Toughest college football schedules of 2018

West Virginia's nonconference schedule includes a season opener vs. Tennessee in Charlotte and another visit to the Tar Heel State two weeks later to face NC State. Don't be shocked if the Mountaineers look like a candidate for the College Football Playoff at midseason because they don't see their toughest stretch until November. They'll have to play at Texas, vs. TCU, at Oklahoma State and vs. Oklahoma consecutively to close out the regular season.

Gary Patterson's team is set up with a tough nonconference schedule that includes a visit to SMU and a game vs. Ohio State at Jerry World in Texas. While the Horned Frogs get Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at home this season, TCU still has to go on the road for Texas and West Virginia.

Mizzou will try to get off to a better start than last season, when the Tigers lost five straight FBS games, but the early schedule looks tough. Their nonconference schedule includes Wyoming and a visit to Purdue, followed by a rough SEC start vs. Georgia, at South Carolina and at Alabama. Memphis is another dangerous out-of-conference game in October, and the Tigers also have to visit Florida and Tennessee.

As usual, it's a mixed bag for the Cougars with plenty of winnable games (McNeese State, Utah State, Hawaii, UMass, New Mexico State) but also a fair share of brutal matchups (at Arizona, at Wisconsin, at Washington, at Boise State, at Utah). That road slate is about as tough as the Cougars could imagine after going 4-9 last season.

For Kansas, they're all difficult games. The Jayhawks have only one FBS win over the last two seasons, and nothing is guaranteed this year with nonconference games at Central Michigan and vs. Rutgers before their Big 12 slate. Their best hope for a conference win seems to be Baylor, but that game will be at Waco. They must face West Virginia, Kansas State and Oklahoma on the road, while Oklahoma State, TCU, Iowa State and Texas could have fans heading for the exits early in Lawrence.

Not many teams have tougher opening schedules than Stanford with home games vs. San Diego State and USC to open the year. The team also heads to South Bend to face Notre Dame before September ends. November is going to test the Cardinal with road games at Washington, Cal and UCLA.

Urban Meyer's squad gets early tune-ups vs. Oregon State and Rutgers before visiting TCU at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 15. The Buckeyes also have dangerous Big Ten road games at Penn State, Purdue and Michigan State, but they do get Michigan in Columbus this year.

With Lamar Jackson departed to the NFL, new quarterback Jawon Pass opens his career against Alabama in Week 1. As usual, the team's ACC schedule has its share of rough patches, including opening with a road game at Virginia and home vs. Florida State. The Cardinals also travel to Clemson, and Kentucky should be formidable again in the final game of the season.

New head coach Chip Kelly doesn't get much time to fix the Bruins with an opening three weeks vs. Cincinnati, at Oklahoma and vs. Fresno State. While they face most of their formidable Pac-12 opponents at home, that's not much of a consolation with a schedule that closes out vs. USC and Stanford and has Washington on Oct. 6. Oregon fans have also circled Kelly's return to Eugene on Nov. 3.

New head coach Herm Edwards' team will be thrown to the wolves early in the year, facing Michigan State and visiting San Diego State. If that's not bad enough, the Sun Devils' first Pac-12 game of the season is at Washington. They also must travel to USC, Oregon and Arizona, with home games against Stanford, Utah and UCLA.

Tom Herman's first season with Texas ended on a high note, but he won't have time to waste in 2018. The team takes on Maryland on the road to open the year and gets USC in Austin two weeks later. The Longhorns are fortunate to get TCU and West Virginia at home this season, but the Red River Showdown comes on Oct. 6 after a road game at Kansas State that shouldn't be overlooked. They also have to travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State.

The Wolfpack are in trouble if they overlook James Madison in Week 1, who won the FCS National Championship in 2016 and lost only one game last year. Their brutal nonconference slate continues with three more teams that finished with winning records last season in Georgia State, West Virginia and Marshall. NC State also must travel to Clemson and Louisville this season but does get home games against Virginia, Florida State and Wake Forest.

Willie Taggart returns home only to face Virginia Tech in Week 1. The Seminoles' out-of-conference schedule is especially dangerous with Northern Illinois on Sept. 22, a visit to Notre Dame Nov. 10 and the fun finish vs. Florida. While October includes a bye, traveling to Miami and facing Clemson could make for a rough month.

