Ranking the 10 toughest Big Ten or SEC football schedules for the 2025 season
Less than 12 weeks remain before the 2025 college football season kicks off. In what has become an annual tradition, this build-up period is being spent arguing which conference deserves the crown as the sport's best. Or, if the SEC is still No. 1, whether the Big Ten is now narrowing the gap.
These discussions aren't only held between fans and analysts. Current Illinois and former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema even joined the mix, arguing that the last 2-3 years of NIL and the transfer portal balancing rosters have brought the Big Ten up to the SEC's top level. While there is no definitive answer to that argument, the Big Ten did dominate the 2024 college football postseason, including a national title and numerous head-to-head wins over SEC opponents.
The SEC's common retort to that argument is an outline of its conference schedule for 2025, with 14 of its 16 member teams ranked within ESPN SP+'s top 50 entering the year.
While that piece of evidence matters, it discounts what Big Ten programs, primarily Wisconsin, face in 2025. The Badgers not only have by far the toughest schedule in the Big Ten, but their schedule is tougher than nearly every SEC slate.
As a reminder, we utilize Connelly's initial SP+ rankings to evaluate the difficulty of every schedule. Here is our methodology:
The equation used to compare each slate is simple. First, we take each team's SP+ rating to find a numerical value for every game. The higher that number, the tougher the matchup. We then add every opponent's SP+ rating together to find a total opponent score. That large number is divided by the number 12 (total games) to find the average opponent score — a number that can then be compared to the SP+ leaderboard to find, on average, what a team will face each week.
(Note: Home and away is not factored into the model. Also, Football Championship Subdivision opponents are not listed in SP+. Every FCS opponent was assessed a "minus-15' rating, akin to the No. 120 team in the Football Bowl Subdivision)
For specifics, here is where Wisconsin's slate ranks among the top 10 Big Ten or SEC schedules for 2025, ranked from easiest to toughest.
10. Texas A&M Aggies
Total Opponent Score: 106.9
Average Opponent Score: 8.90 (akin to the 33rd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 111.8
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Auburn (11.8)
Mississippi State (-1.4)
Florida (17.3)
Arkansas (7.0)
LSU (22.1)
Missouri (12.5)
South Carolina (16.1)
Texas (26.4)
Nonconference Schedule:
UTSA (0.0)
Utah State (-14.8)
Notre Dame (24.9)
Samford (FCS -15)
Get more (Texas A&M) news, analysis, and opinions on Aggies Wire
9. Arkansas Razorbacks
Total Opponent Score: 109.1
Average Opponent Score: 9.09 (akin to the 33rd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 107
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Tennessee (18.4)
Texas A&M (17.2)
Auburn (11.8)
Mississippi State (-1.4)
LSU (22.1)
Texas (26.4)
Missouri (12.5)
Nonconference Schedule:
Alabama A&M (FCS -15)
Arkansas State (-9.9)
Memphis (2.1)
Notre Dame (24.9)
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
Total Opponent Score: 110.8
Average Opponent Score: 9.23 (akin to the 33rd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 126
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Georgia (26.9)
Vanderbilt (1.7)
Missouri (12.5)
Tennessee (18.4)
South Carolina (16.1)
LSU (22.1)
Oklahoma (16.5)
Auburn (11.8)
Nonconference Schedule:
Florida State (7.2)
LA-Monroe (-14.6)
Wisconsin (7.2)
Eastern Illinois (FCS -15)
Get more (Alabama) news, analysis, and opinions on Roll Tide Wire
Total Opponent Score: 114
Average Opponent Score: 9.50 (akin to the 33rd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 145.5
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Tennessee (18.4)
Texas A&M (17.2)
Florida (17.3)
Texas (26.4)
Arkansas (7.0)
Georgia (26.9)
Missouri (12.5)
Ole Miss (19.8)
Nonconference Schedule:
Southern Miss (-17.7)
Arizona State (12.2)
Alcorn State (FCS -15)
Northern Illinois (-11)
Total Opponent Score: 114.1
Average Opponent Score: 9.51 (akin to the 33rd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 123.5
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Florida (17.3)
Ole Miss (19.8)
South Carolina (16.1)
Vanderbilt (1.7)
Texas A&M (17.2)
Alabama (27.9)
Arkansas (7.0)
Oklahoma (16.5)
Nonconference Schedule:
Clemson (23.3)
LA Tech (-11.9)
Southeastern Louisiana (FCS -15)
Western Kentucky (-5.8)
Get more (LSU) news, analysis, and opinions on LSU Wire
5. Kentucky Wildcats
Total Opponent Score: 119.9
Average Opponent Score: 9.99 (akin to the 32nd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 138.4
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Ole Miss (19.8)
South Carolina (16.1)
Georgia (26.9)
Texas (26.4)
Tennessee (18.4)
Auburn (11.8)
Florida (17.3)
Vanderbilt (1.7)
Nonconference Schedule:
Toledo (-1.4)
Eastern Michigan (-14.2)
Tennessee Tech (FCS -15)
Louisville (12.1)
Get more (Kentucky) news, analysis, and opinions on UK Wildcats Wire
4. Oklahoma Sooners
Total Opponent Score: 120.2
Average Opponent Score: 10.01 (akin to the 32nd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 155
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Auburn (11.8)
Texas (26.4)
South Carolina (16.1)
Ole Miss (19.8)
Tennessee (18.4)
Alabama (27.9)
Missouri (12.5)
LSU (22.1)
Nonconference Schedule:
Illinois State (FCS -15)
Michigan (21.5)
Temple (-16.4)
Kent State (-24.9)
Get more (Oklahoma) news, analysis, and opinions on Sooners Wire
3. South Carolina Gamecocks
Total Opponent Score: 127.7
Average Opponent Score: 10.64 (akin to the 32nd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 122.4
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Vanderbilt (1.7)
Missouri (12.5)
Kentucky (4.7)
LSU (22.1)
Oklahoma (16.5)
Alabama (27.9)
Ole Miss (19.8)
Texas A&M (17.2)
Nonconference Schedule:
Virginia Tech (4.3)
SC State (FCS -15)
Coastal Carolina (-7.3)
Clemson (23.3)
2. Wisconsin Badgers
Total Opponent Score: 130.2
Average Opponent Score: 10.85 (akin to the 32nd-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 124.9 (first, the toughest conference schedule)
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Maryland (-1.1)
Michigan (21.5)
Iowa (11.4)
Ohio State (29.5)
Oregon (24.7)
Washington (6.4)
Indiana (12.2)
Illinois (14.3)
Minnesota (6.0)
Nonconference Schedule:
Miami OH (-7.6)
Middle Tennessee (FCS -15)
Alabama (27.9)
1. Florida
Total Opponent Score: 141.6
Average Opponent Score: 11.8 (akin to the 25th-best team in the country)
Conference Schedule Score: 134.1
Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
LSU (22.1)
Texas (26.4)
Texas A&M (17.2)
Mississippi State (-1.4)
Georgia (26.9)
Kentucky (4.7)
Ole Miss (19.8)
Tennessee (18.4)
Nonconference Schedule:
LIU (FCS -15)
USF (-3.5)
Miami (18.8)
Florida State (7.2)
Get more (Florida) news, analysis, and opinions on Gators Wire
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