Any schedule for the majority of college football teams is a delicate balance of trying to take advantage of the games that should be won versus those that could go either way.
Some schools during a given year have a tougher road than others, either by choice or because it the way their slate was constructed in offseasons past.
This year — Bethune Cookman, coming off a two-win season in its first voyage in the SWAC — has among the toughest schedules among FCS teams and the overall toughest in all of Black College Football, according to the Stats Perform FCS strength of schedule rankings.
Two other HBCU football schedules ranked among the 25 toughest in the country — Mississippi Valley State and Texas Southern.
Among all HBCUs, North Carolina Central faces the easiest schedule and ranks as the nation’s No. 129 overall schedule.
South Carolina State — the defending HBCU National Champions — play opponents with a combined record of 53-61. Jackson State, the odds-on favorite to repeat as SWAC champions and win the Celebration Bowl, has the fifth easiest slate among HBCU teams and the No. 104th-ranked schedule in the FCS.
Below is a look at the schedule strength of all HBCU Division I teams according to Stats Perform FCS rankings:
Bethune-Cookman– .571 (72-54)
Mississippi Valley State– .558 (63-50)
Texas Southern – .547 (64-53)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff – .538 (50-43
North Carolina A&T — .509 (58-56)
Norfolk State — 504 (64-63)
Alabama A&M – .500 (58-58)
Southern– .495 (52-53)
Alabama State – .487 (55-58)
Hampton — .477 (53-58)
South Carolina State — .465 (53-61)
Howard — .464 (51-59)
Florida A&M – .456 (52-62)
Morgan State –. 455 (51-61)
Grambling State – .448 (56-69)
Jackson State – .430 (52-69)
Delaware State — .408 (40-58)
Alcorn State– .405 (51-75)
Prairie View A&M – .382 (47-76)
North Carolina Central — .364 (36-63)
