USC gets a head start on the rest of the Big Ten. While most of the conference waits for Labor Day weekend, the No. 14 Trojans open the 2026 season in Week 0, hosting San Jose State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Aug. 29 – the first Big Ten game of the year and the debut of NBC’s college football coverage.
The matchup carries a quiet milestone on the visiting sideline too: San Jose State has never played on NBC in program history, and the Spartans arrive as the kind of veteran Group of Five opponent that has made a habit of crashing openers. For USC, the early date is a gift – a ranked team gets a live tune-up while its September rivals are still in camp, in the final Week 0 college football will ever stage.
The chart below has the complete viewing information – kickoff by time zone, TV, streaming and the notes that matter.
What Time Does USC vs. San Jose State Start?
Kickoff is 3 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Aug. 29 – noon local time in Los Angeles. Arizona viewers are aligned with Pacific time in August (Arizona skips daylight saving), so it’s a noon start there as well.
What Channel Is the Game On?
NBC has the national broadcast, with the Big Ten Saturday Night booth – Noah Eagle on play-by-play, Todd Blackledge as analyst and Kathryn Tappen reporting – opening their season a week early.
How to Stream It (Including Without Cable)
Peacock simulcasts every NBC college football game, and a standalone Peacock subscription is enough – no cable required. Cord-cutters can also reach NBC through live-TV services that carry local NBC stations, including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo; local-station availability varies by market, so confirm your ZIP code’s lineup before Saturday.
Why This Game Matters
Openers between ranked hosts and Group of Five visitors are usually about the spread; this one is about the calendar. It launches the Big Ten’s season, NBC’s package and USC’s campaign all at once, and it slots into a channel-flipping afternoon: the Dublin game wraps around the time the Coliseum kicks off, and the ACC opener between NC State and Virginia starts 30 minutes later on ESPN. San Jose State, meanwhile, treats stages like this as recruiting fuel – a competitive first half on network TV is a win of its own.
Quick Answers
Is the game on Peacock only?
No – it airs on NBC and streams on Peacock simultaneously. Either works; our NBC-Peacock explainer covers how simulcasts and Peacock exclusives differ.
Does this game count?
Fully. Week 0 games are regular-season contests; the label refers only to the calendar slot, explained in our Week 0 explainer.
What else is on that day?
Seven other FBS games, from the noon Dublin kickoff to a 10 p.m. ET finale in Las Vegas – the complete slate is in our Week 0 schedule and TV guide.
The Bottom Line
San Jose State vs. USC kicks off Saturday, Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT on NBC and Peacock from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – the first Big Ten football of 2026, called by NBC’s A-team, with the No. 14 Trojans as the domestic slate’s only ranked team. Set it as the centerpiece of your Week 0 afternoon.