Analysing College Football Schedules: Looking for the Easiest

Just wondering, since I'm a big fan of college football, which school generally has the 'easiest' football schedule? I assume it might vary year by year, but any ideas on trends in the past few years would be great.

Analyzing college football schedules is a fun yet complex task given the multitude of factors at play. While it's certainly true that the purported 'difficulty' of a football schedule can vary from year to year, certain trends are noticeable when we consider the various conferences within the NCAA.

Historically, teams in the Power Five conferences (SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12) tend to have stronger schedules given the proliferation of strong teams in these conferences. This means they usually face a heftier lineup of tough games, particularly in conference play.

However, teams in the so-called 'Group of Five' conferences (American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference) or in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) are likely to face less challenging schedules relatively.

Recently, you may have noticed that teams such as Central Florida (American Athletic Conference) or Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt Conference) have had successful seasons in part due to their comparatively less challenging schedules. However, it's important to note that every team faces unique challenges and each season brings its own set of variables. Football strength can fluctuate widely from year to year, and a historically "weaker" team may have a breakout season, thus affecting the perceived difficulty of another team's schedule.

This isn't to overlook the fact that any given Saturday can bring an upset, no matter who's on the schedule! So while we might identify trends, there's always the unpredictability of the sport itself.