When does college football start: Q&A for 2023 season schedule
When does college football start? What you need to know for the 2023 schedule
"Week 0" kicks off the season on Saturday, Aug. 26 with seven games on the schedule. The rest of the country will begin the season in traditional Week 1 action the following weekend to kick off the month of September.
Related: ESPN reveals 2023 preseason college football rankings
Week 0 College Football Schedule
Week 0 is typically when a lot of smaller schools start things out, but two major programs are in on the early action as both Notre Dame and USC play their openers on Sat., Aug. 26.
Navy vs. Notre Dame (Dublin). Our first look at Sam Hartman in a Fighting Irish uniform after the veteran quarterback, and the ACC's all-time record holder in touchdown passes, transferred to Notre Dame to play behind one of college football's best lines and alongside some of the game's better running backs, too. 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
San Jose State at USC. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams returns with a real shot at winning another, and potentially joining Archie Griffin in that elite company, at the helm of one of what should be one of college football's most explosive offenses. But how will the Trojans' defense regroup? The unit nearly cost it in some games last season and then did in the Pac-12 title bout and the Cotton Bowl. 8 p.m. ET on Pac-12 Network
- North Alabama vs. Mercer
- UTEP at Jacksonville State
- Fordham at Albany
- UMass at New Mexico State
- Ohio at San Diego State
- Hawaii at Vanderbilt
- Jackson State vs. SC State
- FIU at Louisiana Tech
Week 1 College Football Schedule
Your look at the best early games on the 2023 college football schedule
Thursday, Aug. 31
Florida at Utah. The first matchup went to the Gators to open last season, but the teams went in opposite directions after that: Florida finished 6-7 and lost its quarterback to the NFL, while Utah went on to win the Pac-12 and returns some vital pieces, including star quarterback Cameron Rising. Utah looks to be in position to avenge that loss and take a big early step towards what would be its third-straight Pac-12 title. 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Related: The complete 2023 college football schedule
Nebraska at Minnesota. Our first look at what Matt Rhule has been able to put together at Nebraska after a whirlwind debut offseason that has Cornhusker fans optimistic and looking forward to the program's comeback, against a Gophers team that lost key playmakers in an early Big Ten West showcase. 8 p.m. on Fox
Saturday, Sept. 2
A battle of the Carolinas to open the 2023 college football season
USA Today Images
Colorado at TCU. Our first look at the Buffaloes under the leadership of Deion Sanders, who made the biggest splash of the offseason by leaving Jackson State to rebuild the Colorado program, which he overhauled with a tidal wave of outgoing and incoming transfer portal players. And a worthy opponent in the national title runner-up Horned Frogs who, while they gained some prominent transfers, also lost a ton of talent, including their top quarterback, receiver, running back, and offensive coordinator. 12 p.m. ET on Fox
Virginia vs. Tennessee. An ACC vs. SEC matchup from Nashville pits a Virginia team looking at a rebuild against a Volunteers squad that, while it just lost the core of what was college football's No. 1 total offense, still brings back plenty of talent to make another run at the SEC East title. 12 p.m. ET on ABC
Related: SEC football power rankings for 2023
Ohio State at Indiana. Hoosiers coach Tom Allen might be on the hot seat coming in against a heavily-favored Buckeyes squad that has some questions of its own on the roster, namely at quarterback as Ryan Day looks to replace Heisman finalist CJ Stroud and on the offensive line, all while fielding what might be the best collection of skill talent in the nation. 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
More: Big Ten football power rankings for 2023
West Virginia at Penn State. This was a fun rivalry dating back to 1904, but the schools haven't played since 1992. Penn State won a 45-point game against the Mountaineers back in '91 and in 2023, the Nittany Lions look like the better, more well-rounded team, coming off an impressive Rose Bowl victory, against a WVU squad whose coach, Neal Brown, is decidedly on the hot seat. 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
North Carolina vs. South Carolina. Drake Maye is back for the Tar Heels as a consensus top 10 quarterback in college football, if not top five, and Spencer Rattler returns for the Gamecocks. But UNC has questions defensively and after losing OC Phil Longo, while USC saw some prominent transfers depart, including tight end Jaheim Bell and edge rusher Jordan Burch. 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Coastal Carolina at UCLA. Grayson McCall entered the transfer portal but then came back to the Chanticleers for another run to build on his 8,000-yard passing career against a Bruins team trending up but that lost its top two playmakers, but gained notable transfers in quarterback Collin Schlee, running back Carson Steele, and receiver J. Michael Sturdivant. 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Keep up: College football transfer portal tracker for 2023's top players
Sunday, Sept. 3
LSU vs. Florida State. These teams played a crazy back-and-forth game that FSU won by a single point and both sides went on to have excellent seasons, the Seminoles winning 10 games for the first time since 2016 and LSU winning the SEC West and taking down Alabama.
Both quarterbacks return to this game — FSU's Jordan Travis and LSU's Jayden Daniels — in addition to defensive stars — the Noles' Jared Verse and the Tigers' Maason Smith and Harold Perkins. Moreover, each school signed an elite transfer portal class of contributors on both sides of the ball. 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
2023 College Football Playoff schedule
Looking ahead to the College Football Playoff
USA Today Images
Jan. 1, 2024 Rose Bowl
Jan. 1, 2024 Sugar Bowl
Jan. 8, 2024 National Championship
Related: College football bowl schedule 2023-24: Games, Dates, TV Channels
This is the 10th year that college football has a playoff system, which replaced the former Bowl Championship Series (BCS) ahead of the 2014 season, and the last year before the playoff expands to 12 teams in 2024.
Ohio State won the first championship under the current system.
Alabama (2015, ’17, ’20), Clemson (2016 and ’18), and Georgia (2021, '22) are the only programs to win multiple titles in the playoff era.
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