Week 1: Thursday, September 3 through Monday, September 7, 2026. All times Eastern.
Sorted by where to find it rather than when it starts. If you know what you can watch, this tells you what’s available.
Free Over the Air
These four networks need nothing but an antenna. They also carry most of the weekend’s biggest games.
| Channel | Games |
|---|---|
| ABC | East Carolina at Alabama (Sat 12:00) Baylor vs. Auburn (Sat 3:30) Clemson at LSU (Sat 7:30) Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Sun 7:30) |
| CBS | Boise State at Oregon (Sat 3:30) |
| FOX | Fresno State at USC (Fri 9:00) North Texas at Indiana (Sat 12:00) Boston College at Cincinnati (Sat 3:30) |
| NBC | Western Michigan at Michigan (Sat 7:30) Washington State at Washington (Sun 4:00) Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (Sun 7:30) |
All NBC games simulcast on Peacock. ABC games are also on the ESPN App for authenticated subscribers.
The ESPN Family
| Channel | Games |
|---|---|
| ESPN | Colorado at Georgia Tech (Thu 8:00) Miami at Stanford (Fri 9:00) Oregon State at Houston (Sat 12:00) Texas State at Texas (Sat 3:30) Missouri State at Texas A&M (Sat 7:00) UCLA at California (Sat 10:30) Orange Blossom Classic (Sun 3:00) SMU at Florida State (Mon 7:30) |
| ESPN2 | Labor Day Classic: Texas Southern at Prairie View (Sun 12:00) |
| ESPNU | Idaho at Utah (Thu 9:00) Long Island at Kansas (Fri 8:00) Liberty at James Madison (Sat 12:00) Oklahoma State at Tulsa (Sat 3:45) UL Monroe at Mississippi State (Sat 7:30) |
| ESPN+ | Bethune-Cookman at UCF (Thu 7:00) Utah Tech at BYU (Sat 8:00) Northern Arizona at Arizona (Sat 9:30) Morgan State at Arizona State (Sat 10:00) Plus dozens of FCS games |
Conference Networks
| Channel | Games |
|---|---|
| Big Ten Network | UMass at Rutgers (Thu 6:00) UAB at Illinois (Thu 9:00) Indiana State at Purdue (Fri 7:00) Ball State at Ohio State (Sat 12:30) Northern Illinois at Iowa (Sat 4:15) Hampton at Maryland (Sat 8:00) South Dakota State at Northwestern (Sat 8:00) |
| SEC Network | Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Missouri (Thu 8:00) Kent State at South Carolina (Sat 12:45) North Alabama at Arkansas (Sat 4:15) Florida Atlantic at Florida (Sat 7:45) |
| ACC Network | Akron at Wake Forest (Thu 7:00) New Hampshire at Syracuse (Sat 12:00) Tulane at Duke (Sat 3:30) VMI at Virginia Tech (Sat 7:30) |
| FS1 | Toledo at Michigan State (Fri 8:00) Ohio at Nebraska (Sat 12:00) Marshall at Penn State (Sat 3:30) Abilene Christian at Texas Tech (Sat 7:00) Central Michigan at New Mexico (Sat 10:00) |
Streaming Only
Five games this week appear on no television channel at all, and the access rules differ.
| Service | Games | Can you buy it alone? |
|---|---|---|
| Peacock | Eastern Illinois at Minnesota (Thu 8:00) | Yes |
| ESPN+ | Utah Tech at BYU and others | Yes |
| SEC Network+ | UTEP at Oklahoma (Fri) Youngstown State at Kentucky (Sat) Tennessee State at Georgia (Sat) Furman at Tennessee (Sat) Austin Peay at Vanderbilt (Sat) |
No — needs a provider carrying SEC Network |
| HBO Max | Coastal Carolina at West Virginia (Sat 12:00, simulcast with TNT) | Yes |
That SEC Network+ row is the one to note. Five games — including openers for Oklahoma, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt — are unreachable without a pay-TV or streaming package that already includes SEC Network. There is no way to buy access on its own.
The Unusual Ones
TNT and HBO Max carry Coastal Carolina at West Virginia. TNT is new to college football, and the HBO Max simulcast means a standalone subscription works.
The CW has Miami (OH) at Pittsburgh and UNLV at Hawai’i — a free over-the-air network people forget exists.
USA Network has Wyoming at Colorado State, the Border War.
Day-by-day listings are in our Thursday, Friday and Saturday schedules.
The Bottom Line
ABC carries the most marquee games including Clemson at LSU. NBC has Michigan and both Sunday primetime games. Five games are streaming-only, and the five on SEC Network+ are the hardest to reach — that service cannot be bought separately and requires a provider that already carries SEC Network.