The 2026 college football season kicks off with the first partial slate of FBS games Saturday. We break down the most intriguing matchups from the limited Week 0 schedule and make predictions!
Nothing rings in the start of college football quite like seeing Bill Belichick in Carolina Blue scowling on a sideline in Dublin, Ireland.
While the college football season technically got underway earlier this week with a slate of FCS and lower-division games, the FBS schedule kicks off Saturday with Belichick’s Tar Heels taking on TCU in Dublin at noon ET on ESPN.
That’s one of eight Week 0 games Saturday, and as we’ll do each week all season at TeamFB7, it’s time to break down the best matchups and make predictions.
The Week 0 slate features two matchups between Power 4 teams, in the aforementioned Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Ireland and a showdown of ACC foes NC State and Virginia. A season of high-pressure expectations for Lincoln Riley and USC gets going in Los Angeles. And the two newest FBS programs debut with longtime FCS power North Dakota State now in the Moutain West and Sacramento State now part of the MAC.
Here’s a closer look at the five most compelling matchups of the week …
(All game times listed as ET; odds via DraftKings)
NC State at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
These could be two of the better teams in the ACC, and this one counts toward the standings (unlike the teams’ early 2025 clash that was officially a non-conference matchup).
Virginia had a program-best 11-3 record last season and reached the ACC championship game, losing to Duke. That reflected a six-win improvement from the previous season, the Cavaliers’ first winning season since 2019 and their highest finish in the final AP rankings (No. 16) since 1995.
Was it a fluke or the start of a new era of UVA football under coach Tony Elliott, who begins his fifth season with heightened expectations despite significant roster turnover.
Quarterback Chandler Morris, 1,000-yard rusher J’Mari Taylor and the team’s top three receivers Trell Harris, Jahmal Edrine and Cameron Ross are all gone. But as every team across the country now does annually, the Cavaliers restocked through the transfer portal.
Beau Pribula takes over at quarterback, moving onto his third school after serving as a backup at Penn State and getting his chance to start last year at Missouri.
The Tigers were ready to move on from Pribula after he passed for just 1,941 yards, 11 TDs and 9 INTs in 10 games while rushing for 297 yards and 6 TDs. This sets up as a defining season for his college football career.
Pribula is a much different QB than Morris, and with him the Cavaliers figure to lean more heavily on their rebuilt rushing attack this year with Middle Tennessee transfer Jekail Middlebrook (752 rushing yards, 40 catches for 412 yards and 7 totals TDs in 2025) beating out Tennessee transfer Peyton Lewis for the starting job. Both backs should get plenty of work, though.
At receiver, UCLA transfer Rico Flores (26 catches for 274 yards and 0 TDs in 2025) and UMass transfer Jacquon Gibson (63-616-0) take over on the outside with Kam Courtney (25-340-0) in the slot.
Virginia allowed the second-fewest points in the ACC last year (19.6/game) and third-fewest yards (309.5/game) but returns only 5 of the 11 starters from that unit.
This will be a telling first test for the new-look Cavaliers as NC State went 8-5 last year — winning at least 8 games for the eighth time in 13 seasons under coach Dave Doeren — and returns quarterback CJ Bailey for his third season as a starter.
Bailey was one of the most improved players in college football in 2025, passing for 3,105 yards, 25 TDs and 9 INTs while rushing for 6 TDs.
He too will have a new set of playmakers to work with, as leading rusher Hollywood Smothers transferred to Texas while his top four targets are all gone in Terrell Anderson (transferred to USC), tight end Justin Joly (NFL), Noah Rogers (Alabama) and Wesley Grimes (NFL).
The Wolfpack had Smothers’ replacement ready in-house as Jayden “Duke” Scott takes over in the backfield after rushing for 595 yards and 4 TDs on 5.6 YPC as a sophomore. Junior Keenan Jackson will hope to emerge in a bigger role to fill the void at receiver while Miami transfers JoJo Trader and Chance Robinson and fifth-year Buffalo transfer Victor Snow (62-815-8) round out the top of the rotation
For what it’s worth, NC State won the matchup last year, 35-31, before Virginia reeled off seven straight wins to vault into the rankings.
Point spread: Virginia -4
Prediction: NC State 31-26
The Cavaliers are understandably favored at home, but the overwhelming advantage at QB goes to NC State with Bailey, who should be poised to take even another step forward in 2026 while opening more eyes around the country. We’re calling the upset.
North Carolina vs. TCU in Dublin, Ireland, 12 p.m. on ESPN
Year 2 of the Belichick Era is one of the more fascinating subplots this college football season because of how badly his debut went with the Tar Heels finishing 4-8 with just two wins over P4 competition.
Belichick’s hand-picked general manager Michael Lombardi is on unpaid administrative leave, reportedly connected to a HR complaint under investigation, while defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is on indefinite medical leave and not with the team in Ireland.
Will the elder Belichick, arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, settle into the college game and silence the doubters with a bounce-back season? Or is this already the beginning of the end for a failed experiment?
