Occasionally I get an interesting question for my weekly Wednesday Mailbag that I begin to answer before realizing this should really be its own story.This was one of them.Who are the winners and losers of this year’s Power 4 scheduling lottery? — Kevin W.Great question, because conference championships are now being decided in large part by scheduling luck. Two schools can be members of the same 16/17/18-team conference and still play wildly different schedules.Here’s where I landed.Big TenWhether on purpose or by accident, the conference did a better job ensuring its top teams play each other more frequently this season. Some teams just play more of them than others.Lotto winner: Penn StateMatt Campbell lucked into a comical Year 1 schedule, starting with three body-bag games. In conference play, the Nittany Lions avoid Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon, and their only games against Top 25 teams from last season are at home against USC and at Michigan.Runner-up lotto winner: WisconsinA year after facing one of the nation’s toughest schedules, the Badgers catch a break this season, avoiding Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon. There are still trips to Penn State and Iowa, plus a home game against USC, but the other six games are hardly daunting.Lotto loser: USCIndiana, Ohio State and Oregon were the top three teams in my spring Top 25. The Trojans drew all of them, including a three-time zone trip to Bloomington. There’s also a cross-country trip to Penn State, a visit to Camp Randall and a date with Washington.Runner-up lotto loser: NebraskaThe Huskers also draw all of the Big Three, though at least Indiana and Ohio State come to Lincoln. But they do have to visit Autzen, and their other four road games include annual thorn Iowa and upstart Illinois. There’s also Washington at home.Ohio State's brutal scheduleBruce Feldman and Ralph D. RussoSECI found the SEC schedules to be more balanced than in years past, presumably because everyone now has a ninth league game. Of the seven consensus preseason Top 25 teams — Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, LSU, Texas A&M and Alabama — no one faces fewer than three or more than five of those schools.But there are still some schedules you’d rather have than others.Lotto winner: VanderbiltWhile the Commodores play five road games, four of those are against teams that finished below .500 last season (Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Florida). The other is at Georgia. Vandy’s Top 25 home foes are Ole Miss and Alabama.No Texas, Oklahoma, LSU or Texas A&M.Runner-up lotto winner: GeorgiaThe Dawgs finally catch a break after brutal SEC schedules the past two years. Texas, for one, drops off. There are still tough trips to Alabama and Ole Miss, and they get Oklahoma at home. After that it’s Arkansas/Auburn/Florida/Missouri/South Carolina.Lotto loser: Mississippi StateSomeone decided to punish the Bulldogs with the following October slate: Alabama, at LSU, Oklahoma, at Texas. And of course Ole Miss is waiting on Thanksgiving weekend. They also get new-and-improved Vandy and consistent bowl team Mizzou.Runner-up lotto loser: Texas A&MLast year, the Aggies managed to play six of the bottom seven teams in the standings en route to 11 wins. That’s unlikely to happen this season, what with trips to LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and Missouri and home dates with Texas and Tennessee.Texas A&M had a easy SEC schedule last season, but that’s not the case this season. (Jerome Miron / USA Today via Reuters Connect)ACCThis exercise was pretty darn confusing because this year’s ACC schedule has 12 teams each playing nine conference games and the other five playing eight. Don’t ask me to explain it. Just know there are disparities before we even get to specific teams.Lotto winner: NC StateThis is close to an ideal ACC schedule: No Miami, no Clemson, no SMU, no Georgia Tech, no Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack open at Virginia, no longer a slouch, and get Louisville at home. None of the other seven foes will start close to the Top 25.Runner-up lotto winner: VirginiaIt’s a similar schedule to NC State’s, with no Miami, Clemson or Louisville. The Hoos do play at SMU, at Florida State (who knows whether that will be challenging?) and face James Franklin’s first Virginia Tech team on the road. Otherwise quite manageable.Lotto loser: Florida StateThis slate will not do Mike Norvell’s job security any favors. The Noles visit Miami, Louisville (on a short week) and Pitt, while hosting SMU, Clemson and Virginia. That’s five of the top seven from last season’s standings, not even including Clemson.Runner-up lotto loser: North CarolinaThe two ACC foes Bill Belichick beat last year, Stanford and Syracuse, fell off the schedule. Instead, the Tar Heels draw Miami at home, visit Clemson, Virginia and Pitt and host Louisville. Not ideal, especially with Notre Dame and TCU out of conference.Big 12The challenge with the Big 12 is it’s largely a wild guess what the pecking order will be from about fourth place to 16th place. I mostly focused on who is or isn’t playing the consensus top three (see below).Lotto winner: Kansas StateNew head coach Collin Klein eases into Big 12 play by avoiding last year’s top-three teams, Texas Tech, BYU and Utah. The Wildcats play four road games, and the foes include Colorado and wiped-out Iowa State. Houston and Arizona come to Manhattan.Runner-up lotto winner: Texas TechWell, at least Red Raiders fans can’t complain the conference has it out for them scheduling-wise. Tech avoids BYU and Utah, gets Houston and Arizona at home, and its road slate consists of Colorado, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State and BaylorLotto loser: ArizonaBrent Brennan’s Wildcats improved from 4-8 to 9-4, but this slate is rough. They play the two preseason favorites, Texas Tech and BYU, on the road and host Utah. TCU and Arizona State may not be easy outs at home, and a trip to Morgantown is never fun.Runner-up lotto loser: CincinnatiThe Bearcats also drew the BYU/Utah/Texas Tech trifecta, though with the latter two at home. (Yes, Texas Tech is playing at Cincinnati in the “Sorsby Bowl.”) Scott Satterfield’s team also Top 25 trips to Houston and Arizona as well as its own West Virginia visit.