Analysis of 2026 college football schedule superlatives

ESPN released its annual preseason schedule evaluation for the 2026 college football season, breaking down which Power 4 and Group of 6 teams face the toughest and easiest slates. Ohio State was tapped as having the toughest overall Power 4 schedule, traveling to Texas on Sept. 12, then facing a brutal stretch with road games at Indiana on Oct. 17 and USC on Oct. 31 before hosting Oregon on Nov. 7.

Texas Tech was named the team with the easiest overall Power 4 schedule. The Red Raiders lost quarterback Brendan Sorsby amid a gambling scandal tied to his eligibility and will turn to Will Hammond, but their toughest nonconference game is at Oregon State, which is coming off a 2-10 season.

Among Group of 6 teams, Western Kentucky drew the toughest overall schedule, with consecutive road trips to Georgia on Sept. 12 and Indiana on Sept. 19, plus a season-opening road game at Nevada. Liberty was tagged with the easiest Group of 6 schedule, opening at James Madison but avoiding any Power 4 opponent, with home games against Ball State and FCS program Gardner-Webb, a trip to Coastal Carolina on Sept.