Our long national nightmare has almost come to an end. While California and Hawaii technically kicked things off with a game in Australia last week, the 2016 college football season will officially begin on Thursday night at 6:00pm CT.
The Fighting Illini won’t be charging into Memorial Stadium until Saturday morning, but the first night of action includes No. 9 Tennessee, No. 19 Louisville, and fellow Big Ten member Indiana.
The weekend will also feature some incredible games between Power 5 teams.
- Kansas State @ No. 8 Stanford
- No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 Houston
- No. 16 UCLA @ Texas A&M
- No. 22 North Carolina @ No. 18 Georgia
- No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 20 USC
- No. 2 Clemson @ Auburn
Additionally, ESPN College Gameday will be on hand at Lambeau Field for Wisconsin’s contest against No. 5 LSU. Unfortunately, players won’t be able to partake in the iconic ‘Lambeau Leap’ after scores because doing so will result in a penalty — thanks, NCAA.
Which game(s) will you be watching this weekend? Let us know down in the comments!
| Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| Charlotte at (19) Louisville | 7:00 p.m. | FSN / WatchESPN |
| UT Martin at Cincinnati | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Tulane at Wake Forest | 7:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Maine at UConn | 7:00 p.m. | ASN / ESPN3 |
| Presbyterian at Central Michigan | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Appalachian State at (9) Tennessee | 7:30 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
| Indiana at FIU | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| William & Mary at NC State | 7:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| South Carolina at Vanderbilt | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Southern Utah at Utah | 8:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Jackson State at UNLV | 8:00 p.m. | MWN |
| Rice at WKU | 8:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Oregon State at Minnesota | 9:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| South Dakota at New Mexico | 9:00 p.m. | ROOT Sports |
| Montana State at Idaho | 9:00 p.m. | ALT / ESPN3 |
| Weber State at Utah State | 10:00 p.m. | MWN |
| Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| MVSU at Eastern Michigan | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Furman at (12) Michigan State | 7:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Ball State at Georgia State | 7:00 p.m. | ASN / ESPN3 |
| Colgate at Syracuse | 7:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Army at Temple | 7:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Albany at Buffalo | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Northwestern State at (23) Baylor | 7:30 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| Colorado vs. Colorado State (at Denver, CO) | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Kansas State at (8) Stanford | 9:00 p.m. | FS1 / FS Go |
| Toledo at Arkansas State | 9:00 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| Cal Poly at Nevada | 9:30 p.m. | MWN |
| Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (in Ireland) | 7:30 a.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
| (3) Oklahoma vs. (15) Houston (at NRG Stadium) | Noon | ABC / WatchESPN |
| Bowling Green at (6) Ohio State | Noon | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Hawaii at (7) Michigan | Noon | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Boise State at UL Lafayette | Noon | ASN / ESPN3 |
| EKU at Purdue | Noon | ESPNNEWS / WatchESPN |
| Fordham at Navy | Noon | CBSSN |
| Howard at Maryland | Noon | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Missouri at West Virginia | Noon | FS1 / FS Go |
| South Alabama at Mississippi State | Noon | SECN / WatchESPN |
| Western Michigan at Northwestern | Noon | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| Liberty at Virginia Tech | 12:30 p.m. | ACCN / WatchESPN |
| Villanova at Pittsburgh | 1:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Abilene Christian at Air Force | 2:00 p.m. | MWN |
| Rutgers at (14) Washington | 2:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| (5) LSU vs. Wisconsin (at Green Bay, WI) | 3:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
| (16) UCLA at Texas A&M | 3:30 p.m. | CBS / cbssports.com |
| Miami, OH at (17) Iowa | 3:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| SE Louisiana at (21) Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| Kent State at Penn State | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Murray State at Illinois | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Richmond at Virginia | 3:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Texas State at Ohio | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Louisiana Tech at Arkansas | 4:00 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
| UC Davis at (24) Oregon | 5:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| (18) Georgia vs. (22) North Carolina (at Atlanta, GA) | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Austin Peay at Troy | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Florida A&M at Miami (FL) | 6:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Hampton at Old Dominion | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV |
| NC Central at Duke | 6:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Savannah State at Georgia Southern | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Southern Illinois at Florida Atlantic | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV ($) |
| Western Carolina at East Carolina | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| VMI at Akron | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Alabama A&M at Middle Tennessee | 7:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV ($) |
| Alabama State at UTSA | 7:00 p.m. | KMYS-CW 35 |
| Rhode Island at Kansas | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| San Jose State at Tulsa | 7:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
| SE Missouri State at Memphis | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| SMU at North Texas | 7:00 p.m. | ASN |
| South Carolina State at UCF | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Southern at ULM | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Towson at USF | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| UMass at (25) Florida | 7:30 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
| Southern Miss at Kentucky | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| (20) USC vs. (1) Alabama (at Arlington, TX) | 8:00 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
| South Dakota State at (13) TCU | 8:00 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| EWU at Washington State | 8:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Fresno State at Nebraska | 8:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| New Mexico State at UTEP | 8:00 p.m. | beIN SPORTS |
| Northern Iowa at Iowa State | 8:00 p.m. | Cyclones.tv ($) |
| Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech | 8:00 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| New Hampshire at San Diego State | 8:30 p.m. | TBA |
| (2) Clemson at Auburn | 9:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Arizona vs. BYU (at Glendale, AZ) | 10:30 p.m. | FS1 / FS Go |
| Northern Illinois at Wyoming | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Northern Arizona at Arizona State | 10:45 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| (10) Notre Dame at Texas | 7:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
| Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| (11) Ole Miss vs. Florida State (at Orlando, FL) | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |