Most Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football teams have their non-conference schedules set for the 2026 season, but over 35 still need at least one game or have not revealed their final opponents.
Conference realignment continues to throw a wrench into future football scheduling. Next season, nine FBS teams are slated to change conferences, which includes five Mountain West programs — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State — and one Sun Belt team — Texas State — joining the rebuilding Pac-12.
Those moves will bring the Pac-12 up to eight teams next season, which also makes a seven-game conference schedule very likely. That would mean each league team would need five non-conference games.
Other realignment moves include Northern Illinois transferring from the MAC to the Mountain West and UTEP shifting from Conference USA to the Mountain West. Louisiana Tech is also slated to move from Conference USA to the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2027.
Another factor affecting future scheduling is the change in conference formats. Last month, the SEC announced it will move to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026. The ACC followed that up with a move to nine games as well, but that shift may not occur until the 2027 season. Should the ACC opt to play nine conference games in 2026, that would cause more chaos as around 13 league teams would need to drop a game.
Below are the teams that currently have non-conference openings in 2026, or their final opponent or opponents have not been officially announced. Please note that all schedules are tentative and subject to change until officially announced by the teams or conferences (updates to the list are noted at the bottom).
ONE NON-CONFERENCE OPENING
BOISE STATE BRONCOS
• 09/05 – at Oregon
• 09/12 – Memphis
• 09/19 – South Dakota
• 09/26 – at Western Michigan
• Boise State will need a fifth non-conference opponent if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game league schedule in 2026. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
BYU COUGARS
• 09/05 – Utah Tech
• 09/19 – at Colorado State
• BYU was previously scheduled to host Cal, but the game was canceled due the ACC moving to a nine-game league schedule in 2026.
COLORADO STATE RAMS
• 09/05 – Wyoming
• 09/12 – Southern Utah
• 09/19 – BYU
• 09/26 – at UTSA
• Colorado State will need a fifth non-conference opponent if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game league schedule in 2026. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
FIU PANTHERS
• 09/05 – at USF
• 09/12 – Buffalo
• 09/19 – at Florida Atlantic
• FIU’s fourth and final non-conference opponent will likely come from the FCS.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS
• 09/05 – at Florida
• 09/19 – FIU
• 09/26 – at ULM
• Florida Atlantic’s fourth and final non-conference opponent will likely come from the FCS.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS
• 09/05 – at USC
• 09/12 – Sacramento State
• 09/19 – at San Jose State
• 09/26 – Rice
• Fresno State will need a fifth non-conference opponent if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game league schedule in 2026. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS
• 09/05 – North Carolina A&T
• 09/12 – at Kennesaw State
• 09/19 – at UCF
• Georgia State was previously scheduled to host Georgia Tech in 2026, but the game was canceled.
MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
• 09/05 – at Penn State
• 09/12 – Middle Tennessee
• 09/19 – at Missouri State
• Marshall was previously scheduled to host Eastern Michigan in 2026, but that game has been rescheduled for 2031. The Herd will likely schedule an FCS opponent as a replacement.
MEMPHIS TIGERS
• 09/05 – Arkansas State
• 09/12 – at Boise State
• 09/26 – UT Martin
• Memphis was previously scheduled to play at Arkansas on Sept. 19, 2026, but the game was rescheduled due to the SEC moving to a nine-game football schedule.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES
• 09/05 – at Iowa
• 09/12 – Illinois State
• 09/19 – at Arizona
• Northern Illinois was previously scheduled to play at Wake Forest in 2026, but the game was canceled three years ago. The Huskies join the Mountain West next season.
SOUTHERN MISS
• 09/05 – Alcorn State
• 09/12 – at Auburn
• 09/26 – at Tulane
• Southern Miss needs one additional opponent and already has an FCS team slotted.
TEMPLE OWLS
• 09/05 – Rhode Island
• 09/12 – Penn State
• 10/10 – UConn
• Temple was previously scheduled to play at Coastal Carolina in 2026, but that game has been canceled.
