College Football Week 0 Preview

Zak Drapeau
49 minutes ago
4 min read

by Zak Drapeau

Sportz Nation - 8/25/2026

Photo Credits to Ricardo B. Brazziell/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images

College Football will return this Saturday with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland between TCU and North Carolina at Noon. The rest of the schedule for "Week 0" is only 7 more games in the FBS including only 1 consensus Top-25 team.

Even though we won't see most of the teams we are most excited about this week, let's give the start of the season it's respect. The Coaches AP Poll has already been released and given their version of the Top-25 teams in the country as well as Sportz Nation's Poll as well.

Well, as we get into the season I am officially putting out my own poll which will be continuously changing every week. If you're not familiar with the series, I will be releasing this preview every Wednesday with an updated poll, biggest games of the week, predictions and more.

Zak's Top-25 Poll

Photo Credits to Kirby Lee via Imagn images

1. Oregon

2. Ohio State

3. Georgia

4. Notre Dame

5. Texas

6. Indiana

7. Miami

8. Texas A&M

9. Texas Tech

10. LSU

11. Oklahoma

12. Alabama

13. Ole Miss

14. USC

15. Michigan

16. BYU

17. Washington

18. Penn St

19. Louisville

20. SMU

21. Utah

22. Florida

23. Iowa

24. Clemson

25. Tennessee

Others Receiving Votes:

Houston, South Carolina, Oklahoma St and Mizzou

There's too much to break down here before we even get into the season so instead I'm going to talk about several talking points that are either contradictory to the AP Poll or something I want to mention before we gt rolling.

1. Notre Dame is definitely Top-5 but I'm not all in on C.J. Carr just yet and their schedule won't do them any favors.

2. Texas Tech easily has a Top-10 roster but we need to pay attention to their Quarterback play

3. I'm much higher on Alabama than most. I believe their defense will be Top-10 all season and their running game should be better

4. I like Utah returning Dampier at QB but their roster turnover was HUGE with Whittingham going to Michigan

5. The #25 slot could've been SO MANY teams but I like Tennessee's experience and their returning starters in the run game.

Biggest Games

of the Week

- Memphis at UNLV

(UNLV -218)

Of the 8 games slotted for Saturday, Memphis and UNLV are the 2nd and 3rd highest ranked on both the AP Poll and my own, (others receiving votes). This will be the first time in history these schools have played in football. UNLV had a particularly strong 2025, finishing at 10-4 and losing in the Mountain West Championship. Memphis had a decent, 8-5 season although when QB Brandon Lewis got injured late in the season their performance showed.

UNLV's coach Dan Mullen has won 30 games in the past season and after heavy losses in the offseason, bring in once-touted Quarterback Jackson Arnold to start the season. The Rebels are the favorites in this game, and they're the better roster on paper and were definitely the better team in 2025.

- San Jose State at 14USC

(USC -50000)

The only game that features a ranked team will be when the Spartans travel to Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles. The Trojans have been on the upswing for years now and it seems like 2026 will be the culmination of Lincoln Riley's program. As well as earning the #1 recruiting class in 2025, USC brought in a few marquee talents to bolster their roster.

Behind Quarterback Jaydan Maiava and their backfield duo of Waymond Jordan and King Miller, this team should be one of the premier offenses and teams in the country and should be able to easily get past their state rivals in this one. After going 3-9 last season, the Spartans relied heavily on the transfer portal and should at least put up a fight... through the first half.

Photo Credits to Chris Seward via Associated Press

- North Carolina vs TCU

(TCU -310)

The kickoff to the College Football season will happen in Dublin this year in a rematch from last year's between TCU (#31 on Zak's poll) and UNC. This will be Bill Belichick's 2nd season in charge of UNC and the all time great will seriously be in the hot seat if he loses this one again.

Along with Year 2 under Belichick, Bobby Petrino was brought in to head the offesne that has gotten much better through the portal. Rather than bringing in elite names, Belichick instead brought in 18 "B+ players" this offseason to build a consistent team throughout. TCU did similar but brought in a QB and Guard combo that will define their season. Jaden Craig was a highly-efficient QB from Harvard that will take the reigns this season and combined with Sonny Sykes Air Raid system should have a monster season which starts with a win in Week 0.