Auburn's season opener against Washington in Atlanta sets the tone for another difficult schedule. The Tigers also have to face Southern Miss in their out-of-conference schedule, a team that finished 8-5 last season. Their Sept. 15 matchup vs. LSU doesn't give them much time to recover from Washington, and they have an unenviable November that includes Texas A&M and visits to Georgia and Alabama.

Head coach D.J. Durkin's team regressed in 2017 and is in for another rough year if the schedule is any indication. The Terrapins open the season against Texas at FedExField and face Temple two weeks later. Then their Big Ten schedule kicks off, and it's a doozy. They face Minnesota, Michigan State and Ohio State at home and go on the road to face Big Ten powers Michigan, Iowa and Penn State.

The Tigers open the season on the big stage of Jerry World vs. Miami, and then they have to visit Auburn only two weeks later. LSU will also pay visits to Florida and Texas A&M this season and also have to face SEC East power Georgia in mid-October. It's hardly a consolation, but LSU does get Alabama in Baton Rouge this year.

What might have appeared like an easy opening schedule a few years ago is now far from it, as the Hoosiers open their season at Florida International and home vs. Virginia. They should be able to win their Week 3 game vs. Ball State before the Big Ten slate begins. Indiana's conference schedule is stacked with games vs. Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, Maryland and Purdue in Bloomington, while the team is set to visit Rutgers, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan.

Paul Johnson's squad came up just short of making a bowl last year and has a difficult road again this season. The out-of-conference schedule stacks up with anyone, going on the road at USF on Sept. 8 and closing out the road with the rivalry game at Georgia. The Yellow Jackets' other brutal road game comes at Blacksburg against Virginia Tech on Oct. 25. They have a trio of tough ACC home games vs. Clemson (Sept. 22), Miami (Nov. 10) and Virginia (Nov. 17).

Pat Fitzgerald's squad went 10-3 last season, but that record will be tough to repeat this year, even with top NFL prospect Clayton Thorson entering his senior season. Northwestern's out-of-conference schedule is as tough as it gets, as the Wildcats play Duke, Akron and Notre Dame. They also get a rude awakening in Week 1 with a visit to Purdue and travel to Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota. Their tough in-conference home matchups include Michigan and Wisconsin.

Notre Dame usually has one of the toughest schedules in college football, and 2018 is no different. The Fighting Irish open the year vs. Michigan in one of the most anticipated games of the year. While they get some relief in the following two weeks vs. Ball State and Vanderbilt, the schedule really starts to get rough in late September. Brian Kelly's squad has to travel to Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Northwestern and USC, four bowl teams from last year with high hopes for the coming year. Home games against Stanford and Florida State don't make things any easier.

Rutgers is going on three straight years without a bowl appearance, and head coach Chris Ash will have a tough time returning to a bowl with this schedule. While the contests outside the Big Ten are manageable (Texas State, at Kansas, Buffalo), the slate in conference will be brutal. Rutgers goes to Ohio State in Week 2 and later on visits Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan State. Home games include Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan and Penn State.

New head coach Jimbo Fisher got a huge contract, and his team will be thrown to the wolves in Week 2 vs. Clemson. The Aggies' SEC schedule is particularly brutal with road games at Alabama, Mississippi State and Auburn. The team finishes out the year with three games at home, but those contests will get progressively tougher with Ole Miss, UAB and LSU.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi might need to make a bowl to keep his job after going 5-7 last season, and the schedule won't help. The Panthers have early-season matchups vs. Penn State and Georgia Tech and also play Virginia Tech at home in November. Their road schedule looks brutal on paper with visits to North Carolina, UCF, Notre Dame, Virginia, Wake Forest and Miami.

If Jim Harbaugh is going to take a step forward in his fourth season with the Wolverines, he has his work cut out for him. In addition to a brutal Big Ten slate that includes home games vs. Wisconsin and Penn State, Michigan will visit rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. They also open the season in South Bend against Notre Dame and play a pair of notable nonconference opponents in Western Michigan and SMU.

The schedule in head coach Scott Frost's first year at Nebraska won't do him any favors. The team's pre-Big Ten schedule is tough every week with games vs. Akron, Colorado and Troy, and then it's a nearly every-week challenge in the Big Ten. Nebraska will play Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan State in Lincoln and travel to Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State and Iowa. It could take quite a jump for the team to return to a bowl game.