Week 0 college football games, ranked by watchability

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 29: Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels walks onto the field prior to the game against the NC State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. | Getty Images After a long wait, college football is back. Eight games sit on the docket for the first week of action, and while the sport gets into full swing a week from now admit it: After the long wait since the national championship game between Indiana and Miami, you want to watch some college ball. We’re here to help. Here are the eight games on the schedule in Week 1, ranked by watchability. We’ve also included the times and broadcast information to help you schedule your long weekend. Rejoice. 8. San Jose State @ USC The Trojans enter the season hoping to build off last year, with returning starter Jordan Maiava at the helm under center and the entire starting offensive line returning as well. Lincoln Riley might be under a little heat, with USC still yet to earn a bid to the College Football Playoff, but that should change this year. SJSU finished 3-9 last year, returns just two starters on offense, and none on defense. There is a reason — well, many reasons — the Trojans are favored by more than 30 points. Saturday, 3:00 p.m. Eastern, NBC 7. New Mexico State @ Florida State With four losing seasons on his Florida State resume, the pressure is on head coach Mike Norvell to right the ship after finishing 5-7 a year ago, and just 2-6 in ACC play. He should have an easier start to this season than in previous years. Last year Florida State knocked off then-No. 9 Alabama in the season opener, a win that clouded everyone’s view of the Seminoles. This year, however, Norvell and Florida State open up with New Mexico State at home, a program that went 4-8 a year ago and is hoping to just return to bowl eligibility. This one could, or should, get out of hand early. But if not, that seat is only going to get hotter. Saturday, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, CW 6. Sacramento State @ Eastern Michigan A pair of teams projected to finish near the bottom in the MAC will meet Saturday in Ypsilanti. Eastern Michigan returns fifth-year senior Noah Kim under center, for his second as the starting quarterback, as well as wide receiver Nick Devereaux and second-team All-MAC tight end Joshua Long. Those returning players should help the offense, while the defense returns second-team All-MAC safety Bryce Llewellyn. The defense will need to do a better job of stopping the run, after giving up 232.1 yards on the ground a season ago, the worst mark in the conference. As for the Hornets, Carson Conklin returns to campus after a season with Fresno State. Conklin was a Freshman All-American for Sacramento State, after which he transferred to Fresno State. But after seeing minimal action for hte Bulldogs, he is back in Sacramento to helm an offense that will rely on several fellow transfers, including wide receiverMatt Coleman. Getting running back Jamar Curtis back healthy should help, the former FCS product racked up over 3,500 total yards and 35 touchdowns during three years at Layfaette, but was lost for most of 2025 after transferring to Sacramento State. Saturday, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 5. NC State @ Virginia Many believe that Miami will be the team to beat in the ACC this season. But two teams hoping to crash the party atop the conference are Virginia and NC State. The Cavaliers return key starters along the offensive line, and transfer quarterback Beau Pribula from Missouri should boost the offense, particularly on the ground. He ran for 297 yards and six touchdowns last year for the Tigers, and also ranked third in the SEC in completion percentage, but a 11-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio is worrisome. On the other side of the ball the Wolfpack have to replace a host of starters on both offense and defense, but quarterback CJ Bailey returns for his third season under center. The junior threw for 3,105 yards and 25 touchdowns last year — against just nine interceptions — and gets to work with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper for the second consecutive season. If Bailey takes a big step forward, NC State could be a sleeper in the ACC. Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN 4. Hawai’i @ Stanford Why should you watch this game? Let’s start with Micah Alejado. The lefty passer is coming off a spectacular 2025 campaign, where he was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year after throwing for 24 touchdowns in Hawai’i’s spread attack. He might be the best passer at the school since Colt Brennan or even his head coach, former Rainbow Warriors passer Timmy Chang. One of Alejado’s favorite targets, slot receiver Pofele Ashlock, is back and Washington transfer Audric Harris should slide into the other slot spot for Alejado. The offense is good enough to make Hawai’i legitimate contenders in the Mountain West this year. They’ll take on a Stanford program that remains in a rebuilding period, after finishing 4-8 a year ago. Several starters return for new head coach Tavita Pritchard, including four along the offensive line, and incoming transfer quarterback Davis Warren should give the Cardinal offense a boost after arriving from Michigan. But Hawai’i is the draw here. Saturday, 7:00 p.m., ACC Network 3. Jacksonville State @ North Dakota State After years of success at the FCS level, North Dakota State has made the leap to the FBS, joining the Mountain West Conference for the 2026 season. Can they replicate that previous success, now in the FBS? There are reasons to believe in the Bison, even as early as this year. While NDSU will feature a new starting quarterback in 2026, head coach Tim Polasek has starters returning on both sides of the ball, including the interior of the offensive line. Tight end Reis Kessel could be a playmaker for this offense as well, but the Bison will need new QB Nathan Hayes to pick up where Cole Payton left off. Their FBS journey begins against Jacksonville State, a team that made the same leap back in 2023, joining Conference USA after several years of success at the FCS level. The Gamecocks return several key players from last year’s 9-5 team, including dual-threat quarterback Caden Creel and 6’8 wide receiver Deondre Johnson, who caught 30 passes for 724 yards and six touchdowns last year. Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Eastern, CBSSN 2. North Carolina @ TCU There is, to be sure, a certain train wreck aspect to ranking this matchup the second-best game of the opening slate. Last year, Bill Belichick’s arrival in Chapel Hill came along with a heaping side of fanfare. North Carolina’s first game, against TCU at home, was a prime-time event with famous UNC alums dotting the stands and the sidelines. The Tar Heels scored on the opening drive of the game, but then gave up 40 unanswered points in a 48-14 loss, a sign of things to come. Now there is more trouble around the program. General manager Michael Lombardi is currently on leave pending an investigation, and the school has retained outside counsel to aid in that process. Belichick himself is in somewhat unfamiliar territory, sitting on a seat that has become rather hot after just one season on campus. Can he turn things around in year two? We’ll start finding out Saturday afternoon. And if that was not enough, this game comes to us from Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, an absoultely beautiful setting to kick off the 2026 college football season. Saturday, 12:00 p.m. Eastern, ESPN 1. Memphis @ UNLV The final game of the day might just be the biggest of the slate. This non-conference tilt features two teams with eyes on a conference title. UNLV hopes to build off last season’s 10-4 finish, as Dan Mullen returns a handful of starters on both sides of the ball, and hands the keys to the offense to incoming transfer Jackson Arnold from Auburn. Last year Mullen turned Anthony Colandrea into the Mountain West Offensive Player of the year, and if he does something similar with Arnold, the Rebels could be the team to beat in the Mountain West, now that Boise State is off to the newly formed Pac-12. Out in Memphis, the Tigers have some questions to answer, starting with new head coach Charles Huff. He brought several transfers with him from Southern Miss, including running back Jaylin Carter, but the biggest question might be who Huff taps for the starting quarterback spot. South Carolina transfer Air Noland is in one corner of this training camp battle, and Marcus Stokes, a Division II transfer from West Florida, is in the other. Either way, this might just be the best game of the entire slate. And with the kickoff coming at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday night, it is the perfect capper to the first weekend of college football. Saturday, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, FOX

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