Which Big Ten football team has the toughest schedule in 2024?

Even in the ever-changing world of college football we live in, where teams are changing conferences and players are jumping from team to team like never before, one constant will always remain: fans complaining their team’s path to the finish line is harder than anyone else’s.

We constantly saw that over the years in the Pac-12. With the Oregon Ducks entering a new conference, we will undoubtedly see similar complaints going forward.

But are the complaints warranted?

It’s somewhat tough to tell with the new-look Big Ten now featuring an influx of competitive teams from the West Coast. Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA are joining Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State at the top. Beyond matchups with those teams, though, does anything really stand out as daunting?

I wanted to find out once and for all. With the help of ESPN’s SP+ ratings that came out this week, courtesy of Bill Connelly, we grouped every team in the nation, gave them a grade and figured out whose schedule is the toughest on paper. Here’s a breakdown of how we assigned grades to each individual team using a tier system:

• ESPN’s SP+ ranks every Football Bowl Subdivision team from 1-134. We broke those 134 teams into 20 tiers, giving the best teams in the nation a score of 10, all the way down to the worst teams in the nation getting a score of 0.

• After going through each Big Ten team’s schedule, we added up their total opponent score and determined who has the highest opponent grade for the year.

• Note: Football Championship Subdivision opponents, such as Idaho and South Dakota were given a score of 0, along with the bottom-tier FBS schools.

For reference, here’s how the Big Ten teams graded out:

Don’t worry, it’s not as confusing as it might seem at first. Here’s a look at which teams have the toughest schedules on paper going into the 2024 season, and who has the easiest path to the expanded College Football Playoff.

USC Trojans

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 91

Average Opponent Score: 7.6

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• LSU

• Michigan

• Wisconsin

• Penn State

• Washington

• Notre Dame

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Utah State

Analysis: This schedule for USC is brutal. Based on our metrics, it is the most difficult in the conference by a large margin. Utah State is the lone game that is considered easy. Even without Oregon on the schedule, USC has games against LSU, Michigan, Penn State and Notre Dame. We’ll see what Lincoln Riley can do with that.

UCLA Bruins

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 83.5

Average Opponent Score: 7

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• LSU

• Oregon

• Penn State

• Iowa

• Washington

• USC

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Hawaii

• Indiana

Analysis: Oof, that’s a lot of tough games and not many easy games. While only Hawaii and Indiana classify as easy for UCLA, it has to face LSU, Oregon and Penn State at the top of the schedule. With a new coaching staff, that might be tough.

Michigan Wolverines

Total Opponent Score: 79.5

Average Opponent Score: 6.6

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Texas

• USC

• Washington

• Oregon

• Ohio State

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Arkansas State

• Illinois

• Michigan State

• Indiana

Analysis: Life without Jim Harbaugh will not be easy for Michigan. Games against Oregon and Ohio State await in the conference, while it also plays Texas in a nonconference game. If Michigan can be good with this schedule, it will be really impressive.

Purdue Boilermakers

Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 77.5

Average Opponent Score: 6.5

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Notre Dame

• Wisconsin

• Oregon

• Ohio State

• Penn State

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Indiana State

• Illinois

• Michigan State

• Indiana

Analysis: This is the part of the list where the schedules start to get really tough. Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin? Sure Purdue misses Michigan and Washington, but those top games are brutal.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 76

Average Opponent Score: 6.3

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Iowa State

• Ohio State

• Washington

• Wisconsin

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Illinois State

• Troy

• Michigan State

Analysis: Iowa misses most of the top teams in the conference. Oregon, Michigan and Penn State are not on the schedule, but Iowa has a tough nonconference game against Iowa State, and a number of solid matchups to go along with the big one: Ohio State.

Wisconsin Badgers

Total Opponent Score: 75

Average Opponent Score: 6.25

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Alabama

• USC

• Penn State

• Oregon

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Western Michigan

• South Dakota

• Purdue

Analysis: Sure, no Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule, but a nonconference game against Alabama will be tough. Then matchups against Oregon and Penn State will be hard to win as well.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 74.5

Average Opponent Score: 6.2

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Iowa

• Michigan

• USC

• Penn State

• Wisconsin

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Rhode Island

• Nevada

• Illinois

Analysis: No Ohio State or Oregon is pretty nice, but there aren’t many easy games for Minnesota. Instead, a lot of the matchups come against solid to above-average teams.

