It’s never too early to start preparing for the next season of college football. After Indiana clinched the 2025-26 College Football Playoff title, the 2026-27 season looks set to pick up where it left off with some exciting action.
You can find information on when the 2026 college football season starts here. This story will be updated as games and times change.
When does the 2026 college football season start?
The 2026 season is about to begin August 27, Thursday In this year’s Zero Week. Most of the nation’s Division I programs begin their seasons next week.
Here are some of the games planned for Zero Week:
August 27, Thursday
- Mercyhurst in Youngstown County | 6 p.m. ET
- Charleston South at Lindenwood | 7 p.m. ET
- Central Arkansas at UT Martin
- Eastern Illinois in Murray County
- Maine at Towson
- Stony Brook in Delaware County
- LIU in North Dakota
August 28, Friday
- Marist in New Haven
- New Hampshire at UAlbany
- Rhode Island at Merrimack
August 29, Saturday
- Aer Lingus College Football Classic: North Carolina vs. TCU (in Dublin, Ireland)
- Brazilian Football College: NC State vs. Virginia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- New Mexico in Florida
- Hawaii at Stanford
- Memphis at UNLV
- MEAC/SWAC challenge: Alabama A&M vs. Howard (Atlanta, Georgia) | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC
- North Alabama vs. Samford (Huntsville, AL)
- Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina
- Jackson County in Tennessee
- Abilene Christian in Lamar
- North Dakota State at UIW
- Morgan State and A&T at North Carolina
- Monmouth at Tennessee Tech
- Prairie View A&M in Tarleton County
Week 1 of the 2026 college football season begins next week, with most games on Saturday, September 5th over the Labor Day weekend. Here are some of the season openers.
September 3, Thursday
- Illinois east of Minnesota
- Idaho in Utah
- UAlbany at Buffalo
- Akron in Cool Forest
- Bethune-Cookman at UCF
- Merrimack on the Delaware
September 4, Friday
Saturday, September 5
- Clemson at LSU
- Louisville vs. Ole Miss (in Nashville, Tenn.)
- Baylor vs. Auburn (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Boise County in Oregon
- Washington State in Washington
- UCLA in California
- Tulane Duke
- Colorado and Georgia Tech
- North Texas at Indiana
- East Carolina, Alabama
- Fresno State at USC
- FIU in South Florida
- Texas in Texas
- Oklahoma State at Tulsa
- West Michigan at Michigan
- Atlantic Ocean in Florida
- Georgia, Tennessee
- Norfolk County in the Old Dominion
- Chicago State at UT Martin
September 6, Sunday
- Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (Green Bay, Wis.) | NBC/Peacock
Other early season non-conference games to watch can be found below.
- Week 2: Saturday, September 12
- Ohio State at Texas
- Oklahoma at Michigan
- Arizona State Texas A&M
- Oregon at Oklahoma
- Arkansas at Utah
- UCF at Pittsburgh
- Tennessee at Georgia Tech
- Iowa State at Iowa State
- Memphis in Boise County
- Georgia in Kennesaw County
- Florida A&M at Miami (FL)
- North Carolina A&T at North Carolina Central
- UIW in Northern Arizona
- Week Three: Saturday, September 19
- Duke’s Mayo Classic: Virginia, West Virginia (Charlotte, NC)
- Union Jack Classic: Arizona State vs. Kansas (London, England)
- Florida at Alabama
- Florida Atlantic High School
- Michigan State at Notre Dame
- Utah County, Utah
- North Texas in Texas
- Miami (Ohio) vs. Cincinnati (Cincinnati Neutral Ground)
- Virginia Tech at Maryland
- Harvard in New Hampshire
- Austin Peay in North Dakota
- Abilene Christian in Idaho
- Stephen F. Austin Prairie View A&M
- Dartmouth at Lehigh
- Hampton in Norfolk
- Youngstown County in Sacramento County
College Football Playoff Information
The 2026 season is the 13th edition of the College Football Playoff and the third in the 12-team format. The championship game will take place on Monday, January 25, 2027 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be the first time Las Vegas will host the CFP National Championship.
Indiana won the College Football Playoff National Championship for the 2025-26 season. Here’s the full CFP title game story.
| Year (match date) |
Game | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | No. 4 Ohio State 42no. 2 Oregon 20 | Arlington, Texas |
| 2016 | No. 2 Alabama 45no. 1 Clemson 40 | Glendale, Arizona |
| 2017 | #2 Clemson 35no. 1 Alabama 31 | Tampa, Florida |
| 2018 | No. 4 Alabama 26no. 3 Georgia 23 | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2019 | #2 Clemson 44no. 1 Alabama 16 | Santa Clara, California |
| 2020 | #1 LSU 42no. 3 Clemson 25 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 2021 | No. 1 Alabama 52no. 3 Ohio State 24 | Miami Gardens, Florida |
| The year 2022 | #3 Georgia 33, #1 Alabama 18 | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| The year 2023 | #1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7 | Inglewood, California |
| The year 2024 | #1 Michigan 34no. 2 Washington 13 | Houston, Texas |
| The year 2025 | No. 8 Ohio State 34, No. 7 Notre Dame 23 | Atlanta, Georgia |
| The year 2026 | #1 Indiana 27no. 10 Miami 21 | Miami Gardens, Florida |
🏆: The Complete College Football Championship Game History | Schools with the most titles | Most CFPs have appeared
Locations and dates of future CFP National Championships
2026-27: Las Vegas (Allegiant Stadium) – January 25
2027-28: New Orleans (Caesars Superdome) – January 24
2028-29: Tampa (Raymond James Stadium) – January 22
2029-30: Miami (Hard Rock Stadium) – January 21
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