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

The third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings debuted on Tuesday night, giving fans an idea how the postseason picture might play out. Of course, there’s still plenty to dissect and strength of schedule is a huge factor.

Much of the conversation around strength of schedule last week centered around the ACC. Things are continuing to sort themselves out on that front after another key loss or two.

On3 stops to take a look at each team in the College Football Playoff ranking in terms of strength of schedule according to the ESPN FPI. Here its each team’s strength of schedule, ranked from weakest to strongest, to this point.

Georgia Tech – SOS: 88

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 16

Georgia Tech’s strength of schedule has bounced around a bit in recent weeks after some topsy-turvy action in the ACC. It’s down again this week, to the point that the Yellow Jackets rank last among this week’s College Football Playoff teams. The good news is things should improve with remaining games against Pittsburgh and Georgia.

Games Remaining: Pittsburgh, Georgia

Virginia – SOS: 81

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 19

Virginia’s strength of schedule has moved up a bit, and winning a convincing game against a good Duke team will have helped a decent amount. The metric is a +12 for Virginia this week, moving in the right direction. It likely won’t move a whole lot more based on the season finale.

Games Remaining: Virginia Tech

Houston – SOS: 73

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 23

Houston returns to the College Football Playoff rankings this week, though it will need a ton of help to get into legitimate playoff range at this point. Chaos in the Big 12 is probably the best bet. In terms of strength of schedule, games against TCU and at Baylor to close should help.

Games Remaining: TCU, @ Baylor

Tulane – SOS: 71

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 24

Tulane doesn’t exactly rank high in the strength of schedule metric, checking in toward the back half of the field. Worse, the lone game against a super high-quality opponent resulted in a 45-10 loss to Ole Miss. Still, the Green Wave can make a case as the highest-ranked Group of Six conference champion. Long way to go, though.

Games Remaining: @ Temple, Charlotte

Texas Tech – SOS: 52

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 5

Texas Tech has been feasting of late, ever since that tricky loss to Arizona State about a month back. Nothing has been close since then, and the Red Raiders have the feel of a team barrelling toward a playoff berth and looking to do some damage. There’s only one opponent left on the schedule, too.

Games Remaining: @ West Virginia

Ohio State – SOS: 50

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 1

After the Penn State game, Ohio State had a stretch on the schedule that it simply had to manage to set up the monster showdown with Michigan in the finale. So far, so good. Now a Rutgers team that would love nothing more than to play spoiler is up before that chance at Michigan.

Games Remaining: Rutgers, @ Michigan

Utah – SOS: 46

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 12

Utah’s strength of schedule saw a nice tick up with a road trip to Baylor. And neither of the final two games are likely to hurt the Utes. It’s mostly about how things shake out in the Big 12 title race and how many teams drop a game in the next two weeks. Utah is certainly in the right range to have a legitimate playoff shot.

Games Remaining: Kansas State, @ Kansas

Miami – SOS: 43

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 13

Miami’s schedule took a hit with Louisville and Florida State both losing two weeks ago. That diminished one of the program’s best wins and tarnished the quality of one of the team’s two losses. Louisville then went and lost again, further denting Miami’s metrics. Road trips to Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh should help at least hold the ranking in place, if not improve it some.

Games Remaining: @ Virginia Tech, @ Pittsburgh

Indiana – SOS: 38

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 2

Indiana’s strength of schedule has bounced around the middle ranges of the playoff field, but it slips a bit this week after a win over Wisconsin at home. There isn’t much left on the slate for the Hoosiers, but they’re still in a much, much better position than a year ago.

Games Remaining: @ Purdue

USC – SOS: 36

CFP Top 25 Ranking: 15

USC had some ammo on the back end of the schedule to move up in this field, and it should get the chance to take advantage this weekend with a road trip to Oregon. Of course, USC’s path into the playoffs is simple: It probably needs to win out to get in. That’s understandable enough.

Games Remaining: @ Oregon, UCLA

Remaining CFP teams’ strength of schedule

Michigan | SOS: 35 | CFP Ranking: 18
Missouri | SOS: 33 | CFP Ranking: 22
Ole Miss | SOS: 32 | CFP Ranking: 6
Oregon | SOS: 31 | CFP Ranking: 7
Arizona State | SOS: 30 | CFP Ranking: 25
Notre Dame | SOS: 29 | CFP Ranking: 9
Tennessee | SOS: 28 | CFP Ranking: 20
BYU | SOS: 27 | CFP Ranking: 11
Vanderbilt | SOS: 21 | CFP Ranking: 14
Texas A&M | SOS: 18 | CFP Ranking: 3
Illinois | SOS: 16 | CFP Ranking: 21
Georgia | SOS: 12 | CFP Ranking: 4
Oklahoma | SOS: 10 | CFP Ranking: 8
Texas | SOS: 6 | CFP Ranking: 17
Alabama | SOS: 4 | CFP Ranking: 10