College football got off to a partial start last weekend, with what has become known as Week 0 kicking off the season.
The marquee matchup of the weekend was Bill Belichick and North Carolina facing off against TCU in Ireland, with the Tar Heels pulling out the upset in front of a televised audience of 4.9 million, peaking at 5.8 million. ESPN noted that those ratings were a 10% bump over last year’s kickoff game and the second-most-watched Week 0 game since 2019.
NC State vs. Virginia, despite being something of a blowout with the Cavaliers winning 34–8, still drew 3.2 million viewers, while the MEAC/SWAC game between Howard and Alabama A&M drew 1.2 million.
Week 0 of @ESPNCFB kicked off in a big way this past Saturday
🏈 @cfbireland scored 4.9M avg. viewers on ESPN to win the week
🏈 @PackFootball–@UVAFootball delivered 3.2M avg. viewers
🏈 2nd most-watched @MEAC_SWAC on record pic.twitter.com/AzN7mStS5s— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 1, 2026
Despite the ratings, 2026 also marked the final Week 0 as we know it.
The Week 0 phenomenon was the result of a quirk in the scheduling rules of college football, which allowed teams playing an international game or against Hawaii to start their season a week early to compensate for extra travel. In recent years, it has become a soft launch for the college football season, whetting fans’ appetites before a full slate of games the following week.
But a decision from the FBS Oversight Committee last week officially moved up the start of the college football season by a week for all teams, thus eliminating Week 0 as we know it.
The move makes sense for college football, as it allows them another full week of wall-to-wall coverage before the NFL kicks off. Still, it means the end of one of the many idiosyncrasies that make college football the weird but beloved sport that it is.
About Tyler Lauletta
Tyler is a editorial contributor at Awful Announcing, with previous stops at Sports Illustrated and Business Insider during his career covering sports in digital media. He is, begrudgingly, a Truster of the Process and general Philly sports sicko.