College football returns Thursday night – not with a Power Four showdown, but with the FCS, which owns the first two days of the 2026 season all to itself. Thirteen-plus games kick off starting at 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 27, nearly all of them streaming on ESPN+, two full days before FBS Week 0 opens in Dublin.
It’s also a landmark season down here: 2026 is the first year every FCS program can play a 12-game regular-season schedule, and the subdivision’s greatest dynasty – 10-time champion North Dakota State – is gone, starting life as an FBS Mountain West program this weekend.
Here’s Thursday’s full opening slate, where to stream it, and the season’s key dates.
What’s Actually Worth Watching Thursday
The window structure is simple: three games at 6 p.m. ET, then a wall of 7 p.m. kicks. Youngstown State hosting Mercyhurst opens the night, CAA fans get Maine-Towson (the slate’s one FloSports exclusive), and the Southland brings the late-evening flavor with Houston Christian at Southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi Valley State at Nicholls. Almost everything else lives on ESPN+ – one subscription covers the whole night, as broken down in how to watch FCS football.
Why FCS Starts First
The FCS calendar has long opened ahead of FBS, and with the Week 0 explainer era ending after this year, Thursday’s slate is a preview of the sport’s future opening rhythm. If the subdivision structure is fuzzy – scholarships, playoffs, the 24-team bracket versus the CFP – our FBS vs. FCS explained covers the whole divide.
The Season Ahead
The 24-team playoff bracket arrives Nov. 22, the top eight seeds get byes, and it all ends Monday, Jan. 11 in Nashville. The story hovering over everything: the post-NDSU power vacuum – North Dakota State’s FBS move removed the sport’s defining dynasty from the field. Saturday’s full slate, FBS and FCS, lands in our Saturday hub.
Quick Answers
When is the first college football game of 2026?
Thursday, Aug. 27 – FCS games starting at 6 p.m. ET, led by Mercyhurst at Youngstown State on ESPN+.
What channel are Thursday’s FCS games on?
Almost all on ESPN+; Maine at Towson streams on FloSports.
When does the FCS championship game take place?
Monday, Jan. 11 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, capping the 24-team playoff.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 season starts Thursday at 6 p.m. ET with a 13-game FCS slate, nearly all on ESPN+ – two days before FBS. New this year: 12-game schedules for everyone, and an FCS landscape without North Dakota State for the first time in the playoff era.