College football is here with Week 0 set to kick off the 2026 season on Saturday. This year's Week 0 slate is one of the best we have seen in recent years and serves as the perfect appetizer for what should be another exciting college football season.
This year's slate features eight games as we will get our first look at 16 different FBS teams. Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels will kick off Saturday's action against TCU in Ireland. Later in the day, Lincoln Riley and USC will take on San Jose State, while NC State will face Virginia in a pivotal early-season ACC matchup. We will also see the debuts of the two new FBS programs, as North Dakota State will take on Jacksonville State and Sacramento State will travel to Eastern Michigan for some early-season MACtion.
At night, Stanford and Hawaii will run back their exhilarating Week 0 game from last year, while Florida State and Mike Norvell will try to get this season started on the right foot against New Mexico State and bounce back from a rough past two seasons. Then, in the late-night window we will have the game of the day between Memphis and UNLV, two of the top-projected Group of Six teams heading into the season.
To get ready for Saturday’s action, here are the three biggest storylines to watch for in Week 0.
Can UNC Show Progress Under Bill Belichick in Year 2?
Bill Belichick’s time in Chapel Hill has been a disaster both on and off the field. The Tar Heels finished 4-8 last season, with not many positives to look back on. With expectations low entering 2026, this season is more about taking a step forward and showing some sort of progress under Belichick if he has any plans of sticking around UNC in the future.
They’ll be challenged immediately in Week 0 against TCU, who beat North Carolina 48-14 in last season’s opener. The Horned Frogs lost their quarterback Josh Hoover to Indiana but replaced him with a solid addition from the transfer portal in Jaden Craig, who has been generating some buzz this offseason. Craig comes to TCU from Harvard, where he started 24 games and became the program’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, including throwing for 2,869 yards and 25 scores last season.
Limiting Craig in Sonny Dykes’ typically high-powered offense will be a key for the Tar Heels, but they will need to show improvement on offense as they were one of the worst offenses in all of college football last season. UNC recently named Billy Edwards Jr. their starting QB. Edwards missed almost all of last season at Wisconsin due to injury but has a year of starting experience from his time at Maryland in 2024.
With this being the first FBS game of the 2026 season and the only game in the noon window, all eyes will be on Ireland. With that spotlight comes added pressure for Belichick to have his team at least be competitive, something the Tar Heels were not very often last season.
A Crucial Early ACC Matchup
Week 0 will bring an important ACC matchup between NC State and Virginia, with both teams projected to finish in the top half of the conference. Every conference game is important, but having one this early in the season gives either team an opportunity to pick up a significant win and put themselves in a good position in the ACC.
Virginia is coming off a strong season in which the Cavaliers surprised many people by finishing the regular season 10-2 and reaching the ACC Championship Game. They’ll once again be led by head coach Tony Elliott, who has the program trending in the right direction. NC State enters the season with quarterback CJ Bailey, who is set to start for his third season and is a player many believe could take a significant step forward in 2026. The Wolfpack have been a solid team under Dave Doeren, consistently finishing with seven to nine wins, but they have to be wanting to get over the hump. If Bailey can take that next step, he could be the piece that helps NC State do just that.
These two teams met last year, but the game did not count as an ACC matchup despite both teams being in the conference. This year it does, and the winner will put itself in a good position in the race to challenge Miami, the heavy favorite in the ACC.
Group of Six College Football Playoff Implications
Week 0 may be lacking in terms of highly ranked teams and big-name programs, but it is a great week at the Group of Six level, with some of their best teams taking the field. Most notably, UNLV and Memphis will face off, and the winner will put themselves in a great position in the Group of Six CFP race. Memphis is especially a team to keep an eye on in Week 0 and throughout the season, as the Tigers have more than 50 new players from the transfer portal and an extremely talented roster under first-year head coach Charles Huff.
Other notable Group of Six teams in action include Hawaii with star quarterback Micah Alejado. The Rainbow Warriors will have a good chance to pick up a win against a power conference opponent in Stanford. Also, former FCS powerhouse North Dakota State will make its FBS debut against a solid Jacksonville State program that has won nine games in each of its past three seasons since joining the FBS.
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