College Football's 10 Easiest Schedules In 2018

Author:
Andrew Holleran
Publish date:
Jan 25, 2018

Head Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks to the media during the College Football Playoff National Championship Media Day. — ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 6: Head Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks to the media during the College Football Playoff National Championship Media Day at Philips Arena on January 6, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Here are the 10 easiest schedules in the country in 2018.

College football scheduling has become a huge topic of discussion in the College Football Playoff era. Do you schedule easy or hard?

It was a major issue this past season. A couple of teams benefited or fell victim to their schedules.

Ohio State, for example, probably missed the College Football Playoff due to its game against Oklahoma. The Buckeyes were blown out by the Sooners and ended up missing out on the playoff. If OSU had scheduled an easy opponent in OU's place, Urban Meyer's team probably would've been a 12-1, Big Ten champion - a lock for the playoff.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, benefited from its easy schedule. The Badgers went undefeated in the regular season and were a win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game away from a playoff spot.

Easy schedules aren't always the way to go, though. Two seasons ago, Ohio State played at Oklahoma. The Buckeyes won decisively. It was probably that win that put OSU in the playoff over a couple of other teams.

This leads us to looking ahead to the 2018 season. One analyst has already started ranking the toughest schedules for the upcoming season.

Last week, we showed you the 10 toughest schedules in 2018. Now, we're showing you the 10 easiest. The rankings come from analyst Matt Smith. Remember: We're only talking about Power 5 teams here.