The Victors

Is Week 0 going away?

In its current form, yes.

Beginning in 2027, every FBS team will operate within the same 14-week regular-season window, with up to 12 games and two open Saturdays. The first permissible date will move to the Thursday of what is now considered Week 0.

That removes the first-contest-date exceptions that created Week 0. The NCAA’s stated rationale is simpler scheduling and eliminating potential competitive advantages created when some teams start earlier than others — plus the value of two open dates as conference realignment has increased cross-country travel.

For TV, that means the quirky eight-game Saturday will look different. Dargis expects what is now Week 0 to become “a full slate across the board,” with games filling Thursday, Friday and Saturday and programming across ESPN’s networks.

What is now Week 0 will become the opening weekend of college football. Savor the experience while you can.

Comment: I expect the 2027 game at Texas to still be played, but moved up to Labor Day weekend. The season opener with Buffalo then likely gets rescheduled for late August.

As I commented below, we already see or should expect to see Michigan starting the 2028/9 seasons with games in late August. The question that's still open is the nature of that third opponent. Power 4 or Group of 5? We'll find out in due course. There may be a scramble now that the season start has been moved up to late August. If the CFP doesn't expand and the SOS criteria doesn't change, then what? Finally, there's the question of what the television networks want or need when it comes to programming. Stay tuned.