TEXAS STATE BOBCATS
• 09/05 – at Texas
• 09/12 – UTSA
• 09/19 – North Texas
• 09/26 – UIW
• Texas State, which joins the Pac-12 next season, will need a fifth non-conference opponent if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game league schedule in 2026. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
UCONN HUSKIES
• 09/05 – Lafayette
• 09/12 – Maryland
• 09/26 – at Miami (Ohio)
• 10/03 – Syracuse
• 10/10 – at Temple
• 10/24 – UMass
• 10/31 – at Air Force
• 11/07 – North Carolina
• 11/14 – James Madison
• 11/21 – at Old Dominion
• 11/28 – at Wyoming
• UConn, an FBS Independent, appears to need one game. The Huskies were scheduled to host Duke on Nov. 7, but will now host North Carolina on that date instead.
UNLV REBELS
• 09/12 – at North Texas
• 09/26 – at Akron
• 10/03 – California
• UNLV’s fourth and final non-conference opponent will likely come from the FCS.
USF BULLS
• 09/05 – FIU
• 09/19 – Delaware State
• 09/26 – at Bowling Green
• USF was previously scheduled to visit Alabama in 2026, but the game was rescheduled for 2032. The Bulls’ fourth and final non-conference opponent will likely come from this list since it already has an FCS team scheduled.
UTAH STATE AGGIES
• 09/05 – Idaho State
• 09/12 – at Washington
• 09/19 – at Utah
• 09/26 – Troy
• Utah State needs one non-conference opponent if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game conference schedule next season. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
UTEP MINERS
• 09/05 – at Oklahoma
• 09/12 – Texas Southern
• 09/19 – at Michigan
• UTEP’s fourth and final non-conference opponent will likely come from this list since it already has an FCS team scheduled.
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
• 09/05 – at Washington
• 09/12 – at Kansas State
• 09/19 – Duquesne
• 09/26 – Arizona
• Washington State will need a fifth non-conference opponent if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game league schedule in 2026. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
TWO NON-CONFERENCE OPENINGS
JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS
• 09/05 – Eastern Kentucky
• 09/19 – Georgia Southern
• Jax State needs two opponents and already has an FCS team scheduled.
KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES
• 09/05 – at South Carolina
• 09/19 – at Ohio State
• Kent State needs two non-conference games and one will likely be an FCS opponent.
OREGON STATE BEAVERS
• 09/05 – at Houston
• 09/12 – Texas Tech
• 09/19 – Montana
• Oregon State needs two non-conference opponents if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game conference schedule next season. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS
• 09/05 – Portland State
• 09/12 – at UCLA
• 09/26 – at Toledo
• San Diego State needs two non-conference opponents if the Pac-12 plays a seven-game conference schedule next season. The extra non-conference game could come from within the conference.
OVERSCHEDULED
SYRACUSE ORANGE
• 09/05 – New Hampshire
• 09/19 – Toledo
• 10/03 – at UConn
• TBA – Notre Dame
• Syracuse will now play nine ACC games in 2026, so it is overscheduled by one game. Syracuse’s release indicated they will still host Notre Dame.
VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES
• 09/05 – VMI
• 09/12 – Old Dominion
• 09/19 – at Maryland
• 09/26 – James Madison
• Virginia Tech will now play nine ACC games in 2026, so it is overscheduled by one game. The cancellation will likely be either ODU or JMU.
