Per ESPN and 247Sports:
If there is one thing we learned from the inaugural season of the College Football Playoff, it is that nonconference scheduling matters.
Baylor paid the price for a weak nonconference schedule last year, and considering that strength of schedule must be considered based on the committee's protocol, there is no doubt it will continue to matter more than ever. With that in mind, we set out to rank the nonconference schedules of every team in a Power 5 conference over the next five years.
The team with the toughest schedule? Texas.
The days of Texas being ridiculed for a weak nonconference schedule are long gone. The Longhorns are projected to have the toughest nonconference schedule of any Power 5 school over the next five years.
In 2015, Texas opens the season at Notre Dame and then faces Rice and an improved Cal team. The schedule only gets tougher in future years. The Longhorns have agreements for home-and-homes with USC, Maryland and LSU between 2017 and 2020. Those agreements are a testament to Texas' willingness to challenge itself early in the season.
Overall, Texas is projected to play a Power 5 opponent in 10 of its 15 nonconference games over the next five years, tied for the most Power 5 matchups of any team. The Longhorns are also one of 10 Power 5 teams that will not face an FCS opponent during that time.
Texas, USC, Stanford, UCLA and Oklahoma form the top five. Texas Tech comes in at 25, while Baylor ranks last at 64.