Does College Football Start This Weekend?

We don’t have to wait too long for a National Championship-worthy college football matchup. In two weeks (August 30), No. 1 Texas goes on the road to battle No. 3 Ohio State in a hotly anticipated battle between two title contenders. You’d think that a game of this magnitude would take place on Saturday night, but nope! The Buckeyes/Longhorns matchup starts at… noon?!

The first AP poll of the 2025 season was recently released, with the Penn State Nittany Lions (No. 2), Clemson Tigers (No. 4), and Georgia Bulldogs (No. 5) joining Texas and Ohio State in the top five. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oregon Ducks, Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, and Miami Hurricanes round out the top ten.

When exactly does the new college football season start? Here’s everything you need to know.

Does College Football Start This Weekend?

Nope. Sadly, there’s no college football this weekend, but there is preseason NFL football!

When Does College Football Start?

College football action begins Saturday, August 23 at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN when Kansas State and Iowa State collide in Dublin, Ireland.

College Football Schedule 2025:

Here are a few of the marquee matchups for Week 1 of the college football season:

Saturday, August 23:

• Iowa State @ Kansas State (12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN)
• Fresno State @ Kansas (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX)
• Stanford @ Hawai’i (7:30 p.m. ET on CBS)

Thursday, August 28:

No. 25 Boise State @ South Florida (5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)

Friday, August 29:

Western Illinois @ No.12 Illinois (7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock)

Saturday, August 30:

• No. 1 Texas @ No. 3 Ohio State (12:00 p.m. ET on FOX)
• Nevada @ No. 2 Penn State (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+)
• No. 8 Alabama @ Florida State (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
• Marshall @ No.5 Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)
• North Dakota @ No. 17 Kansas State (7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+)
• No. 9 LSV @ No. 4 Clemson (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
• New Mexico @ No. 14 Michigan (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock)

Sunday, August 31:

No. 6 Notre Dame @ No. 10 Miami (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)

Monday, September 1:

TCU @ North Carolina (8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN)