Phil Steele has published his 2023 college football strength of schedule rankings. The Florida Gators have the toughest schedule in 2023, while the Liberty Flames have the easiest, per Steele.
Steele arrives at his preseason toughest schedule ratings by combining his “9 sets of Power Ratings” with the amount of home and away games. This differs from the Win/Loss method, which is strictly based on the opponent winning percentage from the previous year.
The SEC leads Phil Steele’s rankings with ten teams in his Top 25 toughest schedules. They are followed by the Big 12 (5), Big Ten (4), Pac-12 (3), ACC (2), and Independents (1).
Phil Steele’s 10 toughest schedules for 2023
1. Florida (2022 SOS rank: 19th) – Florida has the toughest schedule in the country in 2023 per Steele, primarily due to playing five preseason AP Top 15 teams — at No. 14 Utah, vs. No. 12 Tennessee, vs. No. 1 Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla., at No. 5 LSU, and vs. No. 8 Florida State.
2. South Carolina (2022 SOS rank: 17th) – The Gamecocks open the 2023 season against the 21st-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte, N.C. South Carolina also gets No. 1 Georgia, No. 12 Tennessee, and No. 23 Texas A&M on the road before concluding the season at home against No. 9 Clemson.
3. Michigan State (2022 SOS rank: 26th) – Michigan State’s non-conference schedule features a home tilt against No. 10 Washington, while their Big Ten slate features No. 2 Michigan and No. 7 Penn State at home and No. 25 Iowa and No. 3 Ohio State on the road.
4. Iowa State (2022 SOS rank: 24th) – The Cyclones’ non-conference slate features their annual contest against No. 25 Iowa, this year at home. Other top matchups include No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 16 Kansas State away and No. 17 TCU and No. 11 Texas in Ames.
5. Purdue (2022 SOS rank: 39th) – Purdue’s non-conference slate in 2023 is respectable, with game against Fresno State and Syracuse at home and Virginia Tech on the road. In Big Ten action, the Boilermakers get No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 3 Ohio State at home and No. 25 Iowa and No. 2 Michigan on the road.
6. Missouri (2022 SOS rank: 37th) – The Tigers’ first four games of the season are non-conference contests, highlighted by No. 16 Kansas State at home and Memphis in St. Louis, Mo. In SEC action, Mizzou will host No. 5 LSU and No. 12 Tennessee and will visit top-ranked Georgia.
7. Minnesota (2022 SOS rank: 64th) – The Golden Gophers open the 2023 season with a Thursday night Big Ten contest at home against Nebraska. Minnesota will also host No. 2 Michigan and No. 19 Wisconsin and will travel to No. 25 Iowa and No. 3 Ohio State. A non-conference contest at No. 21 North Carolina is also on the slate.
8. Alabama (2022 SOS rank: 29th) – Alabama’s non-league slate is highlighted by a visit from No. 11 Texas before a rare road trip to take on South Florida. The Crimson Tide will host SEC foes No. 22 Ole Miss, No. 12 Tennessee, and No. 5 LSU in Tuscaloosa and will visit No. 23 Texas A&M and rival Auburn.
9. California (2022 SOS rank: 57th) – Cal’s season begins with a trip to face North Texas before they welcome Auburn to Berkeley. In Pac-12 action, the Golden Bears will host No. 18 Oregon State and No. 6 USC and will visit No. 10 Washington, No. 14 Utah, and No. 15 Oregon.
10. Texas (2022 SOS rank: 15th) – Texas’ final season in the Big 12 features a huge road game at No. 4 Alabama in Week 2. The Longhorns also face No. 20 Oklahoma in Dallas and will host No. 16 Kansas State before visiting No. 17 TCU.
The rest of Phil Steele’s toughest schedule rankings for 2023 are listed below:
11-25
(11) Auburn, (12) Ole Miss, (13) LSU, (14) West Virginia, (15) Kansas State, (16) Indiana, (17) Stanford, (18) Tennessee, (19) Kentucky, (20) Texas Tech, (21) Notre Dame, (22) Duke, (23) Colorado, (24) Texas A&M, (25) Clemson
26-50
(26) Georgia Tech, (27) Ohio State, (28) Northwestern, (29) Vanderbilt, (30) Mississippi State, (31) Rutgers, (32) Arizona State, (33) Houston, (34) Virginia, (35) Illinois, (36) Kansas, (37) BYU, (38) Arkansas, (39) Arizona, (40) TCU, (41) Florida State, (42) Utah, (43) North Carolina, (44) Wake Forest, (45) NC State, (46) Baylor, (47) Pitt, (48) Miami FL, (49) Oklahoma, (50) USC
51-75
(51) Nebraska, (52) Washington, (53) Cincinnati, (54) Louisville, (55) Maryland, (56) Georgia, (57) Oregon State, (58) UCF, (59) Wisconsin, (60) Penn State, (61) Washington State, (62) Oklahoma State, (63) Syracuse, (64) Virginia Tech, (65) East Carolina, (66) UAB, (67) Michigan, (68) Oregon, (69) Iowa, (70) Boston College, (71) San Jose State, (72) UCLA, (73) Boise State, (74) Western Michigan, (75) ULM
76-100
(76) Georgia State, (77) San Diego State, (78) USF, (79) Southern Miss, (80) Tulsa, (81) Utah State, (82) Central Michigan, (83) UMass, (84) Army, (85) Kent State, (86) Tulane, (87) Rice, (88) Florida Atlantic, (89) South Alabama, (90) Wyoming, (91) Arkansas State, (92) Texas State, (93) Old Dominion, (94) Troy, (95) Bowling Green, (96) Navy, (97) UTSA, (98) North Texas, (99) Buffalo, (100) Ball State
101-133
(101) Appalachian State, (102) UNLV, (103) Marshall, (104) Jacksonville State, (105) SMU, (106) Sam Houston, (107) Memphis, (108) Temple, (109) Middle Tennessee, (110) UConn, (111) Charlotte, (112) James Madison, (113) Louisiana Tech, (114) WKU, (115) Coastal Carolina, (116) Georgia Southern, (117) Nevada, (118) New Mexico, (119) FlU, (120) Colorado State, (121) Akron, (122) Hawaii, (123) Northern Illinois, (124) Louisiana, (125) Fresno State, (126) Miami OH, (127) UTEP, (128) Air Force, (129) Toledo, (130) Eastern Michigan, (131) Ohio, (132) New Mexico State, (133) Liberty
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