College football experts can break down a lot of what to expect in the fall as soon as the season schedule is released with so much in the game depending on who teams play and when they play them. The schedule for projected top 25 teams can be full of potential roadblocks with a number of hazards that could really hurt a program’s chances of competing for a conference title or even the College Football Playoff. On the other hand, there are a number of schedules that at least on paper appear to be a lot more manageable than others. Here is a look at the five softest schedules in college football this season.
Georgia Bulldogs
Opponents’ Combined 2015 Record: 74-76
The SEC is the top conference in college football so the fact that one of the projected top team from its East division will face a slate of opponents that had a combined record under .500 a year ago is pretty surprising. Kirby Smart appears to have picked the perfect time to jump from Alabama to Georgia with an easy slate that should be fairly straightforward to navigate in 2016. The Bulldogs will open against North Carolina in a virtual home game at the Georgia Dome and their other three non-conference opponents had a combined 10-25 record last season. Georgia was also fortunate in terms of its SEC schedule with home games against Tennessee and Florida in the SEC East. The Bulldogs’ sole true road game will be against Ole Miss in September, and Georgia has won its last five visits there dating back to the 1990’s.
New Mexico Lobos
Opponents’ Combined 2015 Record: 62-90
New Mexico is coming off its first winning season since 2007 and based on their schedule it wouldn’t be a surprise if they recorded another in 2016. The Lobos have one of the easier schedules in the country with its scheduled opponents combining for a 62-90 record in 2015. New Mexico hasn’t figured out the order of its league opponents yet but the toughest games on its conference schedule will be against either Boise State or Air Force. The Lobos have a two-game road trip prior to the start of their Mountain West schedule but a trip to in-state rival New Mexico State and then Rutgers shouldn’t be too bad. New Mexico is looking to build on what it accomplished last season and based on their schedule that shouldn’t be difficult.
Southern Mississippi Eagles
Opponents’ Combined 2015 Record: 59-83
Southern Miss is coming off a Conference USA West division title but lost head coach Todd Monken shortly after and were forced to turn to Jay Hopson. The good news is that Hopson arrives with a strong reputation and the schedule for 2016 doesn’t appear to be overly difficult at all. Southern Miss has a couple of road games that it is expected to lose early on at Kentucky and LSU but after that it isn’t nearly as difficult. The Eagles’ four Conference USA road games are all against teams that finished with losing record a year ago. Four of their six home games are against teams that had losing records as well. Southern Miss will lose the two games it is expected to lose early on but after that they should cruise.
Temple Owls
Opponents’ Combined 2015 Record: 56-91
The Owls are coming off their first 10-win season in school history and anything short of recording a double-digit win total will feel like a major letdown. Temple should benefit from a relatively weak schedule that includes non-conference games against Stony Brook, Army and Charlotte, who combined for nine wins a year ago. The American Athletic Conference slate includes hosting South Florida and Cincinnati and they don’t have to play either Houston or Navy. The Owls will have potential tough matchups versus Memphis and Connecticut but other than that it should be pretty smooth.
UTEP Miners
Opponents’ Combined 2015 Record: 52-94
The 52-94 combined 2015 record of UTEP’s scheduled opponents this season represents what is technically the easiest schedule in the FBS. The Miners’ 12 opponents won less than 36-percent of their games a year ago and it will help even more that the majority of the tougher opponents will have to travel to UTEP. The Miners’ lone non-conference road game is at Texas, and they will have to leave their state only twice. Factor in that their game against the Conference USA West champs Southern Miss is at home and it’s clear that UTEP has the easiest schedule in all of college football for 2016.
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