College football returns Saturday: where to watch Week 0, the last of its kind

College football's 2026 season kicks off this Saturday with a compact Week 0 slate, and the games are scattered across ESPN, NBC, FOX, the CW, and more. Here's where to watch each one, plus why this is the last Week 0 as fans have known it.

The gist: The wait is almost over. College football returns Saturday, August 29, with Week 0, a small opening slate that runs a week ahead of the Labor Day explosion. Even this compact card is spread across seven different networks, so finding the game you want takes a minute. Here's the full Week 0 map, why it is the last of its kind, and how to make sure you can actually watch.

The Week 0 slate, and where each game airs

Saturday's FBS games, all times Eastern:

• North Carolina vs. TCU, from Dublin, Ireland (the Aer Lingus College Football Classic), noon, ESPN.
• San Jose State at USC, 3 p.m., NBC (streaming on Peacock), the season's first Big Ten game.
• NC State at Virginia, 3:30 p.m., ESPN, the first ACC game (originally set for Rio de Janeiro before it was moved to Charlottesville).
• Jacksonville State at North Dakota State, 5:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network.
• New Mexico State at Florida State, 7 p.m., The CW.
• Hawaii at Stanford, 7 p.m., ACC Network.
• Memphis at UNLV, 10 p.m., FOX (and FOX One).

There's also an HBCU showcase, Alabama A&M vs. Howard in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, and the FCS season starts two days earlier, on Thursday, August 27, with most of those games on ESPN+.

Even this small slate spans seven networks. That's the college football viewing challenge in miniature: the games are everywhere, and which service you need depends entirely on which one you want to watch.

Why this is the last Week 0

Week 0 was never really an official part of the calendar. It grew out of waivers and exemptions: the rule letting teams traveling to Hawaii add an extra game, neutral-site classics getting permission to start early, and enough of those piling up to form a mini-slate. That's set to end. The Division I Cabinet formally approved a standardized 14-week season starting in 2027, folding these late-August games into a normal Week 1 and eliminating the waiver process that created Week 0 in the first place. The Dublin game and the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will still happen; they'll just be called Week 1 openers. So this is the final Week 0 as fans have known it.

How to make sure you can watch

The Week 0 slate is a good preview of what the whole season demands, so it's worth getting your setup sorted now:

• An antenna pulls in the games on ABC, NBC, FOX, and the CW over the air, which covers a good chunk of Saturday.
• A live-TV streaming service (YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, or Sling) adds ESPN, the ACC Network, and CBS Sports Network, which carry the rest.
• Peacock carries the NBC game (USC) if you'd rather stream it.
• If your team's games run on ESPN's networks all season, ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/month) streams them without a full TV package.

For the full-season map, including every conference's TV home and how the College Football Playoff works, see our college football viewing guide.

The bottom line

Week 0 is the appetizer; the real feast is the following weekend, when the season opens in full over Labor Day with games like Clemson at LSU, Boise State at Oregon, and Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin from Lambeau Field. But if you want the first taste of the season this Saturday, now you know where each game lives, and it's worth lining up your antenna or streaming service before kickoff.

Not sure which of this week's games you can already watch? StreamCaddy maps the cheapest correct way to watch all of your teams and events for your exact location and subscriptions.

Sources

1. Heavy — "Are There College Football Games Today? 2026 Season Starts August 29" (the Week 0 FBS lineup for Saturday, Aug. 29, all times ET: North Carolina vs. TCU noon ESPN; San Jose State at USC 3 p.m. NBC; NC State at Virginia 3:30 p.m. ESPN; Jacksonville State at North Dakota State 5:30 p.m. CBS Sports Network; New Mexico State at Florida State 7 p.m. The CW; games spread across ESPN, NBC, CBS Sports Network, ESPN+, The CW, ACC Network and FOX), August 22, 2026 — https://heavy.com/sports/college-football/games-today-season-start-2026-schedule/
2. FOX Sports — "When Does 2026 College Football Start? Week 0 and 1 Schedule, How to Watch" (FBS season begins Saturday, Aug. 29; UNC vs. TCU in Dublin at noon on ESPN; NC State at Virginia relocated from Rio de Janeiro to Charlottesville; FOX's Week 0 coverage begins with Memphis at UNLV at 10 p.m. on FOX and FOX One; Week 1 runs Sept. 3-7), August 2026 — https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/when-does-2026-college-football-start-week-0-1-schedule-how-watch
3. ESPN / AP News — "NCAA recommends earlier start to football season in 2027" (April: the FBS Oversight Committee recommended standardizing the regular season to 14 weeks starting in 2027, beginning on the Thursday of what is now Week 0 and eliminating exceptions for teams to play before the official start; the Division I Cabinet formally adopted the legislation in June 2026), April 16, 2026 — https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/48507083/ncaa-recommends-earlier-start-football-season-2027
4. Legion Report — "College Football Week 0 Schedule 2026: Dates, TV, Streaming" (Week 0 grew out of the Hawaii exemption and neutral-site waivers; the NCAA's move to a standardized 14-week season starting in 2027 ends the waiver process, making this the final Week 0 as fans have known it, with the Dublin game and MEAC/SWAC Challenge becoming Week 1 openers going forward), August 18, 2026 — https://legionreport.com/college-football-week-0-schedule/
5. NCAA.com — "College football TV schedule and times" (the FBS season kicks off Saturday, Aug. 29; FCS starts Thursday, Aug. 27; all schedules and networks subject to change), August 2026 — https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/college-football-tv-schedule-game-times-preview