When Does College Football Begin In 2026? Opening Weekend Details

It’s never too early to plan for the upcoming college football season. Following Indiana’s victory in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff, the 2026-27 season promises to continue the excitement.

You can find out when the 2026 college football season begins here. This story will be updated as games and times change.

When does the 2026 college football season begin?

The 2026 season will begin on Thursday, August 27 with this year’s “Week Zero.” The majority of the nation’s Division I programs will begin their seasons the following week.

Here are some of the games currently planned for week zero:

Thursday, Aug. 27

  • Mercyhurst at Youngstown State | 6 p.m. ET
  • Charleston Southern at Lindenwood | 7 p.m. ET
  • Central Arkansas at UT Martin
  • Eastern Illinois at Murray State
  • Maine at Towson
  • Stony Brook at Delaware State
  • LIU at North Dakota

Friday, Aug. 28

  • Marist at New Haven
  • New Hampshire at UAlbany
  • Rhode Island at Merrimack

Saturday, Aug. 29

  • Aer Lingus College Football Classic: North Carolina vs. TCU (in Dublin, Ireland)
  • College Football Brasil: NC State vs. Virginia (in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
  • New Mexico State at Florida State
  • Hawaii at Stanford
  • Memphis at UNLV
  • MEAC/SWAC Challenge: Alabama A&M vs. Howard (in Atlanta, Georgia) | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC
  • North Alabama vs. Samford (in Huntsville, AL)
  • Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina
  • Jackson State at Tennessee State
  • Abilene Christian at Lamar
  • North Dakota State at UIW
  • Morgan State at North Carolina A&T
  • Monmouth at Tennessee Tech
  • Prairie View A&M at Tarleton State

The following week begins Week 1 of the 2026 college football season, with most of the games set for Saturday, Sept. 5 during Labor Day weekend. Here are some of the season-opening matchups.

Thursday, Sept. 3

  • Eastern Illinois at Minnesota
  • Idaho at Utah
  • UAlbany at Buffalo
  • Akron at Wake Forest
  • Bethune-Cookman at UCF
  • Merrimack at Delaware

Friday, Sept. 4

  • LIU at Kansas

Saturday, Sept. 5

  • Clemson at LSU
  • Louisville vs. Ole Miss (in Nashville, Tenn.)
  • Baylor vs. Auburn (in Atlanta, Ga.)
  • Boise State at Oregon
  • Washington State at Washington
  • UCLA at California
  • Tulane at Duke
  • Colorado at Georgia Tech
  • North Texas at Indiana
  • East Carolina at Alabama
  • Fresno State at USC
  • FIU at South Florida
  • Texas State at Texas
  • Oklahoma State at Tulsa
  • Western Michigan at Michigan
  • Florida Atlantic at Florida
  • Tennessee State at Georgia
  • Norfolk State at Old Dominion
  • Chicago State at UT Martin

Sunday, Sept. 6

  • Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (in Green Bay, Wis.) | NBC/Peacock

Some other early-season nonconference games to watch can be found below:

  • Week 2: Saturday, Sept. 12
    • Ohio State at Texas
    • Oklahoma at Michigan
    • Arizona State at Texas A&M
    • Oregon at Oklahoma State
    • Arkansas at Utah
    • UCF at Pittsburgh
    • Tennessee at Georgia Tech
    • Iowa State at Iowa
    • Memphis at Boise State
    • Georgia State at Kennesaw State
    • Florida A&M at Miami (FL)
    • North Carolina A&T at North Carolina Central
    • UIW at Northern Arizona
  • Week 3: Saturday, Sept. 19
    • Duke’s Mayo Classic: Virginia vs. West Virginia (in Charlotte, N.C.)
    • Union Jack Classic: Arizona State vs. Kansas (in London, England)
    • Florida State at Alabama
    • FIU at Florida Atlantic
    • Michigan State at Notre Dame
    • Utah State at Utah
    • North Texas at Texas State
    • Miami (Ohio) vs. Cincinnati (neutral site in Cincinnati)
    • Virginia Tech at Maryland
    • Harvard at New Hampshire
    • Austin Peay at North Dakota State
    • Abilene Christian at Idaho
    • Stephen F. Austin at Prairie View A&M
    • Dartmouth at Lehigh
    • Hampton at Norfolk State
    • Youngstown State at Sacramento State

College Football Playoff Information

The 2026 season is the 13th year of the College Football Playoff, and the third in its 12-team format. The final game will take place on Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be the first time Las Vegas has hosted the CFP National Championship Game.

Indiana won the College Football Playoff National Championship in the 2025–26 season. Here is the whole history of the CFP championship game.

Year
(Game Date)		GameLOCATION
2015No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20Arlington, Texas
2016No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40Glendale, Arizona
2017No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31Tampa, Florida
2018No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23Atlanta, Georgia
2019No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16Santa Clara, California
2020No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25New Orleans, Louisiana
2021No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24Miami Gardens, Florida
2022No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18Indianapolis, Indiana
2023No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7Inglewood, California
2024No. 1 Michigan 34, No. 2 Washington 13Houston, Texas
2025No. 8 Ohio State 34, No. 7 Notre Dame 23Atlanta, Georgia
2026No. 1 Indiana 27, No. 10 Miami 21Miami Gardens, Florida

Future CFP national championship locations and dates

2026-27: Las Vegas (Allegiant Stadium) – Jan. 25
2027-28: New Orleans (Caesars Superdome) – Jan. 24
2028-29: Tampa (Raymond James Stadium) – Jan. 22
2029-30: Miami (Hard Rock Stadium) – Jan. 21

Priyanka Patil

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