College Football's 10 Hardest Schedules For 2026

The 2026 college football regular season will be here before you know it.

Spring is here, summer is around the corner and before you know it, college football teams will be reporting to preseason camp, with the regular season approaching fast.

Which college football teams have the hardest schedules heading into the 2026 season?

The Big Ten and the SEC, predictably, dominate the list of the hardest schedules in the country for the 2026 college football season. But there are a few surprises on the list, as well.

College Football News ranked the 10 hardest schedules in the country for the 2026 season.

"The schedule scores are based on our full 138-team spring rankings - the same ones used throughout our 26 for '26 offseason series. So, for example, if Kansas State is 24th, you get 24 points for playing it at home. If you play the Wildcats in Manhattan, the score is cut in half, so it counts as 12 points," they write.

10 hardest schedules in America for 2026

1. Arkansas
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Purdue
5. Florida
6. Oregon
7. Michigan
8. Alabama
9. Mississippi State
10. Kentucky

Arkansas' 2026 schedule is pretty brutal:

• Sept. 5 North Alabama
• Sept. 12 at Utah
• Sept. 19 Georgia*
• Sept. 26 Tulsa
• Oct. 3 at Texas A&M*
• Oct. 10 Tennessee*
• Oct. 17 at Vanderbilt*
• Oct. 24 Bye
• Oct. 31 Missouri*
• Nov. 7 at Auburn*
• Nov. 14 South Carolina*
• Nov. 21 at Texas*
• Nov. 28 LSU*

Good luck, Razorbacks.

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This story was originally published May 3, 2026 at 9:08 AM.