Week 0 (or Week Zero) refers to the opening weekend of college football games in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), in which a small number of games are played to begin the regular season, a week before the vast majority of teams begin their season in "Week 1". Although the FBS football season has traditionally begun on the first Saturday before Labor Day, the NCAA has sporadically awarded waivers for games to be played a week earlier in order to bring a game to a national television audience, or as part of the "Hawaii Rule" that grants teams that play a game in Hawaii, usually away games against the Rainbow Warriors, an extra regular season home game to offset travel costs. Games in Alaska, Puerto Rico and other outlying territories would nominally count towards the Hawaii Rule, but those locales do not field FBS programs, or have venues that met NCAA minimum attendance guidelines before those were abolished in 2023.
The first Week 0 game was the 1983 Kickoff Classic, in which No. 1 Nebraska defeated No. 4 Penn State, 44–6, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
For the 2020 season, the NCAA issued a blanket waiver for Week 0 games by any team, in order to allow for scheduling flexibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, no Division I FBS members wound up playing in a Week 0 game in 2020.
This list includes only games that involve at least one FBS school. Two special events in the second-level NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the FCS Kickoff and MEAC/SWAC Challenge, currently take place during Week 0. Starting in 2026, all FCS teams will be allowed to play during Week 0 in most years.
In September 2026 the NCAA's FBS oversight committee approved moving up week 1 to what is currently the week that is week 0 while giving teams another bye week beginning in 2027. It is unclear if Week 0 games would still be played following the schedule change.
Results Week 0 games since 2002: Date Winner Score Loser Score Location August 22, 2002 Colorado State 35 Virginia 29 Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia (Jim Thorpe Classic) August 23, 2002 No. 25 Wisconsin 23 Fresno State 21 Camp Randall Stadium Madison, Wisconsin (John Thompson Foundation Classic)August 24, 2002 No. 3 Florida State 38 Iowa State 31 Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri (Eddie Robinson Classic)NC State 34 New Mexico 14 Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, North Carolina (BCA Classic) No. 13 Ohio State 45 Texas Tech 21 Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio (Pigskin Classic) August 25, 2002 No. 16 Virginia Tech 63 Arkansas State 7 Lane Stadium Blacksburg, Virginia (Hispanic College Fund Football Classic)August 23, 2003 No. 7 Kansas State 42 California 28 KSU Stadium Manhattan, Kansas (BCA Classic) San Jose State 29 Grambling State 0 Spartan Stadium San Jose, California (Literacy Classic)August 28, 2004 Miami (OH) 49 0 Yager Stadium Oxford, Ohio No. 1 USC 24 Virginia Tech 13 FedEx Field Landover, Maryland (BCA Classic) August 26, 2016 California 51 Hawaii 31 Stadium Australia Sydney, Australia (Sydney Cup)August 26, 2017 BYU 20 Portland State 6 LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UtahColorado State 58 Oregon State 27 Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, Colorado No. 19 South Florida 42 San Jose State 22 CEFCU Stadium San Jose, California No. 14 Stanford 62 Rice 7 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney, Australia (Sydney Cup)August 25, 2018 Hawaii 43 Colorado State 34 Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, ColoradoUMass 63 Duquesne 15 Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Amherst, MassachusettsRice 31 Prairie View A&M 28 Rice Stadium Houston, TexasWyoming 29 New Mexico State 7 Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, New MexicoAugust 24, 2019 No. 8 Florida 24 Miami (FL) 20 Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida (Camping World Kickoff) Hawaii 45 Arizona 38 Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HawaiiAugust 28, 2021 Illinois 30 Nebraska 22 Memorial Stadium Champaign, Illinois Fresno State 45 UConn 0 Bulldog Stadium Fresno, California UCLA 44 Hawaii 10 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California San Jose State 45 Southern Utah 14 CEFCU Stadium San Jose, California UTEP 30 New Mexico State 3 Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, New Mexico (Battle of I-10) August 27, 2022 Northwestern 31 Nebraska 28 Aviva StadiumDublin, Ireland(Aer Lingus College Football Classic) Western Kentucky 38 Austin Peay 27 Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky UNLV 52 Idaho State 21 Allegiant StadiumParadise, Nevada Utah State 31 UConn 20 Maverik StadiumLogan, Utah Illinois 38 Wyoming 6 Memorial StadiumChampaign, Illinois Florida State 47 Duquesne 7 Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, Florida Florida Atlantic 43 Charlotte 13 FAU StadiumBoca Raton, Florida North Carolina 56 Florida A&M 24 Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, North Carolina North Texas 31 UTEP 13 Sun BowlEl Paso, Texas Nevada 23 New Mexico State 12 Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, New Mexico Vanderbilt 63 Hawaii 10 Ching Athletics ComplexHonolulu, HawaiiAugust 26, 2023 No. 13 Notre Dame 42 Navy 3 Aviva StadiumDublin, Ireland(Aer Lingus College Football Classic) Jacksonville State 17 UTEP 14 AmFirst StadiumJacksonville, Alabama San Diego State 20 Ohio 13 Snapdragon StadiumSan Diego, California UMass 41 New Mexico State 30 Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, New Mexico Vanderbilt 35 Hawaii 28 FirstBank StadiumNashville, Tennessee No. 6 USC 56 San Jose State 28 Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, California Louisiana Tech 22 FIU 17 Joe Aillet StadiumRuston, LouisianaAugust 24, 2024 Georgia Tech 24 No. 10 Florida State 21 Aviva StadiumDublin, Ireland(Aer Lingus College Football Classic) Montana State 35 New Mexico 31 University StadiumAlbuquerque, New Mexico Hawaii 35 Delaware State 14 Ching Athletics ComplexHonolulu, Hawaii SMU 29 Nevada 24 Mackay StadiumReno, NevadaAugust 23, 2025 No. 22 Iowa State 24 No. 17 Kansas State 21 Aviva StadiumDublin, Ireland(Aer Lingus College Football Classic) UNLV 38 Idaho State 31 Allegiant StadiumParadise, Nevada Kansas 31 Fresno State 7 David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KansasWestern Kentucky 41 Sam Houston 24 Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky Hawaii 23 Stanford 20 Ching Athletics ComplexHonolulu, HawaiiAugust 29, 2026 North Carolina 15 TCU 10 Aviva StadiumDublin, Ireland(Aer Lingus College Football Classic) Virginia 34 NC State 8 Scott StadiumCharlottesville, Virginia No. 14 USC 42 San Jose State 26 Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, California North Dakota State 33 Jacksonville State 7 FargodomeFargo, North Dakota Eastern Michigan 28 Sacramento State 17 Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, Michigan Stanford 37 Hawaii 27 Stanford StadiumStanford, California Florida State 34 New Mexico State 17 Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, Florida Memphis 27 UNLV 21 Allegiant StadiumParadise, Nevada
Rankings reflect preseason AP Poll.
Notes
See also FCS Kickoff, a Week 0 game featuring two Division I FCS teams that has been played since 2014 MEAC/SWAC Challenge, a game featuring teams from the two historically black FCS conferences that has taken place on Week 0 since 2021
References