Belichick Debut Headlines Five Marquee Week 0 Matchups
College football's 2026 season opens this weekend with a Week 0 slate that includes an international showdown, a heavy home favorite and a rematch shaped by last year's upset. Five games stand out across Saturday's schedule, headlined by Bill Belichick's second game leading North Carolina against TCU in Dublin, Ireland.
North Carolina and TCU meet at noon ET at Aviva Stadium, with the Horned Frogs favored by 8.5 points and carrying a moneyline of -360. Belichick is looking to turn around a Tar Heels program that finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in conference play in 2025, and both teams will start new quarterbacks, adding uncertainty to the point-spread outlook. Later in the day, No. 14 USC hosts San Jose State as a 38.5-point favorite, with the total set at 61.5 - the Trojans beat the Spartans 56-0 in their most recent meeting, in 2023. dust2 us
NC State visits Virginia at 3:30 p.m. ET, with the Cavaliers favored by 4.5 points despite missing preseason rankings in both the AP and Coaches polls, though they received votes in each. Virginia will also start a new quarterback after last season's starter signed an undrafted free-agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the evening window, Stanford hosts Hawaii at 7 p.m. ET as a 4.5-point favorite, seeking payback after the Rainbow Warriors won last year's meeting 23-20.
The night concludes with Memphis at UNLV at 10 p.m. ET on FOX, with the Rebels favored by 4.5 points off a 10-2 record in 2025. Memphis finished 8-4 last season, a campaign that opened with a six-game winning streak. All five games set the tone for a season that will test new starting quarterbacks, coaching changes and preseason expectations before conference play begins in earnest.
