College football has waded through one of its most complicated offseasons ever. After all the scandal, debate and realignment, we have finally arrived at the football itself. Hello, Week 0.While FCS play kicks off Thursday, the FBS slate gets going two days later. The opening Saturday schedule whisks us from Ireland to Southern California. It starts up ACC action and introduces a ranked team with make-or-break demands. It’s both anticipation and an appetizer. Prepare accordingly with quick previews of select matchups and broadcast listings for all eight FBS games below.All times are ET, and rankings are from the latest AP poll. College football Week 0 watch guideGameTimeTVStreamNorth Carolina vs. TCUNoonESPNFubo (Watch Now)San José St. at USC3 p.m.NBCFubo (Watch Now)NC State at Virginia3:30 p.m.ESPNFubo (Watch Now)Jacksonville St. at NDSU5:30 p.m.CBSSNFubo (Watch Now)Sacramento St. at Eastern Michigan6:30 p.m.ESPN+Fubo (Watch Now)Hawai'i at Stanford7 p.m.ACCNFubo (Watch Now)NMSU at Florida St.7 p.m.CWFubo (Watch Now)Memphis at UNLV10 p.m.FoxFubo (Watch Now)ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN+ and The CW are also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription. Fox is free over the air and also streams on Fox One. NBC is free over the air and also streams on Peacock.The headliner: North Carolina vs. TCUNoon on ESPNCollege football is a uniquely American entity, but the Aer Lingus College Football Classic does its very best to spread the gospel in Ireland. This latest installment taps the Tar Heels and Horned Frogs at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. Mike Monaco, Jordan Rodgers and Dana Boyle are on the call from across the pond.What sounded like a fun spinoff series has become a total “Joey.” The premiere season of Bill Belichick: The College Years started with a blowout loss to TCU and ended with a 4-8 record. Its second season has already been colored by general manager Michael Lombardi getting placed on administrative leave. The strangeness compounds with Bobby Petrino as the new offensive coordinator. Maybe a flip of fortunes is coming — quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. joins the program from Wisconsin, and the defense has second-team all-ACC edge rusher Melkart Abou Jaoude.In stark contrast, TCU has back-to-back 9-4 seasons under Sonny Dykes, and it knocked off USC in last year’s Alamo Bowl. The Horned Frogs lose Josh Hoover to defending national champion Indiana, but they replace him with Harvard standout Jaden Craig. He gets returning running back Jeremy Payne to help shoulder the load. Wideout Jordan Dwyer can take the top off of a defense, too.What is college football like for international students?Ira GorawaraMost potential points: San José State at No. 14 USC3 p.m. on NBCSo begins a massive year for Lincoln Riley. Since his 11-3 debut in 2022, the Trojans head coach has gone a dispiriting 24-15 across three College Football Playoff-less seasons.USC’s 2026 push is headlined by Jayden Maiava, the No. 9 quarterback in The Athletic’s QB rankings. Its defense looks to be improved, adding new DC Gary Patterson, CB Jontez Williams from Iowa State and five-star defensive end Luke Wafle as part of the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class. As colossal home favorites, this is mostly a chance to set the vibes off right in Exposition Park.San José State went 3-9 last year. Its new quarterback is Hawai’i transfer Luke Weaver, who helped complete a stirring 21-point comeback in last season’s Hawai’i Bowl. Saturday’s matchup at the Coliseum between the Spartans and Trojans is not directed by Christopher Nolan, but it does have Noah Eagle on play-by-play and Todd Blackledge as analyst. It also has the highest total (over/under) of the weekend.Best game on paper: NC State at Virginia3:30 p.m. on ESPNThe ACC zigged, zagged and corkscrewed through 2025. Its lone playoff team, the ultimate chaos agent that was Miami, got boxed out of the conference championship. Virginia looked like the most stable member at 7-1 in ACC play, then dropped that title game to Duke in an overtime heartbreaker.Are we due for more madness in 2026? The Cavaliers come back with the most experienced roster in all of Power 4 football, and Tony Elliott has playmakers on both sides of the ball. Mobile QB Beau Pribula arrives from Missouri, while ACC Defensive Player of the Year candidate Kam Robinson returns at linebacker.Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack counter on the heels of an 8-5 effort and a Gasparilla Bowl trouncing of Memphis. Dynamic passer CJ Bailey made The Athletic’s top 100 for 2026. And two NC State players landed on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, with RB Jayden “Duke” Scott muscling between the tackles and DL Colby Cronk wrecking the bench press.Closest game on paper: Hawai’i at Stanford7 p.m. on ACC NetworkAccording to Bill Connelly’s SP+, a tempo-adjusted predictive metric, the Rainbow Warriors and the Cardinal should put on the closest game of this Saturday slate. Hawai’i is fresh off its winningest season since 2019 and its first bowl victory in a half-decade. Stanford snapped a run of four consecutive 3-9 stinkers last season by going … 4-8.There is the slightest of buzzes around Stanford, though. That’s because general manager Andrew Luck has brought on fellow former Cardinal QB Tavita Pritchard. The first-time head coach has linebacker Matt Rose, who was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2025, and well-graded pass blocker Niki Prongos, who is here to protect Michigan transfer Davis Warren in the pocket.Hawai’i has an alum of its own on the sidelines. Timmy Chang put together a 9-4 season that ended with the bowl comeback against Cal. Quarterback Micah Alejado was the only FBS player to top 300 passing yards four games in a row last year. He’s earned heightened expectations heading into his redshirt sophomore season.The reset opportunity: New Mexico State at Florida State7 p.m. on The CWMike Norvell’s Seminoles improved to a perfect 13-0 when they won the 2023 ACC title. Everything after that has been comically undignified — a 63-3 loss to Georgia in that year’s Orange Bowl, a 2-10 disaster in 2024 and a 5-7 flop in 2025. Norvell and the Noles are desperate for something to turn around. Ashton Daniels becomes QB1 after stints at Stanford and Auburn. His top target, Duce Robinson, is 6-foot-6 and topped 1,000 receiving yards last season.The Aggies are coming off a 4-8 campaign. Head coach Tony Sanchez is 7-17 with his alma mater. New quarterback Trey Hedden is ranked last on The Athletic’s QB tiers. An upset here would extend FSU’s ongoing humiliation ritual to new levels.The sleeper: Memphis at UNLV10 p.m. on FoxThe nightcap features two of the more consistent programs beyond the Power 4.Memphis won 10 games in 2023 and 11 in 2024 before taking a step back to 8-5 last year. Head coach Ryan Silverfield left for Arkansas, but successor Charles Huff takes on a well-funded Tigers roster that should compete for the American title. In a fun development, the defense has the Safeties Foster — Ahmere and Ian both went from Marshall to Southern Miss to Memphis. And Ian’s brother, Khalil, is a backup safety as well.UNLV seeks a third straight season of double-digit wins. The Rebels are led by Dan Mullen, who went 34-15 at Florida from 2018-21. Mullen tries a reclamation project in Jackson Arnold, the former five-star QB prospect who transferred from Auburn. Mullen said earlier in the week that both Arnold and senior Alex Orji will play Saturday. Thanks to internal improvements and conference realignment, UNLV now has a real shot to win its first Mountain West championship.Updated Week 0 oddsStreaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.