College Football Is Back Saturday: Everything You Need for Week 0
Eight games, a noon kickoff in Dublin, the biggest spread on the board in L.A., and real stakes — Week 0 counts. The full slate, the lines we've covered, and how to watch.
August 27, 2026 at 1:49 PM EDT
2 min read
The wait ends Saturday. The 2026 college football season opens August 29 with an eight-game Week 0 slate that runs from noon in Dublin to a 10 p.m. kickoff in Vegas. And a reminder that trips people up every year: Week 0 games are real — regular-season contests that count toward records, rankings and season-long bets.
The slate
- North Carolina vs. TCU — noon ET, ESPN, from Aviva Stadium in Dublin (the Aer Lingus Classic). The Bill Belichick Year 2 opener, and the market has made UNC a touchdown-plus underdog. We broke down why bettors are fading Belichick.
- San José State at No. 14 USC — 3 p.m. ET, NBC. The biggest number of the weekend: USC opened near -38.5. Would you actually lay it?
- NC State at Virginia — 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. A real ACC game hiding in Week 0 — conference stakes in August.
- Florida State vs. New Mexico State — FSU opens as a 31.5-point favorite, and the number says the market has already forgiven Mike Norvell — at least until Alabama shows up Sept. 19.
- Memphis at UNLV — 10 p.m. ET, FOX. The nightcap, and a sneaky-fun one between two programs with real Group-of-Five ambitions.
The rest of the slate fills the afternoon across ESPN+, CBS Sports Network, The CW and ACC Network.
How to think about Week 0 as a bettor
Week 0 is the noisiest betting weekend of the college season: first live reps, new rosters everywhere in the portal era, and lines set with no current-year information. That's an argument for humility on sides — and for treating the weekend partly as reconnaissance. What you learn Saturday (who looks organized, whose new quarterback is real) is worth more than most tickets you could write into it.
The season-long markets are the other reason to watch closely: seven teams sit at 11-1 or shorter for the national title, and Week 0 is the first evidence anyone gets.