Welcome back from summer break! (We’re bummed that everyone’s been moving, but they swear they’ll stay in touch.) It’s been a while since we saw Georgia-TCU in the national championship game, but we hope you’re well-rested, sporting new team T-shirts, and ready for the semi-official kickoff for this year’s college football season.
For this season’s inaugural edition of the CableTV.com College Football Watch Guide, let’s break down the best college football games for Week 0.
CableTV.com’s Game of the Week
Last year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic featured Nebraska and Northwestern playing in Dublin, and it might go down as an all-timer for retroactive bad vibes. Nebraska’s loss was the beginning of the end for the much-maligned Scott Frost era, while Northwestern followed its win with a whopping 11-game losing streak.
Notre Dame and Navy kick off this year’s series, and both teams are working through a fair amount of turnover. After making it through a rough early-season patch in his first season, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman must break in a new quarterback in Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman along with a new offensive coordinator.
As for Navy, new head coach Brian Newberry won’t exclusively run the option, which is the schematic equivalent of replacing your Diet Coke habit with fried chicken skins.
Interested in college football games this week?
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More college football TV schedule picks
Watch USC vs. San José State | Pac-12
There’s a legitimate reason why USC’s opening its season on Week 0 this year—via the Los Angeles Times, it’s because BYU backed out of its planned matchup after moving to the Big 12. But if you’re wondering why you can’t see Caleb Williams kick off his post-Heisman campaign and USC’s final Pac-12 season on a major network, USC’s athletic department also has some thoughts on the topic!
Watch Hawai’i vs. Vanderbilt | SEC Network
Vanderbilt football has had a rough go of things since James Franklin left Nashville, but coach Clark Lea’s provided some signs of hope for weary ‘Dores fans.
Last season’s 5-7 record was Vandy’s best record since 2018—it included upset wins over Florida and Kentucky and a 63-point season opener win against Hawai’i that marked Vandy’s highest point total since 1969.
This year’s Vanderbilt opener is a rematch with the Rainbow Warriors, which also marks one of the rare times we’ll get a Hawai’i game in Eastern primetime (assuming the field’s finished in time for kickoff).
Vanderbilt has a home football game in 11 days.
— Saturday Down South (@SatDownSouth) August 15, 2023
This was yesterday. pic.twitter.com/87ds8khTDX
Watch Ohio vs. San Diego State | FS1
Defending MAC East Division champion Ohio kicks off its season out west against almost-Pac-12 or potential-Pac-4 member San Diego State. Ohio got picked to repeat as a division champion in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) preseason poll thanks to returning players like quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
Best college football schedule this weekend
Wondering who’s playing college football today? Here’s the full week 0 college football schedule. For a complete list of games and channels, head to the NCAA’s college football TV schedule and times page.
College football schedule week 0
Game | Date | Time (ET) | Channels |
---|---|---|---|
Navy vs. #13 Notre Dame | Saturday, August 26 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC/Peacock |
UTEP at Jacksonville State | Saturday, August 26 | 5:30 p.m. | CBS Sports Network |
UMass at New Mexico State | Saturday, August 26 | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN |
Ohio at San Diego State | Saturday, August 26 | 7:00 p.m. | FS1 |
Hawai’i at Vanderbilt | Saturday, August 26 | 7:30 p.m. | ABC |
San José State at #6 USC | Saturday, August 26 | 8:00 p.m. | Pac-12 |
Florida International at Louisiana Tech | Saturday, August 26 | 9:00 p.m. | CBS Sports Network |
Data effective as of post date.