Oh, and Alabama doesn't get the SOS booster shot of playing Alabama. So it only makes sense that we try to get an idea of which teams will play the more demanding schedules before the season even begins, and that's precisely what we've done. 8:54 am ET, 2019 NFL Mock Draft: Jags move up to take Dwayne Haskins, Kyler Murray falls to the Pats, Bengals trade up for QB, a link to a list of every home and away opponent, Falcons' Calvin Ridley leaves TNF with ankle injury, Pats make almost every player available in trade, One stat proves Cowboys as an all-time underachiever, Michael Thomas returns to practice, could play Week 8, Pats' Edelman out indefinitely with knee issue. South Carolina and Texas A&M both play Coaches Poll #1, #2 and #3 preseason teams in Clemson, Alabama and Georgia. If you're looking for a division that could produce a few surprise teams next season, then you might want to look at the AFC North. Ⓒ Power Rankings Guru 2015-2019. AP Preseason #1: Clemson. The Gators get both LSU and Auburn from the West, and they will have to play Kentucky, Mizzou and South Carolina on the road. 2019 SEC strength of schedule rankings: Alabama, Georgia headed down opposite paths ... Scheduling matters more than ever before in the College Football Playoff era. Champions: LSU (AP, CFP) Heisman Memorial Trophy: Joe Burrow . They then return home to face West Virginia, and their final two nonconference games are Southeast Missouri and Troy. Tough Pac-12 opponents include Stanford, Utah, and Oregon at home and Washington on the road. 9. Home and away against its three division opponents (six games). I think LSU is ranked too low. Scheduling matters more than ever before in the College Football Playoff era. © 2004-2020 CBS Interactive. 7. I then crunch all the numbers, and in the end, I get something that gives us all a good idea of which teams are most likely to face the most difficult schedules in 2019. That latter part hurts the overall SOS more than anything as Florida's SEC schedule is pretty tough. I know, I know — imagine a largely subjective topic causing disagreement among the college football community! During the 2019 season, the Raiders will be playing a total of seven games against teams that qualified for the playoffs last year (Chiefs x 2, Chargers x 2, Texans, Colts, Bears), which is tied for the most in the NFL. Texas A&M opens SEC play at home against Auburn and later host Alabama. Ole Miss' nonconference schedule is mostly respectable, even if it doesn't feature any big-name opponents. 2019 College Football Schedule and Results. It's not just whether you win your conference, but who you play along the way. Rankings Strength of Schedule Our College Football Strength of Schedule rankings represents the average difficulty of those opponents that each team has faced or will face during the 2019 season. 2. The season-opener against Oregon would have carried more weight if I was still using my five-year model instead of the three-year version. SOR: Strength of record - Reflects chance that an average Top 25 team would have team's record or better, given the schedule. Any use of this information in violation of federal, state, provincial or local laws is strictly prohibited. Under the formula implemented in 2002, every team plays 16 games as follows: Finally, here's a link to a list of every home and away opponent that each team will play in 2019. Then it's a bye week and hosting LSU before things get significantly less difficult the rest of the way.