Saturday should start to reveal an answer, as North Carolina’s embarrassing 48-14 season-opening loss to TCU last year indeed proved to be a tone-setter for what was to come. The teams meet again, in Ireland this time, with plenty at stake for both sides.
The Tar Heels will hope new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino still has some of his old Arkansas/Louisville magic and that new quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. saved his best for last in what is now his sixth college season at his fourth school (Wake Forest, Maryland, Wisconsin).
Junior Jordan Shipp returns as UNC’s top receiver after breaking out with 60 catches for 671 yards and 6 TDs last season despite poor QB play, while returning sophomore Demon June steps into the lead role at running back after rushing for 464 yards and 2 TDs on 5.5 YPC in his debut.
North Carolina ranked 119th nationally in scoring last season at 19.3 PPG and unless it shows considerable improvement on that side of the ball, it won’t better who is calling the defense.
TCU, meanwhile, has a new starting quarterback for the first time in four years after Josh Hoover transferred to Indiana. Jaden Craig takes over, transferring in from Harvard, where he was the starter the last two seasons and passed for 2,869 yards, 25 TDs and 7 INTs in 2025.
With leading receiver Eric McAlister gone, Jordan Dwyer steps into the featured target role after catching 54 passes for 730 yards and 7 TDs last season, but he will miss the season opener due to a foot injury. That’s significant as the Horned Frogs don’t have much proven WR depth otherwise.
Jeremy Payne returns to lead the backfield after rushing for 623 yards and 5 TDs on 5.7 YPC with 476 of those yards coming in the final five games.
Point spread: TCU -8.5
Prediction: TCU, 28-24
Dwyer’s absence is a big deal and adds to general questions about the passing attack, but Belichick and the Tar Heels aren’t getting any benefit of the doubt this year and need to show something tangible before we pick them to beat anyone of note.
San Jose State at No. 14 USC, 3 p.m. on NBC
Believe it or not, this is Year 5 for Lincoln Riley at USC and he’s yet to lead the Trojans to a playoff appearance with pressure mounting.
Riley is 35-18 overall with his best season coming way back in Year 1, when USC went 11-3. The 9-4 finish last year was Riley’s second-best in LA, and he returns one of the better quarterbacks in the country in fifth-year senior Jayden Maiava (3,711 passing yards, 24 TDs, 10 INTs, 6 rushing TDs in 2025).
Both of the team’s top running backs, Waymond Jordan (576 yards, 5 TDs, 5.6 YPC in six games before injury) and King Miller (972 yards, 8 TDs, 6.2 YPC) are also back.
And the Trojans have a mix of experience and top-tier freshmen talent across both sides of the ball after signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson steps in at defensive coordinator with plenty of talent to work with in trying to elevate a unit that ranked 49th in yards allowed (350.8/game) and 51st in scoring defense (23.0/game).
USC will look to make a strong first impression against a San Jose State team that got purged of most of its top talent in the transfer portal.
Point spread: USC -38.5
Prediction: USC, 61-13
We’re only spotlighting this game because USC is the lone ranked team in action in Week 0, and Maiava and his collection of elite playmakers are worth the watch.
Other Week 0 Games Saturday
Jacksonville State at North Dakota State, 5:30 p.m. on CBSSN: The first FBS game for North Dakota State,, which won 10 FCS national titles since 2011 and makes the move to the Mountain West this year. Point spread: NDSU -6.5
Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan, 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+: The other newcomer to the FBS, Sacramento State joins the MAC after using an aggressive NIL backing to elevate its program in recent years, but it’s going to be a big jump for a team that went 7-5 in the FCS last year. Eastern Michigan is coming off a 4-8 finish for its third straight losing season. Point spread: Eastern Michigan -8.5
Hawaii at Stanford, 7 p.m. on ACC Network: The head coaching debut of Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard, plucked from the NFL by his former Cardinal teammate and now general manager Andrew Luck. Sixth-year senior Davis Warren, a transfer from Michigan, starts at quarterback for a rebuilding Stanford squad. Hawaii returns QB Micah Alejado after he threw for 3,106 yards, 24 TDs and 9 INTs as a freshman. Point spread: Stanford -4
New Mexico State at Florida State, 7 p.m. on CW: No coach in the county is on a hotter seat entering 2026 than FCU’s Mike Norvell after going 2-10 and 5-7 the last two years. Florida State’s QB turnstile continues with Ashton Daniels transferring in from Auburn. The Seminoles do return one of the top wideouts in the country in Duce Robinson (56-1,081-6). New Mexico State went 4-8 in 2025. Point spread: Florida State -31.5
Memphis at UNLV, 10 p.m. on FOX: Memphis starts fresh with new head coach Charles Huff replacing Ryan Silverfield, who left for Arkansas. West Florida transfer Marcus Stokes reportedly beat out South Carolina transfer Air Noland for the starting QB job. UNLV looks to build on a 10-win season in coach Dan Mullen’s first year at the helm, while former Oklahoma and Auburn QB Jackson Arnold steps in to lead the offense. Point spread: UNLV -4
