Louisville Fan's Viewing Guide to College Football Week Zero

We made it! It’s been 222 days since the losingest program in college football history; the Indiana Hoosiers & their Heisman trophy winner Fernando Mendoza lifted the national championship trophy. They of course defeated Miam on their home field that night. Who can forget that the Hoosiers paid Louisville a million dollars to cancel their previously agreed upon matchup in 2025 & the Cards beat that same Hurricane team as a 13 pt road underdog… but I digress.

222 days also symbolizes the most points scored in a college football game when Georgia Tech defeated the Cumberland Bulldogs, 222-0 in 1916. I believe that unique “scorigami” will never be in danger, but as a fan of the sport, we hope to see plenty of fireworks in this 2026 season.

While the FCS got things going Thursday night (we saw Louisville’s week two opponent, Villanova, blow a 10-point lead to William & Mary with a minute left last night), we get things going at the FBS level today!

Five ACC teams are in action (four of which Louisville will play this season), two teams make their FBS debuts (Sacramento State and North Dakota State) and we get a late-night group-of-five matchup in Vegas with playoff implications (Memphis-UNLV).

UNC vs TCU(-8.5), noon ESPN in Dublin, Ireland

Bobby Petrino takes the reigns for Bill Belichick’s offense in Chapell Hill after an abysmal opening season at UNC, going 4-8. The Tar Heels welcome in Maryland transfer, Billy Edwards Jr at QB & TCU brings in Jaden Craig, who had 48 passing touchdowns at Harvard last season.

These two teams met in the opener last season and the Horned Frogs came away with a 34-point road win. North Carolina is 0-8 all time vs the Big 12. However, UNC has built a stout defense in the portal and these international games usually are sloppy and low scoring. I believe Bellichick eliminated players he did not see fit for his “culture” and has brought in enough defensive pieces to get the Heels back to a bowl & competitive weekly.

Louisville will travel to Chapel Hill November 14th in an intriguing matchup coaching wise, with Petrino, Garrick Mcgee & Matt Lombardi all on the Carolina staff. The two teams last met in 2017, when Lamar Jackson led Louisville to a 47-35 win.

Pick: UNC +8.5

NC State @ Virginia(-4), 3:30 pm ESPN

This was a game originally slated to be played in Brazil, but common sense prevailed and they moved it to Charlottesville. Dave Doeren has a Wolfpack team that went 8-4 last year and returns QB CJ Bailey (threw for 3,100 yds and 25 TDs in 2025.) UVA loses a ton (QB, 1,000 yd rusher & top three receivers) from a team that went to the ACC championship game last season.

UVA has a laundry list of injuries and players out that they reported to the ACC on Thursday. While a lot of chatter in the offseason was on CJ Bailey, his athleticism and whether he can take NC State to the next level. These two teams met last season and the Wolfpack won 35-31. The Wolfpack have also won their last 3 trips to Charlottesville.

Louisville will travel to Raleigh for its first true road game on October 3rd. It will be Louisville’s latest first road game since 2015. The Cards lead the all-time series 9-4 and won the last meeting 13-10 in Jeff Brohm’s first season.

Pick: NC State +4 & ML

Hawaii @ Stanford(-4) 7 pm ACC Network

Stanford is coming off a 4-8 season and welcomes first year head coach Tavita Prtichard. The Cardinal return 14 starters for a program led by GM Andrew Luck, who is committed to re-establishing a standard of excellence that he helped build under David Shaw. The Cardinal quarterback is expected to be Davis Warren, who started nine games at Michigan in 2024, before being sidelined by injury. Stanford traveled over 26,000 miles last season, more than the circumference of the earth!

Hawaii beat Stanford 23-20 on the islands in week zero last season, then knocked off fellow ACC foe California in the Hawaii Bowl to end the season. It’s Timmy Chang’s fifth season at his alma mater & they return quarterback Micah Alejado who threw for 3,100 yards and 24 TDs a season ago. The Warriors have improved their record each season under Chang, and I think their offense will prosper this season.

Louisville faces Stanford October 31st at L&N Cardinal Stadium. In the only two meetings between the two teams, Stanford knocked off the Cards 38-35 as a 21-point home underdog in 2024. The Cards will be hungry for revenge this season.

Pick: Hawaii +4

New Mexico State @ Florida State(-31.5) 7 pm The CW

Mike Norvell could have one of the hottest seats in America going into 2026. He led the Noles to a 13-0 start in 2023, but since then has been 7-18. The Noles recently announced they only have about 27,000 season ticket holders for this season, so the pressure is on. They return 11 starters from a 5-7 team a season ago. Ashton Daniels transfers in who has 25 career starts (22 at Stanford, 3 at Auburn) & return one of the most electrifying players in the country in Duce Robinson who 1,081 receiving yards last season.

New Mexico State is 7-27 since losing Diego Pavia in the portal after the 2023 season. They bring in Furman transfer Trey Hedden at quarterback, who threw for 4,734 yards last season.

Louisville will host FSU for a Friday night game on October 9th. The two teams have alternated two game winning streaks over the last 10 matchups. FSU won the last two in the series (35-31 @ Louisville in 2022, 16-6 in ACC Championship game in 2023).

Pick: FSU -31.5

Other Games:

UNLV hosts Memphis in a big matchup when you think about the group of five spot in the playoff. Memphis lost Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas after an 8-5 season last year. They return one starter and bring in an FCS transfer at quarterback for first year coach, Charles Huff. The Tigers plugged their roster with power-four conference transfers.

Dan Mullen will look to take the Rebels a step further and build off their 10 win season from last year. They welcome in Auburn transfer Jackson Arnold at quarterback, who should be electrifying in the Mountain West. Pick: UNLV -4

USC brings in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, to pair with Jaiden Maiava in his senior season at quarterback and a top-10 running back room in the country. The offense should score at will as a 38.5 point favorite at 3 pm on NBC. Pick: USC -38.5

Two teams make their FBS debuts today.

North Dakota State takes a step up in class, boasting 18 national championships at lower levels of collegiate football. They host Jacksonville State, who went 9-5 and won the Veterans Bowl over Troy last season. The Fargo Dome should be at capacity today for the 5:30 matchup on CBS Sports Network.

Sacramento State joins the MAC (make that make sense). They will travel to Eastern Michigan for their first FBS game today in Chris Creighton’s 13th season in Ypsilanti. The Eagles will try to get to a bowl for the first time since 2023. Kick is at 6:30 on ESPN+.

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