Ranking Strength of Schedule for College Football Playoff Top 25 from weakest to strongest

With two weeks to go in the regular season, the race to the College Football Playoff is heating up. Tuesday marked the third rankings reveal, and strength of schedule is going to become an even bigger talking point ahead of the final Top 25.

Much of the conversation around strength of schedule revolves around Indiana and Georgia. The Hoosiers’ schedule ranks 106th in the country, according to ESPN’s FPI, while the Bulldogs’ ranks No. 1. However, IU came in at No. 5 on Tuesday while UGA was No. 10 – adding to the debate around the rankings.

Although the CFP outsources data from SportSource Analytics, executive director Rich Clark said, that data is not available to the public. As a result, ESPN and its FPI is a way to gauge the caliber each team’s opponents are ahead of Week 13. Here are each College Football Playoff team’s strength of schedule, ranked from weakest to strongest, to this point.

Army – SOS: 133

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 19

Army is one of the last remaining unbeaten teams and secured a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship after Navy’s loss last week. The Black Knights have an opportunity to make some noise on Saturday, though, when they take on No. 6 Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium.

Games Remaining: Notre Dame, UTSA, Tulane (AAC Championship)

Indiana – SOS: 106

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 5

Off to its first 11-0 start in program history, Indiana has become the story of college football in Year 1 under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers’ strength of schedule has come into question, though, after they came in at No. 5 this week – but they can make a statement this week against Ohio State in Columbus.

Games Remaining: Ohio State, Purdue

UNLV – SOS: 100

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 24

Early in the year, UNLV looked like it could be in contention for a College Football Playoff bid before losses to Syracuse and Boise State. But the Rebels jumped back into the rankings this week with two games to go despite having the third-weakest strength of schedule of the Top 25 teams.

Games Remaining: San Jose State, Nevada

Tulane – SOS: 96

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 20

A Week 13 bye means Tulane has just two games remaining, including the American Athletic Conference title game. The Green Wave’s only two losses came to Kansas State and Oklahoma, although the strength of schedule sits just inside the Top 100.

Games Remaining: Memphis, Army (AAC Championship)

SMU – SOS: 86

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 13

Through its first year in the ACC, SMU has only one blemish on its resume – a loss to BYU. The Mustangs are looking to make a run to a conference title, but the strength of schedule is a big concern for the committee and a reason they sit just outside the Top 12.

Games Remaining: Virginia, Cal

Notre Dame – SOS: 82

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 6

A loss to Northern Illinois is the biggest discussion point for Notre Dame, which suddenly finds itself in position to host a College Football Playoff game if the rankings hold. The Fighting Irish’s strength of schedule also ranks No. 82 in the country, though, heading into the Army matchup on Saturday.

Games Remaining: Army, USC

Boise State – SOS: 77

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 12

Boise State enters Week 13 in pole position for the Group of 5’s College Football Playoff bid. The Broncos, led by Ashton Jeanty, are hoping to be one of the five highest-ranked conference champions and secure the automatic berth in the 12-team field.

Games Remaining: Wyoming, Oregon State

Colorado – SOS: 74

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 16

One year after just winning four games, Deion Sanders has Colorado at 8-2 and in position for a Big 12 title game appearance. The Buffaloes came in at No. 16 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and their strength of schedule ranks in the Top 75 in ESPN’s FPI rankings.

Games Remaining: Kansas, Oklahoma State

Iowa State – SOS: 72

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 22

A Top-10 team at one point, two losses dropped Iowa State to No. 22 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. The Cyclones have played just one ranked opponent at the time of their game, which is part of the reason their strength of schedule ranks No. 72, according to ESPN’s FPI.

Games Remaining: Utah, Kansas State

Arizona State – SOS: 67

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 21

Don’t look now, but here comes Arizona State. The Sun Devils improved to 8-2 with a win over Kansas State a week ago and have another chance to make a move with BYU looming on Saturday in what’s now a pivotal Big 12 showdown.

Games Remaining: BYU, Arizona

Miami – SOS: 54

CFP Top 25 Ranking: No. 8

Miami was on a bye last week after suffering its first loss of the year to Georgia Tech. Still, the Hurricanes have a Heisman Trophy contender in Cam Ward leading their high-powered offense and will look to stay in contention in the ACC over the last two weeks of the season.

Games Remaining: Wake Forest, Syracuse

BYU – SOS: 53

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 14

BYU was one of the biggest surprises in this week’s rankings release, dropping eight spots to No. 14. The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season to Kansas last week and will get ready to face a ranked opponent this week in Arizona State to try and climb back up the rankings.

Games Remaining: Arizona State, Houston

Remaining CFP teams’ strength of schedule

Clemson | SOS: 46 | CFP Ranking: 12
Oregon | SOS: 43 | CFP Ranking: No. 1
Texas | SOS: 38 | CFP Ranking: No. 3
Penn State | SOS: 35 | CFP Ranking: No. 4
Ole Miss | SOS: 29 | CFP Ranking: No. 9
Ohio State | SOS: 28 | CFP Ranking: No. 2
Texas A&M | SOS: 24 | CFP Ranking: No. 15
Illinois | SOS: 23 | CFP Ranking: No. 25
Missouri | SOS: 21 | CFP Ranking: No. 23
Tennessee | SOS: 17 | CFP Ranking: No. 11
Alabama | SOS: 16 | CFP Ranking: No. 7
South Carolina | SOS: 8 | CFP Ranking: No. 18
Georgia | SOS: 1 | CFP Ranking: No. 10

With two weeks to go in the season, strength of schedule is going to become even more prominent. The final College Football Playoff rankings are set to come out Dec. 8.