Getty Michigan takes on Florida to kick off the college football season.
The 2017 college football season starts on Saturday, August 26. This is the technical start date, but there are only five games on the final Saturday in August. Think of it as what a restaurant calls a soft opening where there are only a few menu items available.
Things really get started on Thursday, August 31 with 15 games on the slate. The first full-blown college football Saturday takes place on September 1.
College football has made it a tradition to own the Labor Day sports weekend, and 2017 will be no different. The college football schedule will stretch from August 31-September 4 leading to five straight days of college football to start the season.
Heavy recently unveiled our first preseason power rankings. Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State and USC top the list. Click here to check out the full set of rankings.
The season starts with a bang with several marquee matchups. Michigan takes on Florida in a neutral site matchup at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium. Alabama squares off with Florida State in a game that could feature the top two teams in the preseason rankings.
Sunday, September 3 features two great simultaneous games. Texas A&M takes on UCLA while West Virginia battles Virginia Tech in the return of an old-school rivalry. Tennessee and Georgia Tech is the Labor Day game that closes out a jammed pack holiday weekend to start the college football season.
Here’s a look at the college football schedule for the first two weekends of the season courtesy of FB Schedules. All times listed are in Eastern time.
Saturday, August 26 College Football Schedule
| GAME | TIME/TV |
| Oregon State vs. Colorado State | 2:30 p.m. CBS Sports |
| Portland State vs. BYU | 3:00 p.m. ESPN |
| USF vs. San Jose State | 7:30 p.m. CBS Sports |
| Stanford vs. Rice (Australia) | 10:00 p.m. ESPN |
| Hawaii vs. UMass | TBD |
Thursday, August 31 College Football Schedule
| GAME | TIME/TV |
| FIU vs. UCF | 6:00 p.m./CBS Sports |
| Presbyterian vs. Wake Forest | 6:30 p.m./ACCNExtra |
| Austin Peay at Cincinnati | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Buffalo at Minnesota | 7:00 p.m./Big Ten Network |
| Elon at Toledo | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Rhode Island at Central Michigan | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Tennessee State at Georgia State | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Holy Cross at UConn | 7:30 p.m./ESPN3 |
| North Dakota at Utah | 7:30 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
| Tulsa at Oklahoma State | 7:30 p.m./FS1 |
| FAMU at Arkansas (in Little Rock, AR) | 8:00 p.m./SEC Network |
| Ohio State at Indiana | 8:00 p.m./ESPN |
| Sacramento State vs. Idaho | 9:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| ULM at Memphis | 9:00 p.m./CBS Sports |
| New Mexico State at Arizona State | 10:30 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
Friday, September 1 College Football Schedule
| GAME | TIME/TV |
| Fordham at Army | 6:00 p.m./CBS Sports |
| Charlotte at Eastern Michigan | 6:30 p.m./ESPN3 |
| CCSU at Syracuse | 7:00 p.m./ACCN Extra |
| Colorado vs. Colorado State (Denver, CO) | 8:00 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
| Navy at Florida Atlantic | 8:00 p.m./ESPNU |
| Washington at Rutgers | 8:00 p.m./FS1 |
| Utah State at Wisconsin | 9:00 p.m./ESPN |
| Boston College at NIU | 9:30 p.m./CBS Sports |
Saturday, September 2 College Football Schedule
| GAME | TIME/TV |
| Akron at Penn State | 12 p.m./ABC |
| Ball State at Illinois | 12 p.m./Big Ten Network |
| Bowling Green at Michigan State | 12 p.m./ESPNU |
| Kent State at Clemson | 12 p.m./ESPN |
| Maryland at Texas | 12 p.m./ESPN |
| Wyoming at Iowa | 12 p.m./Big Ten Network |
| Cal at North Carolina | 12:20 p.m./ACC Network |
| BCC at Miami | 12:30 p.m./RSN |
| Youngstown State at Pitt | 1:00 p.m. ACC Network |
| Portland State at Oregon State | 2:00 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
| NC State vs. South Carolina (Charlotte, NC) | 3:00 p.m./ESPN |
| Alabama A&M at UAB | 3:30 p.m./TBA |
| Michigan vs. Florida (Arlington, TX) | 3:30 p.m./ABC |
| Nevada at Northwestern | 3:30 p.m./Big Ten Network |
| Temple at Notre Dame | 3:30 p.m./NBC |
| UTEP at Oklahoma | 3:30 p.m./FOX |
| William & Mary at Virginia | 3:30 p.m./ACC Network |
| Troy at Boise State | 3:45 p.m./ESPNU |
| Eastern Washington at Texas Tech | 4:00 p.m./FSN |
| Kentucky at Southern Miss | 4:00 p.m./CBS Sports |
| Stony Brook at USF | 4:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Western Michigan at USC | 5:15 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
| Albany at Old Dominion | 6:00 p.m./TBD |
| James Madison vs. Eastern Carolina | 6:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| NC Central at Duke | 6:00 p.m./ACC Network |
| Appalachian State at Georgia | 6:15 p.m./ESPN |
| Miami (Ohio) at Marshall | 6:30 p.m./TBD |
| Central Arkansas at Kansas State | 7:00 p.m./KState TV |
| Eastern Kentucky at WKU | 7:00 p.m./TBD |
| Hampton at Ohio | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Houston at UTSA | 7:00 p.m./Stadium |
| Houston Baptist at Texas State | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| SE Louisiana at UL Lafayette | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| SE Missouri at Kansas | 7:00 p.m./JTV |
| Stephen F. Austin at SMU | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| UMass at Coastal Carolina | 7:00 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Louisville vs. Purdue (Indianapolis, IN) | 7:30 p.m./FOX |
| South Alabama at Ole Miss | 7:30 p.m./ESPNU |
| Arkansas State at Nebraska | 8 p.m./BTN |
| Florida State vs. Alabama (Atlanta, GA) | 8 p.m./ABC |
| Grambling State at Tulane | 8 p.m./ESPN3 |
| Jackson State at TCU | 8 p.m./FSN |
| Northern Iowa at Iowa State | 8 p.m./Cyclones.TV |
| Vanderbilt at Middle Tennessee | 8 p.m./CBS Sports |
| Southern Utah at Oregon | 8:15 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
| U.C. Davis at San Diego State | 8:30 p.m./TBD |
| BYU vs. LSU (Houston, TX) | 9:30 p.m./ESPN |
| Montana State at Washington State | 10:30 p.m./FS1 |
| NAU at Arizona | 11:00 p.m./Pac-12 Network |
| Abilene Christian at New Mexico | TBD |
| Cal Poly at San Jose State | TBD |
| Charleston Southern at Mississippi State | TBD |
| Georgia Southern at Auburn | TBD |
| Howard at UNLV | TBD |
| Incarnate Word at Fresno State | TBD |
| Lamar at North Texas | TBD/ESPN3 |
| Liberty at Baylor | TBD |
| Missouri State at Missouri | TBD |
| Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech | TBD |
| VMI at Air Force | TBD |
| Western Carolina at Hawaii | TBD |
Sunday, September 3 College Football Schedule
| GAME | TIME/TV |
| Texas A&M at UCLA | 7:30 p.m./FOX |
| West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech (Landover, MD) | 7:30 p.m./ABC |
Monday, September 4 College Football Schedule
| GAME | TIME/TV |
| Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech (M-B Stadium) | 8 p.m./ESPN |