Strength of schedule is a key measurement tool in the FCS.
Some Top 25 voters weigh SOS. And the playoff committee certainly has referenced SOS several times when discussing their bracket selections, from seeds to at-large bids.
Using Massey’s tool that factors all future games, here are the toughest FCS schedules heading into the 2023 season.
Toughest FCS Schedules (Preseason Ranking)
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Idaho St |
| 2 | Northern Iowa |
| 3 | Northern Arizona |
| 4 | Missouri St |
| 5 | Eastern Washington |
| 6 | Idaho |
| 7 | Murray St |
| 8 | Montana St |
| 9 | Western Illinois |
| 10 | Northern Colorado |
| 11 | Southern Illinois |
| 12 | Indiana St |
| 13 | Weber St |
| 14 | North Dakota |
| 15 | North Dakota St |
| 16 | Sacramento St |
| 17 | UC Davis |
| 18 | South Dakota St |
| 19 | Utah Tech |
| 20 | South Dakota |
| 21 | Youngstown St |
| 22 | Western Carolina |
| 23 | Wofford |
| 24 | Chattanooga |
| 25 | Samford |
| 26 | Eastern Kentucky |
| 27 | Furman |
| 28 | The Citadel |
| 29 | Mercer |
| 30 | Portland St |
| 31 | Montana |
| 32 | North Alabama |
| 33 | ETSU |
| 34 | Austin Peay |
| 35 | Central Arkansas |
| 36 | Southern Utah |
| 37 | Elon |
| 38 | VMI |
| 39 | Campbell |
| 40 | Stony Brook |
| 41 | Abilene Christian |
| 42 | Nicholls |
| 43 | UAlbany |
| 44 | Illinois St |
| 45 | SE Louisiana |
| 46 | Cal Poly |
| 47 | TX A&M Commerce |
| 48 | SEMO |
| 49 | NC A&T |
| 50 | Towson |
| 51 | Gardner-Webb |
| 52 | William & Mary |
| 53 | UT Martin |
| 54 | Maine |
| 55 | New Hampshire |
| 56 | Villanova |
| 57 | SFA |
| 58 | Rhode Island |
| 59 | Tarleton St |
| 60 | Delaware |
| 61 | Richmond |
| 62 | Monmouth |
| 63 | Northwestern St |
| 64 | Hampton |
| 65 | Tennessee Tech |
| 66 | Brown |
| 67 | Holy Cross |
| 68 | Eastern Illinois |
| 69 | Charleston Southern |
| 70 | Incarnate Word |
| 71 | McNeese St |
| 72 | Bryant |
| 73 | Lamar |
| 74 | Colgate |
| 75 | Cornell |
| 76 | Lafayette |
| 77 | Dartmouth |
| 78 | Harvard |
| 79 | Morgan St |
| 80 | Lindenwood |
| 81 | Lehigh |
| 82 | Robert Morris |
| 83 | Houston Christian |
| 84 | Yale |
| 85 | *Kennesaw St |
| 86 | Bucknell |
| 87 | Penn |
| 88 | Columbia |
| 89 | Tennessee St |
| 90 | Alcorn St |
| 91 | Fordham |
| 92 | Princeton |
| 93 | LIU |
| 94 | Texas Southern |
| 95 | South Carolina St |
| 96 | Bethune-Cookman |
| 97 | Prairie View A&M |
| 98 | Duquesne |
| 99 | Florida A&M |
| 100 | Norfolk St |
| 101 | NC Central |
| 102 | Ark Pine Bluff |
| 103 | Stonehill |
| 104 | Howard |
| 105 | Georgetown |
| 106 | MS Valley St |
| 107 | St Francis |
| 108 | Sacred Heart |
| 109 | Jackson St |
| 110 | Delaware St |
| 111 | Grambling |
| 112 | Wagner |
| 113 | Alabama A&M |
| 114 | Southern |
| 115 | Merrimack |
| 116 | Alabama St |
| 117 | Central Conn St |
| 118 | Marist |
| 119 | Drake |
| 120 | St Thomas |
| 121 | Morehead St |
| 122 | San Diego |
| 123 | Valparaiso |
| 124 | Presbyterian |
| 125 | Stetson |
| 126 | Dayton |
| 127 | Butler |
| 128 | Davidson |
*Kennesaw State is an FCS independent this fall as it transitions to the FBS.
