2026 Week Zero College Football Schedule

Updated: 06/07/2026 (Should be the final schedule)

Saturday, August 29th:

North Carolina vs. TCU (Dublin, Ireland): Last year in Bill Belichick’s first game as head coach of North Carolina, TCU came into Chapel Hill and cruised with an easy 48-14 win over the Tar Heels. I’m sure that Belichick would like to reverse that start in 2026 and get off on the right foot.

NC State at Virginia: With their game being canceled in Brazil, NC State and Virginia will play in Charlottesville, where the Wolfpack have won three straight matchups going back to 2011. And going back to 2001, NC State has won eight of ten against the Cavaliers.

Hawaii at Stanford: Coming off the program’s best finish (9-4) under coach Timmy Chang, the Rainbow Warriors are poised to contend for a spot in the Mountain West title game. A win over Stanford will go a long way towards their goal. The last two meetings between these teams have both been decided by three points, with each team coming away with a win.

New Mexico State at Florida State: The one and only time that New Mexico State visited Tallahassee was back in 1964. Florida State handed the Aggies a 36-0 beating - something that could happen this year as well.

Memphis at UNLV: In a clash of conference contenders, UNLV and Memphis will meet for the first time. The Rebels enter year two of the Dan Mullen era after posting a 10-4 record and finishing as the Mountain West runner-up, while the Tigers lost four straight games to end the 2025 with a disappointing 8-5 record.

San Jose State at USC: In a series dating back to 1995, San Jose State will be playing in the LA Memorial Coliseum for the seventh time - as the two teams have never met in San Jose. Two years ago the Spartans scored 28 points against the Trojans - but still lost by four touchdowns.

Jacksonville State at North Dakota State: Jacksonville State will take on FBS newcomer North Dakota State for the fourth time - but this will be their first regular season matchup. The Gamecocks lead the series 2-1, but the Bison won the last game between the teams ten years ago - which was for the FCS National Championship.

Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan: The other FBS newcomer, Sacramento State, will play their first MAC conference game when they visit Eastern Michigan. After earning three straight bowl appearances (2021-23), the Eagles have missed out on the postseason in back-to-back years.

Note: The 2026 FCS football season will begin on August 27th as teams will be playing a 12-game regular season schedule. Starting in “Week Zero” will give FCS teams 13 weeks before the FCS championship selections.