CBS Sports ranks college football teams with easiest 2026 schedules

The college football offseason invites plenty of ink as writers break down various aspects of the upcoming season. CBS Sports has spent plenty of time on the toughest schedules teams will play in 2026. But what about the easiest schedules? That’s something the outlet tackled over the weekend, listing the 10 teams with the easiest slates this fall. If you want to take a look, CBS Sports has also ranked the toughest schedules for College Football Playoff contenders and the toughest schedule stretches in 2026. But for now, let’s dive into which teams have the easiest paths going into the fall. 1. NC State Wolfpack Schedule: at Virginia, Richmond, at Vanderbilt, Appalachian State, Louisville, Wake Forest, at Stanford, California, Duke, Syracuse, at Florida State, at North Carolina As far as schedules go, NC State has a pretty favorable ACC slate. The Wolfpack won’t face Clemson, Miami or SMU this season. That means there’s a decent chance the team doesn’t face a single ranked ACC team this year, though Louisville and Virginia could have something to say about that. In terms of the team itself, NC State could be poised to take advantage. Returning quarterback CJ Bailey could be among the league’s best. Don’t be surprised if the Wolfpack push for a playoff spot this season. 2. Texas Tech Red Raiders Schedule: Abilene Christian, at Oregon State, Houston, Sam Houston, at Colorado, Arizona State, at Cincinnati, Arizona, West Virginia, at Oklahoma State, at Baylor, TCU Speaking of pushing for playoff spots, no one would be surprised if Texas Tech is once again the class of the Big 12. Even without quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who is no longer with the program after an exhausting back-and-forth saga over his eligibility this offseason. The schedule only fuels that idea. Houston is probably the toughest game on the schedule. No BYU, no Utah. Those are two pretty good league opponents to avoid. 3. Kansas State Wildcats Schedule: Nicholls, Washington State, Tulane, at Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas, at Arizona State, at Colorado, Oklahoma State, at TCU, Arizona, at Iowa State Kansas State is undergoing a coaching change this season, and Collin Klein gets a pretty favorable first schedule to go against. Like Texas Tech, Houston is probably the toughest game on the schedule. There’s no Texas Tech, no BYU and no Utah. Can Klein get the offense kicking and take advantage of a slate that includes very few truly daunting stretches? At Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas and Arizona State is probably the toughest stretch. 4. Virginia Cavaliers Schedule: NC State, Norfolk State, West Virginia (Charlotte), Delaware, at Florida State, Syracuse, at SMU, Duke, at Wake Forest, California, North Carolina, at Virginia Tech Virginia was excellent a year ago, winning 11 games and reaching the ACC Championship Game. And the path to get back there is pretty navigable once again, something that should really excite coach Tony Elliott and his squad. While there are some tricky games against NC State and SMU, there’s no Clemson and no Miami — two of the more talent-rich teams in the league. However, at SMU, Duke, at Wake Forest could be a trickier stretch than it might seem on paper. 5. Miami Hurricanes Schedule: at Stanford, Florida A&M, at Wake Forest, Central Michigan, at Clemson, Florida State, Pittsburgh, at North Carolina, at Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech, Boston College After reaching the national championship game in 2025, Miami has the luxury of a relatively easy schedule heading into the 2026 campaign. Mario Cristobal should get a chance to ease in his new starting quarterback, Darian Mensah. The Hurricanes do have a tough non-conference game against Notre Dame in what should be an excellent rematch. There are also games at Clemson and against rival Florida State. But beyond that? Miami has a fairly easy path forward. 6. Pittsburgh Panthers Schedule: Miami (Ohio), UCF, Syracuse, Bucknell, at Virginia Tech, North Carolina, at Boston College, at Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida State, at Louisville, at California The non-conference slate is certainly nothing to write home about, though we’ve seen worse. Miami (Ohio), UCF and Bucknell make up that portion of the schedule. All three games will be considered pretty winnable, though not a given. Head forward to the ACC portion of the schedule and a road trip to Miami is probably one you can chalk up as a likely loss, at least based on preseason expectations. But there’s no Duke, Virginia or SMU, three of the top five teams (along with Miami and Pittsburgh) in the league last year. 7. BYU Cougars Schedule: Utah Tech, Arizona, at Colorado, at TCU, Iowa State, Notre Dame, at UCF, Arizona State, at Utah, Baylor, at Kansas, Cincinnati The schedules start to get a little more difficult around this portion of the CBS Sports list, at least on paper. BYU will likely face ranked opponents in Notre Dame and Utah. And there are a couple other potential snags. The schedule includes both Arizona schools, perhaps the next toughest on the slate. But there’s no Houston, no Texas Tech, as well as no potentially revitalized Kansas State and Oklahoma State programs either. This could shape up for a playoff run. 8. SMU Mustangs Schedule: at Florida State, UC Davis, at Louisville, Missouri State, Boston College, Virginia, California, at Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, at Notre Dame, at Stanford Kevin Jennings returns at quarterback and the Heisman Trophy campaign for him is already in full swing at SMU. He could potentially lead the team to a playoff berth this season, and the schedule really shouldn’t stand in the way. SMU won’t take on either Clemson or Miami in ACC play this season. There is a Notre Dame matchup on the schedule, but the back half of the slate looks prime for a real run after the first three weeks of the season or so. 9. Houston Cougars Schedule: Oregon State, Southern, at Texas Tech, at Georgia Southern, UCF, at Kansas State, Oklahoma State, at Utah, Cincinnati, at Colorado, at West Virginia, Baylor The non-conference slate for Houston is perfectly manageable and not scary in the least. Houston will get Oregon State and Southern at home, though it will have to travel to Georgia Southern. Still, take care of business there and it’s all down to the Big 12 slate. Houston does have a road test against Texas Tech early on, and that will be a big one in terms of shaping the Big 12 race out of the gates. After that, though, a road trip to Utah is the next toughest outing. There’s no BYU on this year’s schedule and Houston misses both Arizona schools. 10. Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule: Marshall, at Temple, Buffalo, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, USC, at Michigan, Purdue, at Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers, at Maryland It’s always nice to have a manageable schedule for a new coach, and Matt Campbell gets a break with that in 2026. The non-conference slate is Mashall, at Temple and Buffalo — that should be an easy three wins to start the season. After that, a home date with USC is the first real test. At Michigan after that will be tough. But there’s no Indiana, Ohio State or Oregon on this year’s slate. The Nittany Lions will miss arguably the top three teams in the league.