Northwestern Wildcats

Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 74

Average Opponent Score: 6.2

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Washington

• Wisconsin

• Iowa

• Ohio State

• Michigan

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Eastern Illinois

• Indiana

• Purdue

• Illinois

Analysis: Northwestern misses Oregon and Penn State, but it has several really solid opponents: Washington, Wisconsin and Iowa. The easy games are winnable, but there are definitely some losses on the schedule.

Washington Huskies

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Total Opponent Score: 74

Average Opponent Score: 6.2

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Michigan

• Iowa

• USC

• Penn State

• Oregon

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Weber State

• Eastern Michigan

• Indiana

Analysis: While Washington misses Ohio State, it does face Michigan, Oregon and Penn State. The nonconference schedule shapes up pretty nicely, though, so it should be good to start the year.

Oregon Ducks

Chris Gardner/Getty Images

Total Opponent Score: 73.5

Average Opponent Score: 6.1

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Ohio State

• Michigan

• Wisconsin

• Washington

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Idaho

• Michigan State

• Purdue

• Illinois

Analysis: Oregon’s schedule looks pretty good, especially if it is as good as many people think it will be. Games against Ohio State and Michigan will be tough, and Wisconsin and Washington may put up a fight. However, there are a number of games on the docket that Dan Lanning and his team should be big favorites in.

Michigan State Spartans

Total Opponent Score: 73

Average Opponent Score: 6.05

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Ohio State

• Oregon

• Iowa

• Michigan

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Florida Atlantic

• Boston College

• Indiana

• Illinois

• Purdue

Analysis: Michigan State’s schedule is of two extremes. It plays the three top teams in the conference: Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan. It also gets three bottom of the conference teams, along with a pretty easy nonconference slate as well.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Total Opponent Score: 71.5

Average Opponent Score: 6

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• USC

• Wisconsin

• Ohio State

• Washington

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Bowling Green

• Kent State

• Illinois

• Purdue

Analysis: Penn State misses both Oregon and Michigan this year, but it has to play both USC and Washington, so we will see what form those two teams are in. The nonconference schedule is very workable, though.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Total Opponent Score: 71.5

Average Opponent Score: 6

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Virginia Tech

• Washington

• Wisconsin

• USC

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Howard

• Akron

• Illinois

Analysis: No Ohio State, no Oregon, no Michigan, no Penn State. Rutgers also gets Howard and Akron in the nonconference schedule. Feels pretty great to me.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 69.5

Average Opponent Score: 5.8

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Penn State

• Michigan

• Oregon

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Eastern Illinois

• Central Michigan

• Purdue

• Michigan State

Analysis: The tough games on Illinois’ schedule are pretty hard, but for the most part it faces the middling teams of the conference, which should be pretty manageable in the end.

Maryland Terrapins

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 65

Average Opponent Score: 5.4

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• USC

• Oregon

• Iowa

• Penn State

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• UCONN

• Michigan State

• Virginia

• Villanova

• Indiana

Analysis: Maryland gets the benefit of missing Michigan and Ohio State, and its nonconference schedule is full of very winnable games. It should find a way to finish in the top half of the conference.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Total Opponent Score: 64

Average Opponent Score: 5.3

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Ohio State

• USC

• Wisconsin

• Iowa

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• UTEP

• Colorado

• Northern Iowa

• Illinois

• Purdue

• Indiana

Analysis: While Nebraska has to play Ohio State and USC, it misses Oregon, Michigan and Penn State. The nonconference schedule is very manageable.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Total Opponent Score: 61.5

Average Opponent Score: 5.1

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Iowa

• Oregon

• Penn State

• Michigan

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Akron

• Western Michigan

• Marshall

• Michigan State

• Purdue

• Indiana

Analysis: It doesn’t seem fair that a team as good as Ohio State has a schedule this easy. … While the Buckeyes play the top three teams in the Big Ten, their nonconference slate is as easy as it can be. They also miss USC and Washington as well.

Indiana Hoosiers

Total Opponent Score: 60.5

Average Opponent Score: 5.05

Toughest Games (Opponent Score 8 or Higher)

• Washington

• Michigan

• Ohio State

Easiest Games (Opponent Score 5 or Lower)

• Florida International

• Western Illinois

• Charlotte

• Michigan State

• Purdue

Analysis: Playing against Ohio State and Michigan is certainly tough, but outside of those two teams, Indiana doesn’t have the toughest string of opponents. It misses Oregon, Penn State, Iowa, USC, etc. It also gets expected cakewalks against Western Illinois, Charlotte and Florida International.

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire