Spring Football Begins in February for These 3 College Football Teams

FBS football programs have 15 dates in the spring to conduct practices. Three Power Four schools are planning to kick off those practices starting in February, including two that need bounce-back performances after lackluster 2025 campaigns.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are one of three Power 4 schools starting spring practice in February as they plan to return to their traditional Red-White Game format. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

The college football season ended just one month ago with Indiana defeating Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship, but preparations are already being made for the start of the 2026 season. A trio of Power 4 Conference schools are scheduled to commence spring practices before the month of February concludes.

Spring football at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level often waits until students return from spring break in March, but every year there are schools that like to get things rolling earlier. The NCAA allows 15 spring practice dates and schools have 34 days to complete those 15 dates once practice has started.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders asked the NCAA to allow his team to scrimmage Syracuse this spring, but that request was denied. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders petitioned the NCAA to allow his team to scrimmage another team during the spring, but the association rejected that petition and reaffirmed that all spring football competition must be intrasquad.

Sanders’ appeal comes at a time when most schools are moving away from official spring games, choosing instead to conduct private intrasquad scrimmages for their final spring practice if they have structured competition at all. Those 15 spring football dates are still important for coaches to prepare their teams for success next fall, however. Here is a look at three Power 4 schools that are planning to get their teams on the field later this month.

Nebraska (February 21)

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule changed the 2025 spring game format in Lincoln, but is expected to reinstate tradition for 2026. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will be the first Power 4 program to hit the practice field for spring football in 2026, with plans to start this Saturday. Nebraska has one of the strongest spring football traditions, and their annual spring game regularly drew over 60,000 fans to Memorial Stadium each year.

Attendance for last year’s spring football game at Nebraska dropped to an estimated 10,000 fans, however, after changes to the format that included non-contact competition and no live broadcast of the event. Head coach Matt Rhule expressed concerns related to the Transfer Portal and other teams being able to use the event to scout his players as reasons for the change last year. 

With no transfer portal window this spring, however, and the Cornhuskers coming off an uninspiring 7-6 campaign in Rhule’s third season at the helm, Nebraska is expected to return this year’s spring game to the traditional Red-White Game format on March 28.

Clemson (February 25)

Clemson's Dabo Swinney will be one of the coaches on the hot seat entering his 18th season leading the Tigers. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co Inc SC / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers are coming off their worst record since the 2010 season, and look to bounce back under 18-year head coach Dabo Swinney. A return to form may be needed for Swinney to stay at Clemson beyond next season, as he will be among the coaches on the hot seat going into 2026.

The 2026 Clemson roster is expected to look significantly different than last year, particularly at quarterback where Cade Klubnik departed for the NFL Draft after three years at the helm of the Tiger’s offense. In total, Clemson lost 35 players between the Transfer Portal and exhausted eligibility from last season’s roster.

Clemson did add 30 new players this off-season via the Transfer Portal and their 2026 recruiting class. Both the offense and defense ranked eighth in the ACC last season, but it is difficult to see where improvements will come from next season with so many new faces. Maybe that is why Swinney and Co. are kicking off spring football early this off-season.

BYU (February 27)

Bear Bachmeier is back in 2026 to lead the BYU offense after a stellar true freshman season at quarterback for the Cougars. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

According to Mitch Harper of KSL Sports, BYU is set to kick off its spring practice schedule on February 27. The Cougars are coming off an impressive 2025 campaign that saw them finish 11th in the final AP Top 25 poll for the season after just missing out on the College Football Playoff.

The 2025 season started off inauspiciously when projected starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff left the program in July after he was faced with a seven-game suspension for breaking the school’s honor code. In place of Retzlaff, who transferred to Tulane and started all 14 games for the Green Wave, Bear Bachmeier would become the first true freshman in BYU history to start the season opener at quarterback.

BYU avoided losing long-time head coach Kalani Sitake in the off-season after he was a subject of Penn State’s head coaching search. The Cougars return plenty of offensive firepower around Bachmeier, including running back LJ Martin, who considered jumping to the NFL this off-season, as well as 1,000-yard wide receiver Parker Kingston.

Kalani Sitake is returning to BYU for his 11th season after being the target of Penn State's coaching search in the offseason. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images