College Football Week 0 2026: Schedule and Kickoff Times

Eight FBS games sit on the college football Week 0 2026 board, all of them on Saturday, Aug. 29, and the first one kicks at noon ET from Dublin. North Carolina meets TCU at Aviva Stadium on ESPN, the fifth straight season the sport has opened in Ireland. Memphis at UNLV closes it at 10 p.m. ET, a ten-hour window with no other FBS game on the board.

These are regular-season games that count toward each team's record, not exhibitions, and they land in front of a betting market that has not priced a live college snap since January.

The college football Week 0 2026 schedule and TV windows

All times below are Eastern, and listings can still change.

1. Noon: North Carolina vs. TCU, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland. ESPN. 2. 3 p.m.: San Jose State at USC. NBC and Peacock. 3. 3:30 p.m.: NC State at Virginia. ESPN. 4. 5:30 p.m.: Jacksonville State at North Dakota State. CBS Sports Network. 5. 6:30 p.m.: Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan. ESPN+. 6. 7 p.m.: New Mexico State at Florida State. The CW. 7. 7 p.m.: Hawaii at Stanford. ACC Network. 8. 10 p.m.: Memphis at UNLV. FOX and FOX One.

That is the FBS board once ESPN's Week Zero TV release is combined with the NCAA's own calendar. NCAA.com's Aug. 29 list runs seven and omits NC State at Virginia, which ESPN's release carries. The season itself starts earlier: FCS games begin Thursday, Aug. 27, more follow Friday, Aug. 28, and a full FCS slate fills in around the eight games above on Saturday. The NCAA's 2026 season-opening calendar carries the subdivision-by-subdivision list.

The kickoff times worth double checking

San Jose State at USC is the game where listings disagree. NBC lists live coverage as beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. USC's athletic department lists kickoff at 12 p.m. PT, which is 3 p.m. ET, and the NCAA lists the same. The 2:30 figure is the start of the broadcast window, not the snap. Use 3 p.m. ET.

Hawaii at Stanford and New Mexico State at Florida State share the 7 p.m. ET slot. New Mexico State's own site lists 5 p.m. Mountain, which is that same 7 p.m. ET window and not a different one. School sites publish in their own zone, and that is the usual Week 0 trap.

Which games actually have market interest

TCU against North Carolina is the marquee game, and it carries a poll split worth noticing. TCU is No. 23 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll but is not in the preseason AP Top 25 at all. Our read is that when the two polls disagree on a team, the opening number reflects that uncertainty too.

USC against San Jose State has the biggest brand on the board and the least competitive matchup on paper. The Trojans are the only AP Top 25 team playing in Week 0, tied for No. 14 with BYU, and they are 6-0 all-time against the Spartans. In our experience, big name plus lopsided history is what drags recreational money onto one side.

NC State at Virginia is one of two conference games on the Week 0 board. It was originally scheduled for Rio de Janeiro before being relocated to Scott Stadium, so any travel-based handicap from the spring is dead.

The two most interesting games are the quiet ones. North Dakota State hosts Jacksonville State in its inaugural FBS game, and Sacramento State visits Eastern Michigan in the Hornets' first season as an FBS program. Both involve teams with no FBS track record at all, which is precisely when pricing models get shaky.

Betting impact: thin markets and numbers that move

Week 0 is a different betting environment, and the difference is liquidity, not talent.

Limits tend to be lower. In our experience books post smaller maximum bets on Week 0 games than on an October card, and lower limits mean a smaller wager moves the number further.

Numbers move more as a result. Our read is that when a Week 0 line shifts a full point or two between opening and kickoff, it often reflects one or two real bets rather than broad consensus.

Projection models are at their weakest here. Every team is working from last year's roster data, transfer portal churn is unpriced, and in the North Dakota State and Sacramento State cases there is no FBS baseline at all. We are not publishing spreads for these games. No timestamped Week 0 price was on file at publication, and a stale number is worse than no number.

That leaves you on structure: shop the number, expect wider gaps than in October, and treat openers as soft. The StatSniper AI sports picks hub reprices as books post, and Chad AI reads the same thin-market conditions you do.

How Week 0 differs from Week 1

Week 0 is a limited slate played the week before the first full week of the season, open only to programs cleared for an earlier opening date. Everyone else waits.

Week 1 of the 2026 season starts Thursday, Sept. 3 and runs through Monday, Sept. 7, with the first full Saturday on Sept. 5 over Labor Day weekend. The scale is different: dozens of games, and our read is that the market gets deep enough that a single bet stops moving it.

Two Week 1 anchors are worth calendaring now. Western Michigan at Michigan goes Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, and Wisconsin faces Notre Dame in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET, also on NBC and Peacock. Both sit in Week 1, not Week 0.

What to watch next

Watch the listings. ESPN only finalized its Week Zero TV schedule on Aug. 17, and times, networks and sites can still change.

Then watch the two FBS debuts. North Dakota State arrives from a program ranked No. 1 in FCS last season that lost by a point in the playoffs, and Sacramento State opens its FBS life in a conference game. How those two look on Aug. 29 resets every number attached to them for the rest of the year.

Cross-check the board against our preseason AP Top 25 breakdown, because ranked teams on this slate are the ones the market will overprice.

FAQ

When does college football start in 2026? FCS games begin Thursday, Aug. 27. The FBS season begins Saturday, Aug. 29 with the eight-game Week 0 slate. The first full Saturday of the season is Sept. 5.

What is Week 0 in college football? Week 0 is the small group of games played the week before the first full week of the season. Eligible programs get an earlier opening date while most teams wait for Week 1.

Do Week 0 games count? Yes. Week 0 games are regular-season contests and count toward each team's record.

Is college football Week 0 2026 on TV? Every game on the board has a carrier. The Saturday slate runs across ESPN, NBC and Peacock, CBS Sports Network, The CW, ACC Network, and FOX and FOX One, with Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan streaming on ESPN+.

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