College Football’s 15 toughest schedules in 2022

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 7

No team in college football has a more treacherous October, which puts the Bulldogs’ 2022 slate at No. 1 on the outside looking in. After opening the SEC slate in Week 3 at LSU following non-conference contests versus Memphis and Arizona, Mississippi State hosts Bowling Green before a daunting gauntlet — Texas A&M, Arkansas, at Kentucky, at Alabama. The Bulldogs hosts reigning national champion Georgia on Nov. 12 and play Ole Miss on the road on Thanksgiving. That’s incredibly difficult.

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 7

SEC life for Bryan Harsin in Year 2 will again raise questions about his future on The Plains if he makes it out of the 2022 campaign. Auburn has road games against Georgia and Alabama, the two best teams in the country, travels to Ole Miss and hosts Penn State, LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M — all teams who will likely be ranked at the time of the matchup. That could be seven games against ranked teams if the SEC's as good as everyone expects. After ending the 2021 season on a five-game losing streak, forward progression is needed amid the turmoil at Auburn.

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 6

Sam Pittman has to be tired of seeing this, though he's used to it by now heading into his third season at Arkansas. Facing the nation's toughest slate each of the past two seasons, the Razorbacks will again endure week-to-week brutality in the black-and-blue division of the SEC along with opening against Cincinnati, a team that hasn't lost a regular-season game since 2019. If Arkansas takes care of home field the first two weeks against the Bearcats and South Carolina, that Week 4 matchup versus Texas A&M that precedes the Alabama game should be a contest between unbeaten top 10s in Arlington.

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 5

For those harping on Texas A&M's lax non-conference schedule in recent years, the 2022 slate makes up for it. The Aggies host Appalachian State and Miami in September before opening the SEC portion against Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Chances are, a win over Miami will look better late in the season when the Hurricanes are hanging in the ACC Coastal race while the Aggies are potentially still inside the top 10 as a title contender. The season-defining matchup comes Oct. 8 at Alabama where Jimbo Fisher will try and beat Nick Saban for the second straight year.

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 5

Surprise! A ranking of the nation's toughest schedules in 2022 is riddled with SEC teams. Alabama goes to Texas in Week 2 for a rare non-conference game against Power Five competition on the road against former Crimson Tide play-caller Steve Sarkisian. October is the most crucial month of the 2022 schedule for the defending SEC champs, who play Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Mississippi State. Bryce Young should be the Heisman frontrunner once again if Alabama gets to the final month unbeaten. Alabama's schedule every year is unrelenting, but the Crimson Tide always manage to find a way to navigate it, doing so last fall with a midseason loss and still running the table to win the SEC.

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 5

If you've followed South Carolina football long enough, you've heard of the "Orange Crush" that used to form at the back-half of the schedule every year. Well, it's back during a slate that's well-balanced in terms of trouble spots for Shane Beamer and company. The Gamecocks will do all they can to avoid a 1-2 start with a trip to Arkansas and home game against Georgia over the first three weeks before traveling to Kentucky and battling Texas A&M — a team South Carolina hasn't beaten since the Aggies entered the SEC — in Columbia prior to November. Over the final three games, the Gamecocks take on Florida, Tennessee and Clemson during a season-defining triple threat.

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Number of potential ranked opponents: 5

The Jaxson Dart era at Ole Miss should be a breeze early as the Rebels adjust to their new quarterback within an updated offense as a heavy favorite throughout September prior to the SEC opener versus Kentucky Oct. 1. In fact, if Ole Miss beats the likely-ranked Wildcats, there's a good shot Lane Kiffin's team could be 7-0 going to Baton Rouge in Week 8. That's when real challenges begin in the brutal SEC West. After LSU, Ole Miss plays at Texas A&M, gets an open date before hosting Alabama and concludes with Arkansas (on the road) and Mississippi State.

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