Earlier this week we took a look at the number of Power 5 opponents each P5 school will face this season. 

Now, let's dig deeper into the details and see what schools are playing the toughest non-conference opponents this season—beginning with a pair of Group of 5 programs who will go through something of a gauntlet early.

Akron

On the Road: Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa State

At Home: Morgan State

Akron is coming off a season in which they made the MAC championship game and went to a bowl game, but this opening four-week stretch will not be kind. Going on the road to take on three power 5 opponents will likely mean a 1-3 start for the Zips. 

Northern Illinois

On the Road: Iowa, Florida State and BYU

At Home: Utah

The Huskies are always one of the nation’s top Group of 5 teams, but they’ll be lucky to escape this stretch of games with a win. The Hawkeyes, Utes and Seminoles are all coming off a season in which they won a bowl game, no matter how good BYU is, Provo is never a fun place to play.

Pittsburgh

On the Road: Central Florida and Notre Dame

At Home: Penn State and Albany

After a warm-up game against Albany, the Panthers jump right into the meat of their non-conference schedule with back-to-back games with rival Penn State and on the road against UCF. The Nittany Lions and Golden Knights are coming off seasons in which they had a combined record of 24-2 and won the Fiesta and Peach Bowls respectively. Both teams also return star quarterbacks Trace McSorley and McKenzie Milton. 

Throw in a road game to South Bend in the middle of October and Pitt may have an argument for the nation’s toughest non-conference schedule.

Northwestern

At Home: Duke, Akron and Notre Dame

Northwestern is coming off a 10-win season, but with a non-conference schedule like this, plus a full Big Ten slate, it will be a tough task to accomplish again. As I mentioned earlier, Akron is coming off a MAC East title and won’t be an easy out especially coming off an opening weekend showdown with conference foe Purdue. 

Duke is coming off another winning season which saw them put it on Northwestern in Durham. And, when the Fighting Irish come to town in early November, it will likely be one of the biggest games in Ryan Field history.

Oklahoma

At Home: Florida Atlantic, UCLA and Army

The Sooners will undoubtedly be favored in all three games and are lucky enough to get them all in Norman. Florida Atlantic and Army both won double digit games a year ago, and UCLA will be much improved with Chip Kelly at the helm.

West Virginia

Neutral Site: Tennessee

At Home: Youngstown State

On the Road: North Carolina State

The Mountaineers have been pretty aggressive with their non-conference scheduling and this year is no exception. While Tennessee was down last year, you can expect a much more game Vols squad this season led by Jeremy Pruitt. Youngstown State will start the year as the 20th-ranked team in the FCS and NC State is never an easy out in Raleigh. 

Florida State

At Home: Samford, Northern Illinois and Florida

On the Road: Notre Dame

The Seminoles shouldn’t break a sweat against Samford, but take into account that Florida State will open the season Labor Day night against conference foe Virginia Tech—only to take the field again just five days later. 

A week after Samford, Northern Illinois comes to town looking to pull another Power 5 upset. A year ago the Huskies went into Lincoln and stunned Nebraska. The back end of the schedule is loaded as Florida State will make an early November trip to South Bend and host rival Florida to close the regular season.

Southern Cal

At Home: UNLV and Notre Dame

On the Road: Texas

Gone is Sam Darnold and the Trojans have yet to name a replacement. UNLV provides a nice game for whoever starts to ease into the speed of college football. 

The schedule quickly ramps up the next week as the Trojans head to Palo Alto to take on Stanford before heading to Austin to take on an up and coming Texas squad. The Trojans then jump into conference play before ending the season against rival Notre Dame. 

UCLA

At Home: Cincinnati and Fresno State

On the Road: Oklahoma

The Chip Kelly era begins in LA with a visit from Cincinnati. While UCLA will be heavily favored, this is Cincinnati’s lone Power 5 game on the schedule and Luke Fickell would love to spoil Kelly’s return to the sidelines. 

A week two trip to Norman will be brutal. Returning home to take on a Fresno State squad that won 10 games a season ago makes for a tough start to Chip Kelly’s debut in La La Land. 

Texas

At Home: Southern Cal and Tulsa

Neutral (...sorta.): Maryland

A year ago Maryland pulled the biggest stunner of the opening weekend of the season when it went down to Austin and smacked Texas. The Longhorns will open their season looking for revenge. The game will take place at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., but Texas fans may outnumber Terps supporters.

Texas returns home for a final warmup against Tulsa before welcoming USC to DKR for a showdown between two of the most storied programs of all-time.