College football is back this week. Here's the full schedule for Week 0
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After a long, arduous wait, college football is back.
Well, at least some of the sport is.
The final weekend of August will mark the start of the 2026 season, with eight games between FBS teams that will make up what has become known as Week 0.
Of the eight matchups, only one, No. 14 Southern California’s game against San Jose State, will involve a team ranked in the top 25 of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll. But five of the eight games feature at least one team from a Power Four conference, and one of the games not included in that — Memphis at UNLV — is arguably the best contest on the slate, with the winner of that game getting an early leg up to be the Group of Six representative in the College Football Playoff.
Here’s what you need to know about Week 0 as the 2026 college football season gets underway:
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NCAA football schedule for Week 0
The 2026 college football season will get rolling with Week 0, an eight-game pigskin appetizer before the rest of the sport kicks off during Week 1 the following week.
The first official game of the season will be played across the pond, with TCU taking on North Carolina at Aviva Stadium in Dublin at noon ET. The game is a rematch of the Horned Frogs’ 48-14 shellacking of the Tar Heels last season in Bill Belichick’s first game as UNC’s coach.
It’s one of two games between Power Four opponents, the other being a matchup between ACC foes Virginia and North Carolina State. The contest was originally scheduled to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but was moved to Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia in June.
Perhaps the best game of the day will be the final one, with UNLV hosting Memphis in a matchup of what are expected to be two of the best teams outside the power conferences this season. Both the Rebels and Tigers are receiving votes in the preseason Coaches Poll.
Here’s a look at the full Week 0 schedule, including times and TV designations:
Saturday, August 29
All times are Eastern
- North Carolina vs. TCU | 12 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
- San Jose State at No. 14 USC | 3 p.m. | NBC (Fubo)
- NC State at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
- Jacksonville State at North Dakota State | 5:30 p.m. | CBS Sports Network (Fubo)
- Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+
- Hawai’i at Stanford | 7 p.m. | ACC Network (Fubo)
- New Mexico State at Florida State | 7 p.m. | The CW
- Memphis at UNLV | 10 p.m. | Fox (Fubo)
What is Week 0?
Week 0 is a relatively new concept in the college football world and has grown in recent years. Last year, for example, there were five Week 0 games and in 2024, there were four.
To learn more about Week 0 and how it came about, click here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: College football is back this week. Here's the full schedule for Week 0
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