Why are there conference games in Week 1? What is – and isn't – a league matchup
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Virginia’s season-opening win over North Carolina State in Week 0 was, at one point, a nonconference game scheduled to be played in Rio De Janeiro before it was rescheduled and turned into a conference matchup following the ACC's move to a nine-game schedule.
Their Week 0 game is perhaps a perfect encapsulation of conference realignment-induced scheduling inefficiencies across the country. Virginia-NC State isn’t the only awkward matchup of the early college football season either, with multiple out-of-place Week 1 games.
It'll be interesting to see how calendar changes to college football impact the schedule moving forward, as the NCAA announced Friday, Aug. 28, that Week 1 will now start the same week as Week 0 starts now, effectively eliminating Week 0 from the calendar.
Not every game listed has to do with conference realignment, but some of the Week matchups could raise questions for fans.
Here’s an explanation of why there are some odd Week 1 matchups, and whether they’re between current or former conference opponents:
Miami at Stanford
Miami didn’t have many options for a Week 1 game in 2026 with all but Stanford, Florida State and North Carolina already having Week 1 games scheduled among its opponents. The conference landed on the two ACC foes facing off on Friday, Sept. 4, on ESPN, taking the marquee spot the night before most teams kick off the season.
It’s a bit of an odd scheduling quirk, with Miami opening the season in a conference matchup and Stanford already playing in Week 0 (downing Hawai'i 37-27). The Cardinal's schedule might not get better anytime soon, either, given its awkward place in the ACC and travel constraints. The program must travel across the country for nearly every conference game.
After Hawai'i, Stanford plays two nonconference games this season, in quite unorthodox times: Notre Dame (Week 6) and Elon (Week 7).
UNLV at Hawai’i
Hawai’i opened its season against Stanford in Week 0 thanks to an NCAA bylaw that allows teams that travel to Hawai’i to play during Week 0 (giving teams an extra week off during the regular season).
UNLV and Hawai’i both opened with tough losses against Memphis and Stanford, respectively, and now must rebound for a Week 1 conference game between two of the better teams in the Mountain West. Sometimes it’s tough sledding when it comes to having Hawai’i on the schedule.
UCLA at California
UCLA and California are longtime rivals dating back to their time as conference foes in the Pac-12. Now, they’re set to play in Week 1 after the Bruins and Golden Bears moved to the Big Ten and ACC, respectively.
The two teams are playing the first of a four-game nonconference scheduling agreement that ends after the 2029 season. They don’t have any scheduled games after 2029, and it might be tough for the two West Coast programs to play annually since they’re no longer in the same conference.
Regardless, it’ll be a bit jarring to see UCLA and Cal play in a game that doesn’t contribute to their conference standings.
Washington State vs Washington
Long live the Apple Cup, another former Pac-12 rivalry now played between nonconference opponents (Washington in the Big Ten and Washington State in the newly formed Pac-12).
The in-state rivals have games scheduled through the 2028 season, and it’d be bad for the sport if the longtime rivalry ended. From 2011-23, the two teams normally played the final week of the regular season or the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Apple Cup is now being played at the earliest date ever in its 117-year history.
SMU at Florida State
The ACC has another Week 1 conference matchup when SMU and Florida State face off in a game between two of the biggest brands in the league.
It’s not ideal to open the season against a conference opponent, although FSU already played a Week 0 game New Mexico State, leading to a lackluster 34-17 win.
Scheduling across college football can get really complex, as unrelated nonconference games can have a trickle-down effect for seemingly uninvolved teams. The early-season ACC games are mostly due to the league moving to a nine-game conference schedule for most of its teams in 2026, although five ACC teams (Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina) are still playing eight-game conference schedules because of scheduling conflicts.
Five ACC teams will play eight-game conference schedules until after the 2032 season in which the conference is calling a transitional period.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are there conference games in Week 1? What is – and isn't – a league matchup
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