UPDATES
• Dec. 17, 2025 (Added BYU; removed Cal)
• Dec. 16, 2025 (Added UConn)
• Dec. 16, 2025 (Added Cal, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech to Overscheduled)
• Dec. 16, 2025 (Removed Army, Louisiana, Miami FL, and Wake Forest)
• Dec. 15, 2025 (Removed Louisiana Tech)
• Dec. 12, 2025 (Added Louisiana and Southern Miss)
• Dec. 11, 2025 (Removed LSU, Texas A&M, and USC)
• Dec. 10, 2025 (Removed Ole Miss)
• Dec. 9, 2025 (Removed Pitt)
• Dec. 8, 2025 (Removed South Carolina)
• Dec. 5, 2025 (Pitt now has two openings)
• Dec. 4, 2025 (Added Marshall)
• Dec. 2, 2025 (Removed Ohio)
• Dec. 2, 2025 (Added USF)
• Dec. 1, 2025 (Removed Florida State and New Mexico State)
• Nov. 13, 2025 (Removed Illinois, TCU, and UAB)
• Nov. 7, 2025 (Removed Boston College and Notre Dame; added Florida State)
• Nov. 6, 2025 (Added Texas A&M)
• Nov. 4, 2025 (Removed WKU)
• Oct. 31, 2025 (Utah State added a home game vs. Troy. The Aggies now have only one non-conference opening.)
• Oct. 28, 2025 (Removed UTSA)
• Oct. 21, 2025 (Georgia State added a road game vs. UCF. The Panthers now have only one non-conference opening.)
REMOVED FROM ABOVE LISTINGS
• CALIFORNIA – canceled BYU (source)
• WAKE FOREST – added Merrimack (source)
• STANFORD – dropped SJSU, added Elon at home (source)
• ARMY – added Bryant (source)
• LOUISIANA – added Charlotte away (source)
• LOUISIANA TECH – added Baylor away, Army at home (source)
• LSU – added LA Tech at home (source)
• Texas A&M – added The Citadel at home (source)
• USC – added Louisiana at home (source)
• OLE MISS – added Louisville in Nashville (source)
• PITT – added Bucknell at home (source)
• SOUTH CAROLINA – added Kent State at home (source)
• UTSA – added UTRGV at home (source)
• WKU – added Mercyhurst (source)
• BOSTON COLLEGE – added Notre Dame (source)
• NOTRE DAME – added BC and Stanford at home, neutral vs. USC; removed FSU (source)
• TCU – added Grambling at home (source)
• ILLINOIS – added UAB at home (source)
• UAB – added Illinois away (source)
• FLORIDA STATE – added NM State at home (source)
• NEW MEXICO STATE – added FSU away (source)
• OHIO – added Wofford at home (source)
This is what makes this site great. Good work and lots of information to take in…
I believe Georgia State will host Temple in 2026.
Less than 12 months to the start of the 2026 season, and Notre Dame only has four home games scheduled? Surely they have at least one lined up that has not yet been announced. Maybe it’s a team that can’t announce yet because they have to finalize a schedule change before announcing a game at Notre Dame. Or, and most likely, it’s just Stanford.
What are you reading? List above clearly shows ND has ELEVEN games scheduled and needs to add ONE more game. (As I understand it the ND@USC 2026 game is already contracted).
Hawk, he said Notre Dame has only 4 “home” games scheduled!
Oops. Thanks for the heads up Hawaii Dave. Apologies M.
@USC / @FlaSt / @NC / @Purd /
@Wisc (GB) / @Navy (Boston) /
MiaFL / Syr / SMU / Mich St / Rice
Four road games, two “neutral” games, and five home games.
Besides ND@USC, Stanford@ND may happen in 2026.
Previously postponed 2020 Wisconsin (GB) game was moved to 2026 (the 2021 Wisc@ND game was in Chicago).
2026 Louisville@ND game was canceled and replaced with MiamiFL@ND. (strangely no Shamrock game this season).
With all four P4’s going to 9-game conf schedules, scheduling flexibility as an independent will only become more difficult. And then add in the Shamrock “neutral” game.
Didn’t ND sign a contract to play Clemson every year? There are only 4 ACC schools listed for 2026, and need one more ACC school. Surprised to see 4 B1G schools on the schedule.
