College Football 2025-2026 Offseason: Strength of Schedule Debate

The college football discussion during the 2025-2026 offseason largely focuses on the strength of schedule. This metric is pivotal in conference bragging rights and the College Football Playoff selection process. Teams’ perceived strength shifts based on their schedules’ challenges.

The Big Ten and SEC lead in having the most demanding schedules for 2026. The Texas Longhorns face one of the toughest schedules nationally. Ohio State’s agenda includes away games at Texas, USC, Iowa, Nebraska, and Indiana, plus hosting Oregon and Michigan. This is acknowledged as one of the hardest schedules for any team, even with Ohio State’s strong roster.

An ESPN personality was criticized on social media for inaccurately promoting SEC’s schedule strength. The SEC’s reputation for a rigorous full-schedule slate affects most programs within the league. In contrast, other conferences like the ACC or Big 12 do not face the same perception in 2026. SEC and Big Ten schools often emphasize the difference in schedule difficulty, noting that records in their conferences carry different implications than those in others.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders have voiced their struggles to beef up their schedule. According to head coach Joey McGuire, despite efforts to arrange games with top programs like USC, Texas A&M, and NC State, these attempts have been unsuccessful. McGuire mentioned, “We’re talking to everybody and anybody. So far, everybody’s told us no.” This frustration comes amid lingering negativity from the handling of the Brandon Sorsby situation. The denial from these programs leaves Texas Tech struggling to enhance their schedule strength as desired.

Texas Tech seeks to arrange more challenging games to improve their standing. Efforts to compete with top-tier teams like Texas A&M, USC, or others remain unfulfilled. The perceptions enforced by the SEC and Big Ten add to the pressure. If teams avoid playing Texas Tech, criticizing their schedule becomes unjust.

Despite controversies like the Sorsby scandal, McGuire encourages his team to embrace the image of the “villain” within college football. Major investments in the Texas Tech program aim toward building a playoff contender. The team wants a chance to showcase growth and capability by facing stronger opponents. Failing this, critics might lack a foundation for complaints over the Raiders’ schedule.

This article was originally reported by Ian Miller at OutKick.