College Football's Easiest Schedules for 2026 Contenders
With the Indiana Hoosiers newly crowned as the kings of college football, recruits locked in, and the transfer portal calmed to a slow trickle, we can start to iron out who may be college football contenders for next year.
Of course, you've got to have talent and experience to make the list, but sometimes, you need a little help from the football gods along the way. Having a navigable schedule is always a good start.
In the SEC, life gets much more difficult in going to a nine-game schedule, and the depth of the league is better than any others. So, the couple of teams that made this list from that conference may not have an "easy schedule" comparatively speaking nationally, but it's doable within the framework of that conference.
In the Big Ten, which has proven it's the best conference the past few years, it's all about the best draws. Other leagues—like the ACC and Big 12—have healthy representations on the list, because those conferences aren't as deep or strong.
Here are the easiest schedules for 2026 contenders, which could pave their playoff paths.
Alabama Crimson Tide
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Before you vocal Alabama fans come crowing, let's get this straight: the Crimson Tide's 2026 schedule isn't exactly easy. But compared to others in the SEC, there's a lot of potential for wins.
That's a good thing for coach Kalen DeBoer, whose team will be breaking in a new starting quarterback. Top running back recruit Ezavier Crowell will need to help Alabama get the running game going again to be considered a contender.
The out-of-conference schedule shouldn't be tough at all. The Tide start the year with a challenging Group of Five test in East Carolina. They also play Florida State and Chattanooga at home.
Alabama's playoff fates will be determined in the stretch between October 10 and November 7. That's when the gauntlet begins at home against Georgia, followed by a trip to Neyland Stadium to play Tennessee. They return home to play Texas A&M before traveling to LSU.
The end of the season looks easier with a road trip to a Vanderbilt team that will be learning life without Diego Pavia. The Iron Bowl is rarely easy, either. Overall, though, this isn't bad for an SEC slate.
Georgia Bulldogs
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Without a doubt, Georgia should be considered the best in the SEC heading into the 2026 season. Kirby Smart is still going after a few transfer portal targets, but UGA is always shrewd in what it does bringing in players.
Most of the Bulldogs roster is homegrown, starting with veteran signal-caller Gunner Stockton.
Like Alabama, Georgia's overall football schedule has some potential pitfalls, but by league standards, it's probably the easiest for those with a chance to win the conference.
The Dawgs play Tennessee State and Western Kentucky to begin the year, and they end it (as always) with rival Georgia Tech, which is rebuilding around transfer quarterback Alberto Mendoza after a strong season.
Georgia hosts an Oklahoma team that made the College Football Playoff (September 26) and a reloaded Missouri team (November 14) that brought in Austin Simmons and maybe even Cayden Lee from Ole Miss.
Road tests at Alabama (October 10), Ole Miss (November 7) and South Carolina (November 21) won't be easy, but do you see more than two losses on the schedule? They aren't losing all those games, and they're a safe bet to make the playoffs again.
Houston Cougars
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The Houston Cougars are going to face the same dilemma BYU did in 2025 next season.
Entering Year 3 under coach Willie Fritz, they'll be right in the mix, but even if they lose one regular-season game, they may have to win the Big 12 to get in the playoffs. It just doesn't look like the conference is strong enough to turn heads on its own.
But if you want a look at who could be "the next Indiana," Houston could be. Fritz has won big everywhere he's been, and veteran quarterback Connor Weigman returns. Elite star freshman QB Keisean Henderson is waiting if Weigman falters.
There aren't many land mines on this schedule, though. Out-of-conference tilts against Oregon State, Southern and Fritz's old Georgia Southern Eagles pose no threat.
A trip to Lubbock to play what is almost certain to be a top-five Texas Tech team will be the biggest test. Somehow win, and you're on the national radar. A trip to play Kansas State and new coach Colin Klein won't be easy, either.
It's also a bummer for the Cougs that the other tough test—against Utah—is also away. That's pretty much it, though.
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Indiana Hoosiers
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Nobody will doubt the national champion Indiana Hoosiers again. They have proved they are the nation's top team, and while they'll be reloading, there's no reason to believe they won't be back.
Though we've acknowledged many times the Big Ten is the nation's top conference right now, the depth still is shallower than the SEC. That leads to clearer paths to the playoffs.
The Hoosiers don't have an easy road, but like those SEC teams, it's not awful for Big Ten standards.
It's difficult to find a team that belongs on the "easiest schedules" list in the Big Ten because the league has done a tremendous job of pitting its top teams against one another. Also, Ohio State has an out-of-conference showdown against Texas.
But IU's is the most navigable. Out-of-conference games against North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky are sure wins.
A massive test everybody will be watching comes October 17 when Ohio State travels to Bloomington for a rematch of this year's conference title game. The other, toughest game on the schedule—against USC—is also at home.
Road trips to the Big House to play Michigan and to Washington will be hard, but the Hoosiers avoid Oregon. That's not an easy haul, but it's better than their league foes.
