Ranking the 2015 Pac-12 schedules: USC faces toughest slate in Pac-12

1. USC

The equation for the Trojans having the toughest schedule is having a strong non-conference match-up at a very good Notre Dame team, combined with having to play Oregon and Stanford in the North and playing in the projected tougher overall division this year, the South. The Trojans do get a minor break by getting Arizona, UCLA and Utah at home, but also got a very tough draw in having to head to Eugene in late-November in what could be the conference game of the year.

2. Colorado

The Buffs got a tough draw in playing in the tougher South division while drawing the two toughest teams in the North in Oregon and Stanford, but hey, at least they get the Cardinal and Ducks in Boulder. The Buffs have a tougher draw in the South as well as they play three out of five on the road with games at Arizona State, USC and Utah.

3. Utah

The Utes have the typical South draw, but add have an ultra-tough road trip at Oregon to open up conference play and have a very good non-conference slate that doesn't feature a single easy game and includes a monster home game against Michigan along with a trip to Fresno State.

4. Stanford

The Cardinal play the conference's toughest non-conference schedule with a home game against a very good Notre Dame team, a home game against UCF and a road trip to Northwestern. In-conference the Cardinal have the unfortunate draw of having to play both LA schools, but do get a bit of a break in getting the three other best teams in the North in Cal, Oregon and Washington.

5. Cal

The toughest part of Cal's schedule is that they get Oregon, Stanford and Washington on the road. The Bears also have a tough draw in the South as they miss Colorado and a very tough non-conference showdown at Texas.

6. UCLA

UCLA gets a break in missing Oregon this year, but they do have to go at Stanford and play in the tougher South with the majority of their in-division games on the road, including their showdown with USC that directly follows a trip to Utah in late-November.

7. Arizona State

The Sun Devils draw Oregon and play in the tougher South division. They do get the majority of their in-division games at home though. On top of that, they have a tough non-conference game, playing Texas A&M in Houston.

8. Oregon State

The Beavers play in the softer North, get Stanford at home and have a decent South draw, missing USC and Arizona State. The Beavers also have a difficult non-conference game when they play at Michigan in September.

9. Washington

The Huskies have a decent draw, playing in the North, getting Oregon in Seattle along with the majority of their in-division games. Out-of-conference the Huskies have one challenge at Boise State.

10. Washington State

The Cougars play in the softer North, avoid UCLA and Utah and have just one challenging game out-of-conference at Rutgers.

11. Oregon

The problem with the Ducks is that they don't play against themselves and this year that they play in the North with the majority of their games at home. The Ducks also get to miss UCLA and Arizona who has given them major trouble in the South, though their non-conference game at Michigan State goes a long ways and they play at Stanford this year.

12. Arizona

The Wildcats get some points for playing in the South with the majority of the in-division games on the road, but they do get to miss Oregon in the North and have by far the softest non-conference schedule of anyone in the conference.