One Big Ten power has the toughest non-conference schedule and one has the easiest

College football has the ultimate unbalanced scheduling. Most conferences are so big, teams don’t play everyone. And schools book their non-conference schedule themselves.

Which team has given themselves the toughest non-conference slate? Which has the easiest? Both reside in the Big Ten.

There are almost as many theories to how to build a non-conference schedule as there are Power 5 teams.

In an ESPN schedule analysis by Chris Low , Big Ten newcomer USC has the hardest non-conference schedule. Add that to the Trojans first year in the Big Ten, and it’s easy to understand why many are predicting Southern Cal will have a tough year.

On USC’s schedule, Low says “They open the season on Sept. 1 against No. 14 LSU in Las Vegas and close the season Nov. 30 at home against No. 5 Notre Dame. The Irish have won five of the past six games in the series, and it's never easy to play a game of that magnitude coming off a rivalry game -- USC faces UCLA the week before in Pasadena.”

“This also would be the first time since 2018 that USC has played two non-conference games against teams nationally ranked in the preseason,” Low adds.

On the other side of the coin is Ohio State. ESPN says the Buckeyes have the easiest non-conference slate. Low says, “Last year, Michigan got the nod here. This year, it's Ohio State that shouldn't break a sweat in its three non-conference games, all at home against non-Power 4 opponents. The Buckeyes open the season against Akron and Western Michigan, then have a week off before facing Marshall on Sept. 21. In other words, Ohio State is already 3-0. The Buckeyes do have a brutal Big Ten schedule with road games at Oregon and Penn State and home games against Iowa and Michigan.”

There is one game that the Buckeyes had to cancel that would’ve been a more respectable non-conference opponent. “Ohio State was originally scheduled to face new Big Ten member Washington in 2024 and 2025, but canceled that home-and-home series in 2023 and paid a $500,000 penalty to get out of those games and add an eighth home game this season,” Low said.