2025 Week Zero College Football Schedule

Update: 6/28/25 (Schedule is subject to change)

Saturday, August 23rd:

Iowa State vs. Kansas State (Dublin, Ireland): In a battle between two of the six remaining charter members of the Big 12 (the others: Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech), the Cyclones have won four of the last five matchups against the Wildcats after having lost 11 of 12. Iowa State now leads the all-time series 54-50-4.

Fresno State at Kansas: The three-game series that Kansas and Fresno State agreed to back in 2020 had all the games being played in Week Zero (2025, 2029 and 2031 - but after a couple of changes, this year’s game is the only one remaining as a Week Zero game. This will be their first-ever meeting.

Stanford at Hawaii: Between 1946 and 2022, Stanford played Hawaii three times. Last year the two teams started a three-game series that will run through next year, which is another Week Zero matchup.

Sam Houston at Western Kentucky: Last year’s loss to the Hilltoppers ended up keeping Sam Houston out of the CUSA Championship game so the Bearkats should be extra motivated to give Western Kentucky their first conference loss in 2025.

Idaho State at UNLV: This game was moved to Week Zero on June 27th so that Las Vegas could host the championship boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium, Since beating Utah State 27-24 in 2000, Idaho State is 1-39 against FBS schools

Southern vs. NC Central (Atlanta): This will be just the second meeting between the Eagles and the Jaguars of Southern University, the first since facing off in 2006 in Baton Rouge, La. The Eagles won that meeting 27-20. Southern is 3-0 in MEAC/SWAC Challenges, while the Eagles are 6-0 in classics, bowls or challenges since Oliver arrived at N.C. Central in 2019 - so, something has to give…

Incarnate Word at Nicholls: Another conference game worth watching during Week Zero is the UIW at Nicholls game as it has been a competitive series since it began in 2014.  The Cardinals have won four of the last five games to even up the series at 6 apiece.

Mercer vs. UC Davis (Montgomery, AL): Mercer and UC Davis, two 2024 FCS Quarterfinalists, will meet in the 2025 FCS Kickoff Classic at the historic Cramton Bowl to start their seasons.  Both teams are ranked in Craig Haley’s Never-Too-Early FCS Top 25 Rankings (Mercer – 14th and UC Davis – 15th). Mercer is looking to capture their second straight Southern Conference title, while Aggies head coach Tim Plough wants to continue the program’s momentum, which is coming off their best season since moving up to Division I in 2007.

Tarleton State at Portland State: Tarleton State, which has made a seamless transition from Division II, was 10-4 last year with a playoff win over Drake - so I don’t expect them to have much trouble on the road against the Vikings.