Miami Hurricanes
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The Miami Hurricanes are the victim of being a conference full of unknowns.
Could the ACC be OK in 2026? Absolutely. There are several teams with breakout potential. But the Hurricanes should be the class of the conference, and a look at their schedule shows they have a strong shot at the playoffs once again.
If Darian Mensah is under center, Miami will be a threat to win it all.
Battery-chargers against Florida A&M and Central Michigan kick things off, and while we don't know the dates to the games, there is a massive showdown with Notre Dame in South Bend on November 7.
That could be a pivotal game for the playoffs. If you remember, it came down to those two for the last at-large bid this year, and while the Irish entered championship week in front of the 'Canes, Miami's head-to-head victory over Notre Dame got them in.
In conference, road trips to Clemson and Wake Forest could be challenging. Home games against Duke, Florida State, Pitt and Virginia Tech are winnable in Coral Gables, too.
This isn't a bad schedule at all for a team trying to return to the playoffs.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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Someday, somebody needs to make Notre Dame join a conference. Until then, the Fighting Irish can't complain when a committee rules their schedule isn't that tough.
Guess what: It's really not hard again next year.
In an era when the Big Ten and SEC play nine league games, what playoff contender wants to schedule a potential loss? The answer is "nobody." That's why Notre Dame needs to join a conference.
Setting up next year, we've already discussed November 7 against Miami, and the Irish also travel to BYU in Provo. If they run the table and split those two, they'll be in. But the rest of the schedule is a yawner.
The season-opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay will be awesome. Notre Dame then hosts Rice and Michigan State before traveling to Purdue and North Carolina. A home game against Stanford sets up the road trip to Provo, Utah, then a bye week comes before a game against Navy at another NFL stadium—Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Boston College and Syracuse shouldn't pose a threat, but a home game against SMU on November 21 gives the Irish another shot at a quality win.
Again, are there some "name games" on there? Yes, but this isn't a gauntlet by any stretch.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
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Out of all the big-time contenders expected to be top-10 teams, nobody has an easier run to the playoffs on paper than coach Joey McGuire's Texas Tech Red Raiders.
They don't play anybody that can beat them out of conference, and in a weak Big 12, they don't even play the league's other two top expected teams in BYU and Utah.
Talk about a plum draw.
The Red Raiders should be the top team in the league once again due to all the talent they cherry-picked from the transfer portal, but you can't look at the schedule and find a single game they should lose.
TTU begins the season against Abilene Christian, then goes on the road to Oregon State. The Red Raiders return home for arguably the most difficult test of the season against a Houston team that may or may not be ranked. The other out-of-conference foe is Sam Houston.
After that, well, there's not much.
They'll play every other team with a pulse in Lubbock, including Arizona State (which replaced star quarterback Sam Leavitt with Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley), Arizona, a reloaded West Virginia team, and a TCU team that replaced veteran quarterback Josh Hoover with Harvard transfer Jaden Craig.
Woof.
Utah Utes
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New Utah coach Morgan Scalley returns an exciting group of offensive skill-position players that give the Utes a very strong shot at playing Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game.
The path to get there shouldn't be that difficult, either.
They've got a tougher draw than the Red Raiders, but who doesn't? That's the case with every other Power Four team in the nation. But Scalley should be staring double-digit wins in the face at the very least.
A September 12 game hosting the SEC's Arkansas Razorbacks and new coach Ryan Silverfield will be a winnable test early. But, other than that game, it's pretty much a run-the-table slate all the way through until October 24 when Houston comes to Salt Lake City.
Things get tougher after that to close the season. A road trip to a rebuilding Cincinnati team is followed by the season's toughest game—a home tilt against a strong BYU team. Then, they travel for back-to-back, losable games against Arizona and TCU before closing the season against West Virginia.
That's it. So, quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin, as well as running back Wayshawn Parker, should find plenty of places to show out against that schedule.
Virginia Cavaliers
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The ACC is a mess overall. There's Miami and, well, not much else that we can guarantee.
This season, things were set for the Virginia Cavaliers to get the league's bid into the College Football Playoff, but they lost a conference championship stunner to Duke, opening the door for a Hurricanes team that made a run.
Coach Tony Elliott says goodbye to quarterback Chandler Morris and some weapons, but getting Beau Pribula from Missouri was a big win. The Hoos made several other strong additions, too.
When you look at their league schedule in 2026, there aren't a lot of opponents that get your knees shaking, either. There's no Miami, Louisville or Pittsburgh—three of the teams expected to be near the top. Clemson isn't on the schedule, either.
North Carolina State in Brazil to open the season will be interesting, and games at Virginia Tech, Florida State and SMU are tough. They also play another non-home game against West Virginia at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Games against Duke, California and a road game at Wake Forest won't be easy, either. But UVA has a strong chance to be back in the title game.
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