College football leaders evaluating Week 0 start to season
As the back end of the college football season keeps expanding for upper-echelon teams, a proposal is now on the table to turn the early Week 0 window for select games into the new start to the season.
By moving the season up one week for all teams, not just those who obtain a waiver for an early start, the college football season would gain a 12th week as soon as 2026. It would also give teams an option for an additional bye week during the season.
All of the discussion about when to start the season comes as changes to the College Football Playoff format have been tabled for now. After moving to a 12-team playoff last season, the postseason could expand to as many as 16 teams with five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams.
The proposed changes to the front and back ends of the schedule have come at the current gathering of Division I conference commissioners this week at Asheville, N.C.
'My view is we should have a consistent start date,' SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports. 'The adage is teams make their most substantial improvement between games one and two. I think we should have a consistent start date. Labor Day weekend has been a good start date for college football.'
The new start date proposal would move Labor Day weekend to the second week of the season.
There are four games scheduled for Week 0 this season (Aug. 23): Kansas State and Iowa State will meet in Dublin, Ireland, while Fresno State is at Kansas, Sam Houston is at Western Kentucky and Stanford will play at Hawaii.
Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
38 minutes ago
- USA Today
Steve Sarkisian makes bold statement about Longhorns football
Steve Sarkisian ranks Longhorns football as nations best Since arriving in Austin, Steve Sarkisian has turned the Texas Longhorns into one of the best football programs in the country. That is poised to continue with the top-ranked 2025 recruiting class in the country. The Longhorns have also been busy building for 2026 with 15 commits, two of whom are five-star prospects. Due to the on-field results, Sarkisian is one of the best coaches in the nation. Recently, the Longhorns head coach made an appearance on the '3rd and Longhorn' show and explained why he believes that the Forty Acres is the best place in the country to play college football. "I honestly think this is the best place in the country to come play football at," Sarkisian said. "I firmly believe that, and I think we have the stats, the nuances and the information to back that up," Sarkisian said. "Who's the one school that's gone to back-to-back college football playoffs, back-to-back semifinals? Who's the one school their first year in the SEC that went to the SEC Championship game? Who has the most draft picks in the NFL draft over the last two years? ... Who has last year signed the best class in the country, the year before that a top-three class in the country, the year before that a top-five recruiting class in the country?' Under Sarkisian's leadership, Texas has become a fixture in the College Football Playoff. Last year, they fell two wins short of a national title and are one of the early favorites as the regular season quickly approaches. While football is his specialty, Sarkisian also highlighted where Texas stands academically. "Name another school who's getting compared to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, but on the flip side is getting compared to Georgia, Ohio State, and Alabama on the football field," Sarkisian said. While, in the end, Sarkisian's impact will be measured in wins and losses, he did not hold back when expressing his support for the school he calls home. The Longhorns' leader made it clear that the university has his support across several areas, beyond athletics.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Three Florida Gators on ESPN's way-too-early 2026 NBA big board
Florida basketball just saw three players selected in the same draft for the first time since 2007, but it might not take more than a year for the Gators to accomplish the feat again. Center Alex Condon, transfer point guard Boogie Fland and forward Thomas Haugh are all inside the top 40 on ESPN's first 2026 big board. Condon appearing at No. 29 is no surprise. He tested the draft waters this year and decided to return to improve his stock. A fringe first-round projection fits that narrative, and he can easily move up if he develops into the All-American/All-SEC big man many expect him to be. With only five centers ahead of him on ESPN's lists, the movement could happen quickly. Fland also gauged NBA interest after his freshman year with Arkansas, but a second-round projection has him back in school, except with a different SEC program. A former All-American, Fland averaged 15.1 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds over the Razorbacks' first 18 games. He shot 36.5% from 3-point range, but the hand injury that ended his season might have kept that from rising over the year. Scouts will be looking for better shot selection from him and a better finishing touch near the rim. Size is also a question mark, but he can't do much to grow. ESPN has him just outside a first-round ranking at No. 31 overall. Haugh might have the highest ceiling of the group. He wasn't on draft boards coming into last year, but it's hard to imagine that there's an NBA front office without knowledge of him after the run he made in the postseason. Haugh is a big riser already at No. 40, but he could easily end the 2025-26 season as a first-rounder. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Nebraska has highest Directors' Cup finish since 2010
Nebraska athletics capped a strong 2024-2025 year by placing 21st in the Division I Learfield Directors' Cup standings. The Huskers finished the year with 830.50 total points, their best finish since 2010 and just the fourth time in the last 20 years they eclipsed the 800-point mark. Nebraska was one of seven Big Ten teams to finish in the final top 25, joining USC (second), UCLA (fifth), Ohio State (eighth), Michigan (13th), Penn State (16th), and Oregon (18th). For the cup, 19 sports are counted in the final DI standings, with women's soccer, volleyball, and basketball required, along with men's basketball and baseball. The next 14 highest sports for each institution are then scored. For Nebraska, the school posted top-five finishes in four sports, earning a runner-up in wrestling, a Final Four finish in volleyball, a third-place finish in bowling and a fourth-place finish in men's gymnastics. Softball's Super Regional appearance also counted towards a ninth-place finish, giving the Huskers a fifth top-10 finish on the year. Nebraska capped off the spring season by scoring points in softball, baseball (Regionals), men's tennis (NCAA First Round), and both men's (35th) and women's (26th) track and field. Contact/Follow us@CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page onFacebookto follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
