College Football Season Is Officially Underway — Here’s the Full 2026 Schedule Breakdown
FBS training camps opened across the country this week, officially marking the start of preparations for the 2026 college football season — a journey that will run from late August through the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Las Vegas next January.
When Camps Opened and What Comes Next
As the sun rose Wednesday, August 5, FBS teams joined lower-division programs already in camp, buckling their chin straps for the start of preseason preparation, according to FootballScoop. In total, 766 four-year football-playing universities across all divisions have now embarked on the journey toward their respective national championships.
The path to the first actual games, though, still has a few weeks to go. According to NCAA.com, the 2026 season is set to begin Thursday, August 27, during what’s known as “Week 0” — though FOX Sports offers a slightly more detailed breakdown: FCS games begin Thursday, August 27, the FBS Week 0 slate starts Saturday, August 29, and the first full national Saturday, when the bulk of marquee matchups take place, arrives September 5 during Labor Day weekend.
What “Week 0” Actually Means
For fans less familiar with the college football calendar, Week 0 refers to a limited slate of games played before the traditional season-opening weekend, giving a small number of eligible programs an earlier start date while most teams wait until Week 1 to begin, according to FOX Sports. Despite the name suggesting something preliminary, Week 0 games are regular-season contests that count toward each team’s official record — they are not exhibition or preseason games.
The Marquee Week 0 Matchup
This year’s headline Week 0 game sends two ranked programs across the Atlantic. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic pits North Carolina against No. 23 TCU, as ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, kicking off at noon ET on August 29, according to FOX Sports. It’s part of a broader trend of college football programs opening seasons overseas — though not every planned international game survived scheduling changes this year. According to ESPN’s preseason schedule breakdown, Virginia and NC State had their August 29 matchup originally scheduled for Rio de Janeiro, but ultimately relocated the game back to Charlottesville, Virginia.
Week 1: The Real Kickoff Weekend
Week 1 of the 2026 season runs from Thursday, September 3, through Monday, September 7, with the first full Saturday slate landing on September 5, according to NCAA.com. FOX Sports noted that its “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show returns for the new season at 10 a.m. ET that Saturday, broadcasting from Bloomington, Indiana, home of the reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers.
Several notable opening-weekend matchups are already on the schedule, according to NCAA.com, including Colorado at Georgia Tech on ESPN, and a Sunday night matchup between Wisconsin and Notre Dame that extends the opening weekend, according to collegefootballschedule.net’s breakdown of the Week 1 slate.
The Defending Champion’s Path
Indiana enters the season as the reigning College Football Playoff national champion, having won the title during the 2025-26 season, according to NCAA.com. This year’s championship game shifts to a new venue: the 2026-27 CFP National Championship will be played Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — the first time Las Vegas has hosted the game.
Not every contender from last season’s playoff picture is entering 2026 with the same optimism. According to Kalshi’s college football preview, Notre Dame was passed over for the playoff last season in favor of Miami, which had beaten the Fighting Irish head-to-head in their season opener — a snub Kalshi’s analysis suggests could motivate Notre Dame this year, both to make a genuine championship push and, as the preview put it, to “spite the committee they feel wronged them.” Head coach Marcus Freeman brought in a strong recruiting class, though how well the highly regarded newcomers mesh with an already deep veteran roster remains to be seen heading into the season.
Other Programs Facing Tough Roads
ESPN’s annual preseason schedule evaluation flagged several teams facing especially difficult paths through the 2026 season. Ohio State, the reigning Big Ten favorite after beating then-top-ranked Texas in last year’s opener, must travel this year to face preseason AP No. 1 Texas again and defending national champion Indiana — a brutal early gauntlet even for a team that cruised through most of last season’s schedule.
ESPN also highlighted Texas Tech’s challenge of advancing to the playoff for a second consecutive season after losing starting quarterback Brendan Sorsby, along with tough conference stretches ahead for both Oklahoma and USC. A notable rivalry storyline: LSU visits Ole Miss this year, giving Ole Miss a chance to face off against former head coach Lane Kiffin in Oxford.
FAQ
When does the 2026 college football season officially start? FCS games begin August 27, the FBS “Week 0” slate starts August 29, and the first full national Saturday, Week 1, arrives September 5.
Is Week 0 a preseason or exhibition period? No. Week 0 games are regular-season contests that count toward teams’ official records, even though a limited number of programs participate.
What’s the biggest Week 0 matchup this year? North Carolina faces No. 23 TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on August 29.
Where is the 2026-27 College Football Playoff National Championship being played? Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on Monday, January 25, 2027 — the first time the CFP title game has been held in Las Vegas.
Who won the College Football Playoff last season? Indiana, which enters 2026 as the defending national champion after beating Miami’s playoff-selection edge over Notre Dame became a storyline heading into this year.
Conclusion
With FBS training camps officially open and the full schedule now set, the countdown to the 2026 college football season has begun in earnest. Between Indiana defending its title, a motivated Notre Dame squad looking to avenge last year’s playoff snub, and marquee early matchups like Ohio State’s trip to face Texas, the coming weeks of preseason preparation are setting up a season that, per usual, promises no shortage of storylines once the games actually begin on August 27.
Sources: ESPN, FOX Sports, NCAA.com, FootballScoop, Kalshi, collegefootballschedule.net (reporting dated August 5-9, 2026).