When does the college football season start in 2023? Opening day schedule, venue, marquee matchups, date, TV channels and more

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic - Tulane v USC
Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans are looking to have a massive college football season.

The opening kickoff of the 2023 college football season is on August 26. With lots of excitement and anticipation surrounding this year, it should be interesting to see how teams look, as there's no preseason in the collegiate game.

There are a lot of intriguing matchups for the first day of the season to dive into, so let's dive in.


How does the opening day of the season work in college football?

College football opens the season a bit differently than other sports. They call the opening week "Week Zero", as most games happen over Labor Day weekend, but some happen the weekend before.

We're only going to be highlighting the first day of Week Zero here, as it's the official opening day. There are seven games happening on the first day of the college football season, so let's discuss them.


Where can I watch Week 0 games?

There are multiple television channels airing these games as NBC, CBSSN, ESPN, FS1, SEC Network and Pac-12 Networks. There will be at least one game for each of the networks.


2023 college football season schedule week 0

There will be seven games to open the 2023 college football season. The first game is between the Army Black Knights and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the afternoon.

The other marquee matchup will be the San Jose State Spartans taking on the USC Trojans. The Trojans have a lot of buzz around them with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, and the roster does kick off the year.

Below is a full list of the seven games played on Aug. 26 and where they will be aired.

GameTime (ET)VenueTV
Navy vs Notre Dame2:30 PMAviva StadiumNBC
UTEP vs Jacksonville State5:30 PMBurgess-Snow FieldCBSSN
UMass vs New Mexico State7:00 PMAggie Memorial StadiumESPN
Ohio vs San Diego State7:00 PMSnapdragon StadiumFS1
Hawaii vs Vanderbilt7:30 PMFirstBank StadiumSEC Network
San Jose State vs USC8:00 PMLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumPac-12 Network
Florida International vs Louisiana Tech9:00 PMJoe Alliet StadiumCBSSN

These games signify the start of the college season and give us a preview of all the action for the entire year. With the games happening on Saturday, it's a great chance to see some teams with expectations begin their quest toward the College Football Playoff.


What are some of the venues hosting games?

Two of the games are played in a neutral site, meaning both teams are technically on the road. The Navy vs Notre Dame game is being played in Dublin, Ireland, and that will be something to marvel at.

Most of these games are expected to be pretty close in terms of the opening betting lines as well, so not many games are expected to be blowouts.

There are some teams with a lot of expectations competing on the first day of the season, so this should be interesting. It's a bit of an appetizer for the Week One slate when all the teams in the nation start playing. So, which game are you most looking forward to on the Week Zero slate?

Edited by Bhargav
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