Congratulations, you made it. The dreaded weekends without college football are finally behind us, and the 2026 season is here. Week 0 is always an appetizer before the main course is served on Labor Day weekend. Still, this might be the best Week 0 slate in recent memory, with eight FBS games on Saturday.
Maybe you've already promised your significant other one last summer weekend before college football takes priority. Maybe there's still a to-do list sitting on the counter that won't finish itself. If 12 straight hours in the recliner from noon to midnight just isn't in the cards, we did the work for you.
The FBS season kicks off across the pond in Dublin, Ireland, with a rematch between TCU and North Carolina, followed by an ACC showdown between NC State and Virginia. FBS newcomers North Dakota State and Sacramento State make their debuts, all before the day winds down with a key Group of Six matchup between College Football Playoff hopefuls Memphis and UNLV out west.
So, here's where each Week 0 game ranks on the watchability scale.
1. North Carolina vs. TCU (Dublin)
How to watch: Noon ET, ESPN
We've been fortunate to get some absolute bangers in three of the past four years in Dublin. I'm not sure we'll get another one this time around, but it's hard to imagine a more fascinating Week 0 game than TCU vs. North Carolina.
It's a rematch of last year's season opener, when the Horned Frogs embarrassed Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels 48-14 in Chapel Hill. A repeat performance would raise some very uncomfortable questions about where this UNC program is headed in Year 2 of the Belichick experiment. An upset, on the other hand, would certainly change the conversation around the Tar Heels.
UNC arrives in Dublin with plenty of noise surrounding the program, from Michael Lombardi's paid administrative leave following a pending HR investigation to defensive coordinator Steve Belichick's medical leave.
TCU dealt with some turbulence of its own, dismissing projected starting safety Jacob Fields last week after an alleged altercation with a teammate. Harvard transfer quarterback Jaden Craig, who drew interest from NFL scouts last summer, gets his shot to show what he can do at TCU.
It's no Farmageddon, but it should make for a pretty interesting kickoff to the 2026 season.
2. NC State at Virginia
How to watch: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Pleased to see this one back on U.S. soil after logistics for Brazil fell through this summer. Not exactly a fan of playing games on foreign ground, but I digress.
Dave Doeren has been at NC State for 14 years and has built the program into one of the ACC's more consistent winners. The problem is that the Wolfpack has never quite broken through. NC State has had four nine-win seasons under Doeren, but has never won 10, something the program has done only once back in 2003.
So when former Georgia and Miami coach Mark Richt, now an ACC Network analyst, brought up the possibility during an appearance at NC State's fall camp earlier this month, Doeren didn't hesitate.
"When," Doeren quipped.
If Doeren really believes this is the year, beating Virginia on the road is an important first step. Doeren is unbeaten against the Cavaliers, though they've only played four times during his tenure.
This is a big one for Tony Elliott, too. Virginia is coming off a program-record 11-win season and returns the most experienced roster in the FBS after loading up on veteran transfers. Was last year's breakthrough the start of something bigger in Charlottesville or simply a season that caught lightning in a bottle?
3. Jacksonville State at North Dakota State
How to watch: 5:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN
The Bison are ready to play with the big boys. Well, they've proven capable of that for years now, but this is their first season doing it as an FBS program.
For those who haven't made the trip to Fargo, this is also a chance to see one of the more unique venues in college football. The Fargodome isn't exactly a Saturday afternoon in the Horseshoe, but its cozy 18,700-seat capacity can make for a pretty raucous atmosphere when NDSU is rolling.
The Bison enter the season tied for the eighth-best odds among Group of Six teams (+1500) to make the College Football Playoff. Jacksonville State, meanwhile, gets the opportunity to spoil the party. The Gamecocks made the jump from FCS just four years ago and get a chance to make NDSU's FBS debut a little more complicated.
4. Memphis at UNLV
How to watch: 10 p.m. ET, FOX
A pretty good way to wind down the first Saturday of the season. Memphis and UNLV are two more Group of Six teams with legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations, which makes this one more important than your typical Week 0 matchup. The loser won't be eliminated, but the path back into the conversation gets a lot tougher.
UNLV also hasn't settled on a starting quarterback. Former five-star prospect and two-time transfer Jackson Arnold is battling former Michigan quarterback Alex Orji for the job. We'll see who gets the start on Saturday and if both will play.
For Memphis, it's another quick rebuild for new coach Charles Huff, who spent just one year at Southern Miss in 2025 after four years at Marshall. His teams reached a bowl game in all five seasons.
5. Hawaii at Stanford
How to watch: 7 p.m. ET, ACC Network
This game was better when it was played in Honolulu the past two meetings. But we'll settle for a late-summer trip to Palo Alto. Hawaii opened last season with a walk-off field goal to beat Stanford for the first time, with Micah Alejado throwing two touchdown passes to jumpstart his Mountain West Freshman of the Year campaign. He enters 2026 as one of the better Group of Six quarterbacks in the country.
On the other side is the head coaching debut of Tavita Pritchard. Stanford hasn't had a winning season since 2018, which remains difficult to believe considering the Cardinal were the fourth-winningest program in the country from 2010-16 under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw.
6. New Mexico State at Florida State
How to watch: 7 p.m. ET, CW
Mike Norvell enters the season on one of the hottest seats in college football after back-to-back losing seasons in Tallahassee. This shouldn't be much of a test for Florida State, but if things go sideways against New Mexico State, the pressure around Norvell will only intensify.
The Seminoles don't have much time to figure things out, either. No. 19 SMU and a trip to No. 13 Alabama are up next, making this a useful first look at what Florida State actually has before the schedule gets considerably tougher.
The Seminoles are 30.5-point favorites on FanDuel, the second-largest spread among the eight FBS games in Week 0. The result shouldn't be much of a mystery. How Florida State looks might be.
7. Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan
How to watch: 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
This one's for the sickos. Two preseason bottom 25 teams in our CBS Sports 138 and, yes, some #MACtion. Sacramento State is making its FBS debut with a trip to Ypsilanti, and there are a couple of quarterbacks worth watching.
Carson Conklin is back with the Hornets after spending last season at Fresno State. He was third in the Jerry Rice Award voting in 2024, given annually to the top freshman in the FCS. Eastern Michigan counters with Noah Kim, who began his career at Michigan State in 2020 before a one-year stop at Coastal Carolina in 2024. Kim led the MAC with 2,817 passing yards last season and tied for third with 18 touchdown passes.
8. San Jose State at No. 14 USC
How to watch: 3 p.m. ET, NBC
This is the only Week 0 game featuring a ranked opponent, but it's also the biggest mismatch on paper. USC is a 38.5-point favorite at FanDuel. Still, this is worth setting up the second TV as North Carolina-TCU wraps up in Dublin.
Jayden Maiava is one of the most experienced returning quarterbacks in the country and has a restocked receiving corps around him. This is also the first look at Lincoln Riley's revamped defense, with former longtime TCU coach Gary Patterson taking over as coordinator.
