College football toughest schedules based on 2026 preseason rankings

There's plenty of optimism for every team heading into the 2026 college football season, but those hopes can easily be cast aside thanks to some daunting schedules awaiting.

The release of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll signals the upcoming season is rapidly approaching, and while everyone has known for months who they will face and when, the rankings provide another snapshot of the course ahead. The rankings will fluctuate throughout the season, and some teams may not be as good as predicted. Yet plenty of squads — mostly in the Big Ten and SEC — have their work cut out for them in order to make the College Football Playoff.