Week 0 Explained

Week 0 (or Week Zero) refers to the opening weekend of college football games in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), in which a small number of games are played to begin the regular season, a week before the vast majority of teams begin their season in "Week 1".[1] [2] [3] Although the FBS football season has traditionally begun on the first Saturday before Labor Day, the NCAA has sporadically awarded waivers for games to be played a week earlier in order to bring a game to a national television audience, or as part of the "Hawaii Rule" that grants teams that play a game in Hawaii, usually away games against the Rainbow Warriors, an extra regular season home game to offset travel costs. Games in Alaska, Puerto Rico and other outlying territories would nominally count towards the Hawaii Rule, but those locales do not field FBS programs, or have venues that met NCAA minimum attendance guidelines before those were abolished in 2023.

The first Week 0 game was the 1983 Kickoff Classic, in which No. 1 Nebraska defeated No. 4 Penn State, 44–6, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[4]

For the 2020 season, the NCAA issued a blanket waiver for Week 0 games by any team, in order to allow for scheduling flexibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] However, no Division I FBS members wound up playing in a Week 0 game in 2020.

Results

Week 0 games since 2002:

Date Winner Score Loser Score Location
August 22, 2002 35 29 Scott Stadium
Charlottesville, Virginia
(Jim Thorpe Classic)
August 23, 2002 23 21 Camp Randall Stadium
Madison, Wisconsin
(John Thompson Foundation Classic)
August 24, 2002 38 31 Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri
(Eddie Robinson Classic)
August 24, 2002 34 14 Carter–Finley Stadium
Raleigh, North Carolina
(BCA Classic)
August 24, 2002 45 21 Ohio Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
(Pigskin Classic)
August 25, 2002 63 7 Lane Stadium
Blacksburg, Virginia
(Hispanic College Fund Football Classic)
August 23, 2003 42 28 KSU Stadium
Manhattan, Kansas
(BCA Classic)
August 23, 2003 29 0 Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California
(Literacy Classic)
August 28, 2004 49 0 Yager Stadium
Oxford, Ohio
August 28, 2004 24 13 FedEx Field
Landover, Maryland
(BCA Classic)
August 26, 2016 51 31 Stadium Australia
Sydney, Australia
(Sydney Cup)
August 26, 2017 20 6 LaVell Edwards Stadium
Provo, Utah
August 26, 2017 58 27 Canvas Stadium
Fort Collins, Colorado
August 26, 2017 42 22 CEFCU Stadium
San Jose, California
August 26, 2017 62 7 Sydney Football Stadium
Sydney, Australia
(Sydney Cup)
August 25, 2018 43 34 Canvas Stadium
Fort Collins, Colorado
August 25, 2018 63 15 Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Amherst, Massachusetts
August 25, 2018 31 28 Rice Stadium
Houston, Texas
August 25, 2018 29 7 Aggie Memorial Stadium
Las Cruces, New Mexico
August 24, 2019 24 20 Camping World Stadium
Orlando, Florida
(Camping World Kickoff)
August 24, 2019 45 38 Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, Hawaii
August 28, 2021 30 22 Memorial Stadium
Champaign, Illinois
August 28, 2021 45 0 Bulldog Stadium
Fresno, California
August 28, 2021 44 10 Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
August 28, 2021 45 14 CEFCU Stadium
San Jose, California
August 28, 2021 30 3 Aggie Memorial Stadium
Las Cruces, New Mexico
(Battle of I-10)
August 27, 2022 31 28 Aviva Stadium
Dublin, Ireland
(Aer Lingus College Football Classic)
August 27, 2022 38 Austin Peay27 Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Bowling Green, Kentucky
August 27, 2022 52 21 Allegiant Stadium
Paradise, Nevada
August 27, 2022 31 20 Maverik Stadium
Logan, Utah
August 27, 2022 38 6 Memorial Stadium
Champaign, Illinois
August 27, 2022 47 7 Doak Campbell Stadium
Tallahassee, Florida
August 27, 2022 43 13 FAU Stadium
Boca Raton, Florida
August 27, 2022 56 24 Kenan Memorial Stadium
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
August 27, 2022 31 13 Sun Bowl
El Paso, Texas
August 27, 2022 23 12 Aggie Memorial Stadium
Las Cruces, New Mexico
August 27, 2022 63 10 Ching Athletics Complex
Honolulu, Hawaii
August 26, 2023 42 3 Aviva Stadium
Dublin, Ireland
(Aer Lingus College Football Classic)
August 26, 2023 17 14 JSU Stadium
Jacksonville, Alabama
August 26, 2023 20 13 Snapdragon Stadium
San Diego, California
August 26, 2023 41 30 Aggie Memorial Stadium
Las Cruces, New Mexico
August 26, 2023 35 28 FirstBank Stadium
Nashville, Tennessee
August 26, 2023 56 28 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles, California
August 26, 2023 22 17 Joe Aillet Stadium
Ruston, Louisiana
August 24, 2024 Aviva Stadium
Dublin, Ireland
(Aer Lingus College Football Classic)
August 24, 2024 Ching Athletics Complex
Honolulu, Hawaii
August 24, 2024 Mackay Stadium
Reno, Nevada
August 24, 2024 University Stadium
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Rankings reflect preseason AP Poll.

Notes

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Why the "Week 0" College Football Game Is Here to Stay. Rodger. Sherman. The Ringer. August 27, 2019.
  2. Web site: When does the 2019 college football season start?. Mitchell. Northam. NCAA.com. September 1, 2019.
  3. Web site: Let's do the WEEK ZERO BIG GAME thing every year. Steven. Godfrey. Banner Society. February 3, 2020.
  4. Web site: College Football Week 0: Money, Ratings, and the NCAA Football Schedule. Off Tackle Empire. August 23, 2019.
  5. Web site: 2020-07-28. Reports: NCAA permits teams to schedule 'Week 0' games. 2020-07-31. AL.com. en.