Strength of schedule (SOS) is a component of college football that spurs much debate. With the 2011 college football regular season completed, let’s take a look at the final SOS rankings from several resources.

There are several sources for strength of schedule, including four of the six BCS computer components and the NCAA itself. Note that these rankings are for schedules played and will differ from preseason rankings. Also, the final SOS rankings do not include bowl games.

The LSU Tigers have the toughest 2011 non-conference football schedule according to Sporting News. The publication ranks Mississippi State’s schedule as the worst.

LSU’s season opener against the Oregon Ducks at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas is ranked as one of the five best non-conference games in 2011. The other four are Boise State vs. Georgia (at Atlanta, GA), Oklahoma at Florida State, Ohio State at Miami (FL) and Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (at Arlington, TX).

Phil Steele has published his 2011 college football strength of schedule rankings. Colorado has the toughest schedule in 2011, while Ohio has the easiest.

In 2010, the Iowa State Cyclones had the toughest schedule. They finished the season 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12. The easiest schedule in 2010? The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, and they finished 6-7 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt.

Phil Steele has published his 2010 college football strength of schedule rankings. Iowa State has the toughest schedule in 2010, while Middle Tennessee has the easiest.

How does Steele rank the college football schedules? Here is what he had to say on his blog:

Through week 10 of the 2009 college football season, the Washington Huskies have the toughest strength of schedule in Jeff Sagarin’s ratings. Last weeks strength of schedule rating is listed in parentheses:

Through week 9 of the 2009 college football season, the Washington Huskies have the toughest strength of schedule in Jeff Sagarin’s ratings. His rating is defined below: The SCHEDULE ratings represent the average schedule difficulty faced by each team in the games that it’s played so far.  The schedule difficulty of a given game takes [...]

The 2009 college football season is almost upon us! With that in mind, let’s take a look at Phil Steele’s 2009 strength of schedule rankings. Steele has been publishing a football newsletter since 1982 and started his College Football Preview in 1995. Today, he is one of the premier gurus of college football stats. Listed [...]

We have posted the 2009 Georgia Bulldogs Football Schedule. The Bulldogs, who have one of the nation’s toughest 2008 schedules, face another difficult slate in 2009. The Dawgs open the season with a big non-conference game at Oklahoma State on September 5.

Phil Steele, a college football pundit, has the Washington Huskies at the top in his 2008 strength of schedule rankings. Not only do the Huskies face their regular PAC-10 slate (at Arizona, Cal, Oregon, USC and Washington State; home against Arizona State, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA), they have non-conference matchups against BYU, Notre Dame [...]

The Georgia Bulldogs football schedule is regarded by many as the nation’s toughest in 2008. The Dawgs opened the season with a 45-21 victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles, a traditional power in the Football Championship Subdivision. Next Saturday, the Bulldogs host the Central Michigan Chippewas at home, followed by an SEC match versus the [...]