College football is truly one of a kind. 

While every other sport has weeks-long unimportant preseasons, the first taste of college football that fans get consists of nail-biting, meaningful action. I am, of course, referring to college football’s Week 0. 

The week serves as an appetizer to the porterhouse steak that is the college football season, and it could not come soon enough. The majority of Football Bowl Subdivision schools begin their seasons with the traditional Week 1; however, there is a small group of schools that play their opening games a week early, constituting the remarkable Week 0.

This week is pivotal, just as much as every other week in college football. Think about it — if a Power Four team loses in Week 0? Well, that loss is going to hit a lot harder heading into rivalry week on the cusp of the College Football Playoff. Even worse, a Group of Six team that loses almost certainly has to run the table to even be in consideration for the Playoff. 

The early weeks matter — just ask Notre Dame.

Not only are the stakes high, but the week also has no shortage of memorable teams and outcomes over the years. The very first Week 0 game came in 1983 with a battle between then-No. 1 Nebraska and then-No. 4 Penn State, where the Cornhuskers walloped the defending champion Nittany Lions 44-6.

Week 0 was also the introduction to what many consider to be one of the greatest teams of all time: the 2004 USC Trojans. The Trojans’ historic conquest began that fabled week, where they took down Virginia Tech 24-13. 

This USC squad would finish the season undefeated, claiming the national title — for the time being — as the wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the country, while also producing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart, cementing itself as far and away the best team to ever play in a Week 0 matchup.

In the modern age of Week 0, however, perhaps the most exciting contest came in 2024, when then-No. 10 Florida State faced off against Georgia Tech. This matchup, which took place in Ireland, seemed to be a tune-up game for the Seminoles, who carried high expectations for the season after many people — including myself — considered them snubbed of the 2023 CFP. 

Their unlucky streak would continue, though, as the Yellow Jackets kicked a game-winning field goal to upset Florida State 24-21. The loss was only the beginning of the Seminoles’ downfall as a program, as they mustered a shockingly bad two wins in 2024, which was then followed by an only slightly better 2025 and now a 2026 season in which they will likely continue to fade into mediocrity. 

And that’s the magic of Week 0; it can build you up, or it can tear you down. Some might even say you can go from zero to hero … or vice versa.  

The University of Hawai’i, I would argue, is on the Mount Rushmore of Week 0 — not necessarily for their performance, but because they are the savior of the spectacle. 

Following the aforementioned 2004 season, Week 0 went on a hiatus, seemingly dead and gone for over a decade. That is until 2016, when the Week 0 we all know and love truly took shape after the introduction of what is commonly known as the Hawai’i Exemption, which essentially didn’t count games played in Hawai’i toward the maximum 12 regular-season games. 

This meant that, since teams would be allowed to play a 13th game, there would be a revamped Week 0, a week that Hawai’i has fittingly participated in every year besides 2020 since the change. Thank you, Rainbow Warriors! 

If Week 0 doesn’t already have your heart, another fact of the matter is that the week is an opportunity for the little guys of the college football world to shine, and smaller-brand teams will soon take center stage.

This season, new FBS additions Sacramento State University and North Dakota State University will get their moments in the spotlight, as Week 0 will be their first time competing at the highest level of college football. 

Now, is Week 0 primarily a ploy to pull ratings for an extra week and, in turn, make the NCAA more money by scheduling more televised games? Perhaps it is. But, if that’s the case, then it’s one of the most entertaining cash grabs you’ll ever watch. 

And if the greediness of it all is your problem, then you should actually be in favor of Week 0. 

In April, the NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee recommended that Week 0 become the starting date for all college football programs, resulting in an earlier end to the season to give the Committee “flexibility for potential changes to the postseason.” 

The NCAA wants to take away Week 0 to expand the CFP even further — if that’s not greed at its finest, then I don’t know what is. And I think I speak for all college football fans — likely excluding SEC fans — when I say that I would rather have Week 0 than an even larger playoff. 

Plus, the elimination of Week 0 would take away from the charm of it all: College football would have a basic Week 1 start, just like the NFL. 

So let’s give a toast to keeping this occasion alive, to the Rainbow Warriors and to the future legends and disappointments all beginning in Week 0.

Caleb Olguin is a sophomore writing about the ever-changing college football landscape in his column, “The Redshirt Report.” He is also a sports editor at the Daily Trojan.