​My 2026 season marks the third year under a 12-team College Football Playoff format. The opening round will take place on December 18–19 at campus sites. The quarterfinals are set for December 30 and January 1, 2027, and will be hosted at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential. The semifinals will feature the Capital One Orange Bowl on January 14, 2027, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 15, 2027. The national championship game is scheduled for January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As plans for the season unfold, preparations include the early-season showcase on August 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, where North Carolina will face TCU. In advance of the season, ESPN released its College Football Power Index strength of schedule rankings. Tennessee is ranked No. 14 nationally in terms of strength of schedule. The following list ranks the top 25 Football Bowl Subdivision programs by strength of schedule for the 2026 season.
1. Arkansas Razorbacks
2. Oklahoma Sooners
3. Texas Longhorns
4. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Ole Miss Rebels
6. Mississippi State Bulldogs
7. Florida Gators
8. Ohio State Buckeyes
9. Texas A&M Aggies
10. South Carolina Gamecocks
11. LSU Tigers
12. Missouri Tigers
13. Auburn Tigers
14. Tennessee Volunteers
15. Alabama Crimson Tide
16. Michigan Wolverines
17. Northwestern Wildcats
18. Vanderbilt Commodores
19. USC Trojans
20. Georgia Bulldogs
21. Nebraska Cornhuskers
22. Florida State Seminoles
23. Purdue Boilermakers
24. Boston College Eagles
25. Oregon Ducks
For more coverage, follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Vols Wire as part of the 2026 college football top-25 strength of schedule rankings for better SEO.