For die-hard fans of the sport, it’s never too early to start thinking about the next college football season. After the first 12-team College Football Playoff ended with Ohio State taking home a national title, the 2025 season will pick up where we left off and get right back to the chaos.
Here’ s everything you need to know about the start of the 2025 season, which will get underway with a pivotal Big 12 matchup.
When does the 2025 college football season start?
The 2025 college football season will start with a few “Week 0” matchups on Saturday, August 23, 2025. Here’s a look at the FBS games that will be played to get us started:
- Aer Lingus College Football Classic: Iowa State vs. Kansas State (in Dublin, Ireland)
- Stanford at Hawaii
- Fresno State at Kansas
- Sam Houston at Western Kentucky
The vast majority of FBS programs will get started one week later, on Saturday, August 30, but there are some other notable games that will be played before that, including Nebraska vs. Cincinnati on Thursday, August 28, and Georgia Tech at Colorado on Friday, August 29.
After that, we will have a massive slate of Week 1 games, including a matchup that is likely to feature No. 1 vs. No. 2. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest games from that week.
Saturday, Aug. 30
- Texas at Ohio State
- LSU at Clemson
- Alabama at Florida State
- Syracuse vs. Tennessee (in Atlanta, GA)
- Auburn at Auburn
- Utah at UCLA
- Boise State at USF
Sunday, Aug. 31
- Notre Dame at Miami (FL)
- South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech (in Atlanta, GA)
Monday, Sept. 2
- TCU at North Carolina | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
The 2025 college football season will be here before we know it, and these are some of the biggest matchups that we’ll see. Which one are you most excited about? Let us know in the member forum!