Clemson and Notre Dame agreed to play for 12 seasons beginning in 2027, but the contract has not been signed yet.
https://fbschedules.com/clemson-notre-dame-schedule-12-game-football-series-beginning-in-2027/
The Wisconsin game at Lambeau Field is a home game for Notre Dame (per the contract).
Aware of that. What does it have to do with this post?
Potential solutions:
Stanford vs USC
Merrimack vs Stanford
West Georgia vs UNLV
Notre Dame vs LSU
New Mexico State vs UTEP
Western KY vs FAU
*Army vs Memphis (in a similar way to NC State and Virginia being non conference this year)
Sacramento State vs Kent State
Kent State vs Fresno State
Kent State vs NIU
SDSU vs Ohio
Georgia State vs FIU
SDSU vs Georgia State
Jax State vs Utah State
FCS vs Illinois
The SEC learned a long time ago as to who, when, and where you schedule a non conference game, you have an advantage.
The Pac-12 could play 8 conference games by doubling up on the following match-ups each year:
Boise State-Utah State
Colorado State-Texas State
Fresno State-San Diego State
Oregon State-Washington State
The second game of each series would be played on Thanksgiving weekend.
There is nothing appealing about any of those matchups, but it would not be fair if the first and second place teams play twice and then, for example, 3 and 8. That can cost bowl games to change and if there were a three-way tie for first, the 3 could leapfrog to the top spot if they held the head-to-head tiebreaker over the winner in an unfair manner.
@Z-Man
Stanford vs USC
Merrimack vs Stanford
Sacramento State vs UNLV
Notre Dame vs LSU
New Mexico State vs UTEP
Western KY vs FAU
*Army vs Memphis (in a similar way to NC State and Virginia being non conference this year)
Cal Poly vs Kent State
Kent State vs Fresno State
Kent State vs NIU
SDSU vs Ohio
Georgia State vs FIU
SDSU vs Georgia State
Jax State vs Utah State
FCS vs Illinois
Any teams using the Hawai’i or overseas exception for a game 13?
Not yet, but it has become rare so I don’t take it into account.
Probably less likely next year when we are back to a 13-week regular season.
I’m a bit surprised it wasn’t used more in 2024 and/or 2025 with the extra week.
Oh my, what is Mississippi State going to do! Unfortunately, they can’t drop the game at Minnesota (like any SEC team would do in a heartbeat as they prefer no true OOC road games). There’s no way they drop an automatic FCS win against Tennessee Tech. That leaves ULM and Troy as the only options. Which team are they more afraid to play?
Troy. They’re sometimes a juggernaut. Troy should go play USC, for a “Battle of Trojans”, a true sausage festival!
Mississippi State is overscheduled practically every season.
Temple at BC seems to make a lot of sense. BC can return the game at a future date.
USC should extend an olive branch and host one of their old Pac 10 rivals in Wazzu or Oregon State.
Illinois at Notre Dame would be a great game for both programs.
Is USC-Notre Dame scheduled or not? I thought it was and it looks like it is per your reporting. I’m not huge on teams having to play teams–for example, I don’t think Tennessee-Alabama has to be played each year.
But the one exception is USC-Notre Dame, the first intercontinental game. Don’t they have to keep this going? I won’t cry if they don’t, but it would be a bit sad,
Unfortunately, history doesn’t seem as important as it once was.
Kevin–this is fantastic work on your part.
USC had the 2026 game listed on its website, but recently removed it. Apparently the game was never officially contracted. I have no idea if the game will be played or not.
Ohio needs a home game! Hoping for one of the PAC-12, MWC or P4 team willing to come to Athens in a 2-1 deal or maybe just a one off!
Stanford-Notre Dame seems like it should happen as well as USC-Notre Dame. Stanford could also play San Diego State or even Oregon State or Washington Station. The whole Pac-12 situation is really gumming up the works but could lead to some interesting non-conference scheduling. New Mexico State feels destined to play one of the SEC schools. Temple at Boston College feels like a natural as well.