ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) for 2016 is already up and running, trying to figure out which teams are the best going into the 2016 season. Of course, one of the measures the stat looks at when trying to figure everything out is strength of schedule, and it looks like FPI already has an idea of which teams have the most difficult schedules in 2016.
RELATED: These teams have the weakest schedules in 2016
We made criticisms of FPI before, but this is at least better than guess work up until the season starts. With that, here is the Top 10 that they have for the most difficult schedules for the upcoming season:
1. USC
2. Ole Miss
3. Florida State
4. California
5. Alabama
6. LSU
7. UCLA
8. Syracuse
9. Texas A&M
10. Arkansas
Probably to little surprise, USC is No. 1. The Trojans have a terror of a schedule in 2016, which includes playing Alabama to open the season. They also have away games against Washington, Utah, and Stanford, and home games against UCLA, Oregon, and Notre Dame. There is a good chance that all seven of those teams will end up ranked at some point throughout the season, with Alabama, Notre Dame, and Stanford all existing as potential title contenders.
RELATED: Bleacher Report names the most difficult schedules for 2016
It's also probably no surprise that five SEC teams make up the Top 10. The SEC has waved the banner of "strength of schedule" for a while now, and this does nothing except bolster that argument.
You can check out the full ratings here.
