Week 0 Is Dead—Here’s How College Football Should Start the Season
The college football season officially begins with Week 0, a week that often leaves fans wondering why the season doesn’t simply start with Week 1. In recent years, some of the opening games have been played internationally, including matchups in Ireland, as college football continues to expand its global audience and attract fans from around the world. While that is a positive for the sport, the teams playing on that weekend are still technically beginning their seasons. The majority of programs across the country, however, don’t take the field until the following week, which is officially known as Week 1. That raises an interesting question: Why doesn’t every program play during Week 0? Fans across the country are eager to see college football return, but Week 0 often fails to live up to the excitement surrounding the start of a new season. With only a handful of games on the schedule, it feels more like a preview than the true beginning of college football. It may be time to rethink the way Week 0 is structured. The Division 1 football committee recently voted to remove week 0 from the schedule starting in 2027 but there needs to be a better plan to start the season off right!
One way to improve the start of the season would be to add more marquee matchups or feature popular teams to generate excitement and build momentum for the start of the season. The matchups we have seen in the past have often been mediocre, and fans across the country do not seem to tune in. Instead, many simply wait until the following weekend, when the majority of college football teams begin their seasons.
Another option would be to move the Army-Navy game to Week 1 and make it their dedicated weekend to play. No other teams would play on that day, making it a special tradition that fans across the country could look forward to every year. The Army-Navy game already attracts a large national audience, so using it to officially kick off the college football season could create a much stronger opening weekend. This would also allow the regular season to wrap up earlier, giving the College Football Playoff committee the opportunity to begin the playoff process sooner and ultimately move the postseason along faster.
Instead, we should rethink the schedule and start the season earlier, allowing teams across the country to begin their seasons a week earlier than in years past. Coaches around the country have expressed concerns that the college football season has become too long, with the transfer portal opening during the playoffs and even the second semester of college beginning before the postseason is over. Starting earlier would not only give fans the opportunity to enjoy their favorite sport earlier in the year, but it could also help improve the overall structure and scheduling of the college football season.
