Why is This Week of College Football Games Called Week 0?

Everything to know about Week 0.

The Ohio State Buckeyes enter the 2025 college football season as defending champions. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 college football season is upon us. First up, as has been the case for many years, is Week 0— the first week in the CFB season yet it is not called Week 1. It's when fans start to rev up the excitement for the upcoming season and usually plays host to a handful of somewhat silly games, including an international showcase.

The whole Week 0 idea is, understandably, a little confusing to those who do not eat, breathe, and sleep college football. So what's it all about? Here's what you need to know.

What is Week 0?

For most teams in college football, their first game comes in Week 1. Which makes sense. And Week 1 always takes place on Labor Day Weekend. However, a select few schools are approved to play a game on the weekend before Labor Day. This counts as an extra game on their schedule, but as it is coming before Week 1, it's been labeled Week 0.

This year, the schools who play Week 0 games are headlined by No. 22 Iowa State battling No. 17 Kansas State across the pond in Ireland. Additionally, Idaho State will take on Nevada, Fresno State plays at Kansas, Sam Houston travels to Western Kentucky, and Hawai'i will play host to Stanford.

History of Week 0

While there have been Week 0 games as far back as 1983, the modern concept of Week 0 is driven by a particular reason. Teams who play Hawai'i were allowed to either play Hawai'i in Week 0 or host an extra home game in Week 0 in order to offset travel costs. Given the money in college football nowadays it may feel like a relic of the past but the extra revenue is actually very important for teams who may not be exactly flush with alumni cash.

Otherwise, though, the NCAA has approved Week 0 games to essentially maximize viewership. This helps explain why the international showcase game is a Week 0 contest instead of coming in the middle of the season, where it may be more meaningful. The most obvious recent example came in 2019, when Florida battled Miami in a legit rivalry contest between two Power 5 schools.

In that vein, the first Week 0 game was a 1983 clash between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 4 Penn State. The Cornhuskers dominated, 44–6, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.

In 2024 Georgia Tech put on a great show in Ireland by upsetting Florida State, 24-21. It was the biggest highlight of Week 0 last year.

Week 0 Schedule

With all that background information absorbed, here's the full schedule for Week 0 of the 2024 college football season.

MATCHUP	LOCATION	TIME	CHANNEL
No. 22 Iowa State @ No. 17 Kansas State	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	12 p.m. ET	ESPN
Idaho State @ UNLV	Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas	4 p.m. ET	TBD
Fresno State @ Kansas	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kans.	6:30 p.m. ET	Fox
Sam Houston @ Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, Ky.	7 p.m. ET	CBS Sports Network
Stanford @ Hawai'i	Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu	7:30 p.m. ET	CBS