The College Football Playoff has put an increased stress on teams scheduling tough non-conference opponents, and almost every team around the country has responded. That being said, these next nine teams face a murderer's row of talented teams, putting them at SERIOUS risk of losing multiple games and keeping themselves out of playoff contention. Here are the nine hardest schedules in the country for next season:
9) Wisconsin Badgers
The back-half of Wisconsin's schedule is loaded with a streatch easy Big Ten West teams, but the beginning of their year will be brutal. They open the season against LSU in Lambeau Field, then play at Michigan State, at Michigan, and Ohio State in consecutive weeks from Sept. 24-Oct. 15.
8) Florida State Seminoles
The season opener against Ole Miss and season finale against Florida are tough enough, but the Seminoles also have to face national title favorite Clemson and then will get in-state rival Miami on the road.
7) LSU Tigers
The Tigers open with Wisconsin, and though they're in the SEC West, they get both Alabama and Ole Miss at home. Trips to Florida, Arkansas, and Auburn will be tough.
6) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame does have to face Michigan State, Stanford, and Miami next year, but they get all of those games at home. They only will face one tough road test, which is the season finale at USC.
5) Alabama Crimson Tide
The defending national champs surely don't get a chance to revel in their title for long. They start the year against USC and then will have to run the traditional SEC West gauntlet, playing at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, at Tennessee, and at LSU.
4) Ole Miss Rebels
Not only do the Rebels open their season against Florida State, they then have a six-game stretch against Alabama, Georgia, Memphis, at Arkansas, at LSU, and Auburn that is perhaps the toughest string of games of anyone in the country.
3) Stanford Cardinal
Stanford is fresh off another Rose Bowl victory and has the Heisman favorite in Christian McCaffrey, but they play a schedule that will test them every week. They start with home games against Kansas State and USC, then face both Notre Dame and Oregon on the road later in the season.
2) Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma's season-opener against Houston will be one of the marquee games of college football's first weekend, but it doesn't get much easier for the Sooners from there. They host Ohio State just two weeks later, then face TCU on the road the following week before their yearly showdown against Texas. Should OU come out of those first five weeks without a loss, their reward is to close the season with Baylor, at West Virginia, and Oklahoma State.
1) USC Trojans
Starting your season against Alabama is as tough as it gets, they have conference road trips to Stanford, Utah, Arizona, and UCLA. Throw in tough games home games against Oregon and Notre Dame, and the Trojans have a schedule that will test them every single week with no easy games