Week 0 (or Week Zero) refers to the opening weekend of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

games in the

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS), in which a small number of games are played to begin the regular season, a week before the vast majority of teams begin their season in "Week 1". Although the FBS football season has traditionally begun on the first Saturday before

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

, the NCAA has sporadically awarded waivers for games to be played a week earlier in order to bring a game to a national television audience, or as part of the "Hawaii Rule" that grants teams that play a game in Hawaii an extra regular season home game to offset travel costs. The first Week 0 game was the 1983

Kickoff Classic The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002. History In 1978, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), which operated and scheduled ...

, in which No. 1

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

defeated No. 4

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, 44–6, at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

. For the 2020 season, the NCAA issued a blanket waiver for Week 0 games by any team, in order to allow for scheduling flexibility amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. However, no Division I FBS members wound up playing in a Week 0 game in 2020.

Results

Week 0 games since 2002: Rankings reflect preseason

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. ;Notes

References

{{Reflist NCAA Division I FBS football

Results

See also

References