Week 0 is here, and the 2026 FCS football season is officially underway. A shift to 9-game conference schedules across several leagues has pushed some real, meaningful matchups into the opening week instead of the usual round of tune-up games.
Keep an eye on these early conference showdowns: William & Mary at Villanova, Lehigh at Holy Cross, Eastern Washington at Northern Arizona, Montana against Southern Utah, and Stephen F. Austin on the road at McNeese.
Our preseason FCS Top 25 features two head-to-head clashes this week. No. 14 Abilene Christian hits the road to face No. 21 Lamar in a rematch of last year's first-round playoff game, one the Wildcats came away with. Meanwhile, No. 15 Tennessee Tech opens at home against No. 25 Monmouth, with the Golden Eagles looking to back up their preseason hype and the Hawks beginning a new chapter under first-year head coach Jeff Gallo.
Here's the full rundown of the top Week 0 games, including every matchup involving a team from our preseason Top 25.
Thursday, August 27
- Maine at Towson (6 pm ET)
- Stony Brook at Delaware State (RV) (6 pm ET)
- Mercyhurst at No. 10 Youngstown State (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Ohio Dominican at Morehead State (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Glenville State at Elon (7 pm ET)
- Eastern Illinois at Murray State (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Lafayette (RV) at Georgetown (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Gardner-Webb at No. 18 Austin Peay (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Charleston Southern (RV) at Lindenwood (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Northwestern (IA) at Western Illinois (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Chattanooga at West Georgia (RV) (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- UVA-Wise at Presbyterian (RV) (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Winona State at St. Thomas (7 pm ET)
- Houston Christian at No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Anderson (SC) at Furman (RV) (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Mississippi Valley State at Nicholls (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- No. 16 Southern Illinois at West Florida (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Concord at Davidson (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Central Arkansas at UT Martin (RV) (7:30 pm ET, ESPN+)
- South Dakota Mines at Drake (7:30 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Long Island at No. 8 North Dakota (8 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Louisiana Christian at Northwestern State (8 pm ET, ESPN+)
Friday, August 28
- No. 7 Rhode Island at Merrimack (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Colgate at Fordham (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- William & Mary at No. 9 Villanova (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Marist at New Haven (6 pm ET)
- New Hampshire (RV) at UAlbany (7 pm ET)
- Idaho at Cal Poly (10 pm ET, ESPN)
Saturday, August 29
- Robert Morris at Wagner (Noon ET, ESPN+)
- Fairmont State at Dayton (Noon ET)
- Roosevelt at Chicago State (Noon ET)
- Georgetown (KY) at Butler (1 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Central Connecticut State at No. 13 South Dakota (2 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Lawrence Tech at Valparaiso (2 pm ET, ESPN+)
- No. 5 UC Davis at Portland State (3 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Southern vs. Alabama State (RV) (3 pm ET, ESPNU)
- No. 12 Lehigh at Holy Cross (3:30 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Eastern Washington at No. 22 Northern Arizona (5 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Campbell at East Tennessee State (RV) (5:30 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Virginia-Lynchburg at Hampton (6 pm ET)
- Morgan State at North Carolina A&T (6 pm ET)
- Bryant at Stonehill (6 pm ET)
- Southeast Missouri State at Indiana State (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Winston-Salem State at Norfolk State (6 pm ET)
- Savannah State at No. 24 South Carolina State (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Bucknell at Richmond (RV) (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- VMI at No. 23 Idaho State (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- The Citadel at Wofford (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
- No. 25 Monmouth at No. 15 Tennessee Tech (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- North Carolina Central at Texas Southern (7 pm ET)
- No. 14 Abilene Christian at No. 21 Lamar (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina (RV) (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Samford vs. North Alabama (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- No. 11 Stephen F. Austin at McNeese (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Morehouse at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (7 pm ET)
- Albany State at Florida A&M (7 pm ET)
- Clark Atlanta at Grambling State (7 pm ET)
- Stetson at No. 2 South Dakota State (7 pm ET)
- East Texas A&M at No. 20 Mercer (7 pm ET, ESPN)
- St. Francis (IL) at No. 6 Illinois State (7 pm ET, ESPN+)
- Miles at Alcorn State (7 pm ET)
- Oklahoma Panhandle State at Incarnate Word (7 pm ET)
- Alabama A&M vs. Howard (7:30 pm ET, ABC)
- UT Permian Basin at UTRGV (RV) (8 pm ET, ESPN+)
Rankings reflect our preseason FCS Top 25. Check back throughout the week for game previews and predictions.
