Billy Napier and the Florida Gators have the toughest schedule in 2024, according to the folks at College Football Network. Tough schedules are the norm in the SEC, but it could be the doom of Napier, who sits on the proverbial hot seat among coaches entering the campaign.
That tough schedule has the Gators listed with a win total in the 5½-6½ range on NCAAF futures boards, and it’s made especially difficult with road trips to Tennessee, Texas and Florida State for their annual Sunshine State rivalry.
There are certainly easier schedules around, and other schedules that are attractive for having a team’s top rival or toughest opponents on the home turf. Here are three teams that schedule-makers looked upon with a favorable eye in 2024.
Oregon Ducks
Going to Eugene is never a fun trip, as Oregon’s 19-1 home record the last three seasons indicates. Autzen Stadium is underrated when lists of tough environments are published, and will be every bit as tough on Big Ten teams as The Shoe in Columbus or a white-out game in Happy Valley.
The schedule-makers did smile on Oregon in 2024, giving the Ducks a very strong home slate for their first season in the Big Ten.
It might even be tough to imagine them being in a new conference when Dan Lanning and Oregon open at home against Idaho followed by Boise State, then make road trips to Oregon State and UCLA. The Ducks will be favored for all four games at NCAAF betting sites.
They get to christen Autzen in the new conference with visits from Michigan State and Ohio State to begin October, and that battle with the Buckeyes is going to be huge.
Illinois and Maryland come to Eugene in Week 9 and Week 11, respectively. The regular season concludes with a matchup against Washington, and the Ducks are in triple-revenge mode for that one after the Huskies ended Oregon’s 23-game home win streak in 2021.
It’s a home schedule that could very well lead to the Ducks beating odds by winning the Big Ten in their first year.
SMU Mustangs
This is a big year for Rhett Lashlee and SMU. The Mustangs are making a leap into the Atlantic Coast Conference, their fourth league in 20 years, and still seemingly in a fight to put that NCAA ‘death penalty’ in the 1980s behind them.
Lashlee enters his third season as Sonny Dykes’ successor and moves the Mustangs into the ACC following a fine 11-3 campaign and AAC Championship. Southern Methodist drew an easy ‘24 schedule overall, and it’s complemented by a favorable home slate.
The Mustangs head off into the devil’s country with a road game against Nevada to begin the season, but then come home with a trio of Bible Belt matchups against Houston Christian, BYU and TCU.
That collision with Dykes and the Frogs will pack ‘em in at Ford Stadium, where SMU is wrapping up one expansion project and likely to embark on another after this season.
They could use those extra seats in Week 4 when the Mustangs host Florida State for their ACC opener. The Seminoles are co-favorites in the conference with Clemson.
A trio of road games (Louisville, Stanford, Duke) follow before Pittsburgh comes to Dallas in Week 9. After sitting idle in Week 10, the Mustangs host Boston College and looking for revenge from their Fenway Bowl loss last season.
Everything wraps up with the California Golden Bears in Dallas on November 30th. The only other time the Bears and Mustangs met was 1957.
The Mustangs are middle-of-the-pack contenders on the NCAAF odds for the ACC title, and they could at least play the role of spoiler with the strong home fixture.
Texas A&M Aggies
When your season starts with Notre Dame in town and ends with a bitter rivalry being renewed for the first time in 13 years on your turf, that automatically qualifies as having a nice home schedule.
Such is the slate awaiting Mike Elko in his first season at the helm for the Aggies. Adding gravy to the biscuit is the fact Texas A&M won’t be facing Georgia or Alabama, and not playing either the Bulldogs or Crimson Tide qualifies as having a favorable SEC schedule.
Kyle Field will be very much alive for the prime-time matchup against the Fighting Irish on August 31st. The Aggies have been hovering around 1-point chalk since the line first went out, and it’s a monumental first game as head coach for Elko.
Texas A&M has McNeese and Bowling Green for its other two non-con home games. Nothing to write home about, though the Falcons could be trouble for the Aggies in a letdown/lookahead spot between Florida and Arkansas.
Missouri (Week 6) and LSU (Week 9) come to College Station for a pair of contests with conference and CFP implications. New Mexico State makes for a Double-Aggie collision in Week 11.
As big as home games against Notre Dame, Missouri and LSU are going to be, it will be sheer madness at Kyle Field on November 30th when the Aggies host the Longhorns to close the regular season.
They last played as Big 12 foes in 2011, and scalpers are going to get rich for the renewal of a rivalry that dates to 1894 and divides the Lone Star State.
