Phil Steele has published his college football strength of schedule rankings for the 2025 season. The Wisconsin Badgers have the toughest schedule in 2025, while the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have the easiest, per Steele.
Last season, Phil Steele’s toughest schedule belonged to the Florida Gators, while the Liberty Flames had the easiest schedule.
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 this season with 11 teams in his Top 25 toughest schedules. They are followed by the Big Ten with eight teams, ACC with three, Big 12 with two, and Independents with one.
Phil Steele’s 10 toughest schedules for 2025
1. Wisconsin (2024 SOS rank: 20th) – Wisconsin has the toughest schedule in the country in 2025 per Steele, and it includes games against six preseason AP Top 25 teams — at No. 8 Alabama, at No. 14 Michigan, vs. No. 3 Ohio State, at No. 7 Oregon, at No. 20 Indiana, and vs. No. 12 Illinois.
2. Mississippi State (2024 SOS rank: 16th) – The Bulldogs have seven preseason AP Top 25 teams on their slate: vs. No. 11 Arizona State, vs. No. 24 Tennessee, at No. 19 Texas A&M, at No. 15 Florida, vs. No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 5 Georgia, and vs. No. 21 Ole Miss.
3. Arkansas (2024 SOS rank: 18th) – Arkansas gets a tougher schedule in 2025 with No. 5 Notre Dame visiting Fayetteville. Other ranked opponents include No. 19 Texas A&M at home and road contests at No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 24 Tennessee, No. 9 LSU, and No. 1 Texas. Other tough contests include Auburn and Missouri, both at home.
4. South Carolina (2024 SOS rank: 32nd) – South Carolina’s 2025 schedule includes 10 power opponents this season, with non-conference games against Virginia Tech in Atlanta and No. 4 Clemson at home. Ranked foes visiting Columbia include No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 8 Alabama. Road tilts include No. 9 LSU, No. 21 Ole Miss, and No. 21 Texas A&M.
5. Syracuse (2024 SOS rank: 60th) – Syracuse’s non-conference slate in 2025 is respectable, with games against No. 24 Tennessee in Atlanta and at No. 6 Notre Dame. In ACC action, the Orange get preseason No. 4 Clemson, No. 16 SMU, and No. 10 Miami, all on the road. Syracuse also visits Georgia Tech and hosts Bill Belichick’s North Carolina.
6. LSU (2024 SOS rank: 26th) – The Tigers open the season on the road against preseason No. 4 Clemson. In SEC action, LSU will host No. 15 Florida, No. 13 South Carolina, and No. 19 Texas A&M and will visit No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 8 Alabama, and No. 18 Oklahoma.
7. Oklahoma (2024 SOS rank: 17th) – The Sooners open against an FCS opponent before facing a tough test at home against No. 14 Michigan. OU later faces No. 1 Texas at the Cotton Bowl, hosts N0. 21 Ole Miss and No. 9 LSU, and travels to No. 13 South Carolina, No. 24 Tennessee, and No. 8 Alabama.
8. UCLA (2024 SOS rank: 2nd) – UCLA’s non-league slate this season is highlighted by the opener against Utah at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins then face No. 2 Penn State at home, No. 20 Indiana on the road, and No. 3 Ohio State on the road. UCLA also hosts Nebraska and visits USC.
9. Kentucky (2024 SOS rank: 24th) – Kentucky faces six preseason AP Top 25 league opponents this season, with home tilts vs. No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 1 Texas, No. 24 Tennessee, and No. 15 Florida. Road contests include No. 13 South Carolina and No. 5 Georgia in consecutive weeks. The Wildcats close the season on the road against in-state rival Louisville.
10. Stanford (2024 SOS rank: 10th) – Stanford opens the 2025 season in Week Zero on the road against Hawaii and also plays non-conference contests against No. 10 BYU on the road and No. 6 Notre Dame at home. ACC foes include Florida State at home and No. 16 SMU, No. 10 Miami, and North Carolina on the road.
The rest of Phil Steele’s toughest schedule rankings for 2025 are listed below:
11-25
(11) TCU, (12) Florida, (13) Purdue, (14) Texas A&M, (15) Texas, (16) Rutgers, (17) Auburn, (18) Colorado, (19) Oregon, (20) USC, (21) Alabama, (22) Notre Dame, (23) Northwestern, (24) Ohio State, (25) Boston College
26-50
(26) Iowa, (27) Arizona, (28) Vanderbilt, (29) Clemson, (30) Baylor, (31) Michigan State, (32) West Virginia, (33) Louisville, (34) Miami FL, (35) Iowa State, (36) Duke, (37) Penn State, (38) Utah, (39) Arizona State, (40) Kansas State, (41) NC State, (42) Georgia Tech, (43) BYU, (44) Georgia, (45) Oklahoma State, (46) Maryland, (47) Tennessee, (48) Ole) Miss, (49) Pittsburgh, (50) Missouri
51-75
(51) Cincinnati, (52) Minnesota, (53) Washington, (54) Michigan, (55) Virginia Tech, (56) Illinois, (57) Houston, (58) Indiana, (59) Kansas, (60) USF, (61) California, (62) Wake Forest, (63) Nebraska, (63) Marshall, (65) Washington State, (66) Charlotte, (67) North Carolina, (68) UTSA, (69) Georgia State, (70) UCF, (71) Old Dominion, (72) Texas Tech, (73) Tulane, (74) SMU, (75) Florida State
76-100
(76) Troy, (77) Air Force, (78) Rice, (79) Temple, (80) New Mexico, (81) Sam Houston, (82) UAB, (83) Nevada, (84) Arkansas State, (85) Boise State, (86) Utah State, (87) Colorado State, (88) Texas State, (89) Virginia, (90) Navy, (91) ULM, (92) Wyoming, (93) East Carolina, (94) Fresno State, (95) Western Michigan, (96) Coastal Carolina, (97) Georgia Southern, (98) Tulsa, (99) South Alabama, (100) San Diego State
101-136
(101) Kent State, (102) Southern Miss, (103) Ohio, (104) Memphis, (105) Florida Atlantic, (106) Army, (107) North Texas, (108) Central Michigan, (109) Missouri State, (110) UNLV, (111) James Madison, (112) Ball State, (113) Louisiana, (114) FIU, (115) Hawaii, (116) Miami OH, (117) Oregon State, (118) Northern Illinois, (119) UTEP, (120) Bowling Green, (121) UConn, (122) Delaware, (123) WKU, (124) Eastern Michigan, (125) Kennesaw State, (126) UMass, (127) Louisiana Tech, (128) Buffalo, (129) San Jose State, (130) Appalachian State, (131) Liberty, (132) New Mexico State, (133) Akron, (134) Jacksonville State, (135) Toledo, (136) Middle Tennessee
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Ohio 103? They open with three P4 teams, including defending champs Ohio State.
Oddly enough, the toughest scheduled team (Wisconsin) plays the easiest scheduled team (MTSU) on 9/6.
This ranking is preposterous. Five of the toughest seven from the SEC? No chance! My conference is clearly superior.. Hands down! And we’ll win our third straight natty in January