College Football Blue Bloods with the Hardest Path to the Playoffs
Tradition-rich college football teams bear the burden of high expectations every season. All those blue-blood programs will strive for excellence, but unfavorable schedules will affect several in 2016.
First, though, what exactly is a blue blood? A history of victory is of the utmost importance. Consequently, this list uses the top-10 winning percentages in college football history as the selection pool.
Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, USC, Nebraska, Penn State and Tennessee were the teams considered for this list.
Factors used to narrow the list include the perception of a team—or, more simply, how good do we expect the roster to be—and the overall difficulty of the schedule, especially away from home.
Alabama Crimson Tide
1 of 5
Alabama has appeared in two consecutive College Football Playoffs, and the 2016 season will mimic the 2014 slate.
That year, the Crimson Tide opened the campaign against a formidable opponent (West Virginia) at a neutral site (the Georgia Dome). This season, Nick Saban's team heads to AT&T Stadium in Dallas and faces USC.
But that's not the important parallel.
Alabama also travels to Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU—each of which were top-10 teams in Bleacher Report's post-spring practice Top 25.
For the Tide, the road to the College Football Playoff only metaphorically runs through Tuscaloosa.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
2 of 5
Last-second misfortune plagued Nebraska in 2015. This year, the Cornhuskers' nemesis may be the road.
After Fresno State, Wyoming and Oregon come to town, Nebraska opens Big Ten play in Evanston, Illinois, against Northwestern, which finished 10-3 last season.
Following an appealing stretch against Illinois, Indiana and Purdue that includes a pair of home games, the gauntlet begins.
The Cornhuskers head to Wisconsin and Ohio State in consecutive weeks before hosting Minnesota and Maryland. To close the season, they travel to Iowa.
Nebraska should be an above-average squad this year, but the road schedule will probably limit the Huskers to a division title at best—yet that shouldn't be a disappointment.
Ohio State Buckeyes
3 of 5
Michigan and Ohio State have fairly similar schedules in 2016, but one is clearly tougher.
Both teams challenge Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State. However, the Buckeyes are on the road for every matchup, while the Wolverines host the Badgers and Nittany Lions.
Plus, the marquee showdown of Sep. 17 pits Ohio State against Oklahoma in Norman. Michigan heads to Iowa, but the Sooners have a clear edge on the Hawkeyes.
The home slate is reasonably tough, too. Nebraska and Michigan travel to Columbus in addition to an explosive Tulsa offense.
Although the Nov. 26 clash between the Buckeyes and Wolverines will likely determine the Big Ten East, Ohio State will have a tougher time reaching that pivotal game.
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Texas Longhorns
4 of 5
Texas doesn't exactly have realistic College Football Playoff aspirations, and 2016 may start on a sour note anyway.
Notre Dame—which slammed the Longhorns 38-3 last year—will be in Austin for the regular-season opener. This matchup should be more competitive, but the Irish are obvious favorites.
Though the Big 12 slate is manageable, Texas must navigate its schedule despite having a weaker roster than most opponents.
In addition to a neutral-site bout against Oklahoma, the Longhorns travel to Oklahoma State. Texas hosts Baylor, West Virginia and TCU, but nobody expects Charlie Strong's team to emerge unscathed.
USC Trojans
5 of 5
USC should contend for the Pac-12 South crown. Achieving more than that, however, will be immensely difficult.
Two weeks after opening the season against Alabama, the Trojans hit the road to play Stanford. A Friday night road tilt against Utah won't be easy, either.
The middle portion of USC's schedule offers a few winnable games (Arizona State, Colorado, Arizona and Cal), but the final third is brutal.
On Nov. 5, Oregon travels to the Coliseum. Then, the Trojans must defeat Washington and rival UCLA on the road. To close the year, USC needs to fend off Notre Dame.
A conference championship is within reason, but it would be shocking if the Trojans reached the College Football Playoff.
Stats from cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report College Football Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
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