The 2026 FCS season opens in Week 0 with 68 games involving Division I subdivision teams, providing a spotlight unlike any past year. Here are 15 of the best games to know.
Back when the FCS Kickoff began in 2014 – as opposed to recent years, it featured an attractive matchup with Eastern Washington hosting Sam Houston State – Week 0 was going to be about FCS football.
Yeah, coulda, shoulda, woulda.
The talk of an expanded schedule of big nonconference FCS matchups didn’t materialize moving forward, and the FBS wanted in on Week 0 as well.
At least this year, the FCS has a two-night window of Division I exclusivity on Aug. 27 and 28 before the FBS has a limited Week 0 schedule on Aug. 29 (notably, it includes FCS departures North Dakota State and Sacramento State).
Overall, the Week 0 spotlight includes 68 games involving FCS teams (some are against sub-FCS opponents). Following are 15 of the key games to know, suggesting how the FCS is kicking it off in the right way (sorry, East Texas A&M at Mercer, the FCS Kickoff is only a showcase in name).
Week 0: Thursday, Aug. 27
Stony Brook at Delaware State – Call it the Most Improved Bowl. No FCS team in 2024 improved more in wins and winning percentage from a season earlier than Stony Brook. Delaware State did the same thing last year from the 2024 season.
Chattanooga at West Georgia – Good luck to the visiting Mocs with studying UWG game film because there’s basically an entirely new starting lineup under new coach Steve Englehart. He’s brought 2025 PFL offensive player of the year Collin Hurst with him to Carrollton.
Returning FCS Conference Offensive/Defensive POY
Big Sky – Montana RB Eli Gillman (OFF), Montana State S Caden Dowler (DEF) Ivy – Yale S Abu Kamara (DEF) MVFC – Youngstown State QB Beau Brungard (OFF), Illinois State LB Tye Niekamp (DEF) Patriot – Lehigh RB Luke Yoder (OFF) Pioneer – Presbyterian QB Collin Hurst (OFF), now at West GeorgiaGardner-Webb at Austin Peay – Among this year’s returning FCS quarterbacks, APSU’s Chris Parson ranked second in total offensive yards per game (312.2) and fifth in total touchdowns (37) last season.
Southern Illinois at West Florida – Oh, Nellie! The Argonauts open their FCS era at Pen Air Field against a formidable Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent.
The West Florida Argonauts posted a 81-30 record and won the 2019 national title in NCAA Division II.Week 0: Friday, Aug. 28
William & Mary at Villanova – Of course, the former CAA Football members’ first game in the expanded Patriot League will be against each other.
Idaho at Cal Poly – “Big Sky After Dark” on ESPN usually delivers. Idaho QB Joshua Wood is an elusive rusher, but he’s facing last year’s top two tacklers in the conference (Mikey D’Amato and Kenny Olson).
Week 0: Saturday, Aug. 29
Southern vs. Alabama State (in Birmingham, Alabama) – ASU QB Andrew Body only needed eight games to earn SWAC and HBCU national honors. Marshall Faulk will make his head coaching debut.
Lehigh at Holy Cross – One of these two teams has won an outright or gained a share of the Patriot League title in nine of the past 10 seasons.
Monmouth at Tennessee Tech – This first-time matchup features two of the FCS top-10 scoring offenses from a year ago. Monmouth will be under a head coach (Jeff Gallo) other than Kevin Callahan (33 seasons) for the first time.
Prairie View A&M at Tarleton State – PVAMU won the SWAC and Tarleton shared the United Athletic Conference title, making this the only Week 0 matchup between reigning FCS conference champions.
Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina – The host Catamounts were FCS runners-up in 1983 and have been seeking a second playoff bid ever since. In that time, EKU has made 18 playoff appearances (of its 23 overall).
Southern Utah at Montana – The Grizzlies, 2024 FCS runners-up and 2025 semifinalists, aren’t exactly rolling out welcome mats as SUU returns to the Big Sky.
Abilene Christian at Lamar – Both teams have brutally tough nonconference schedules, and it begins with a rematch from the 2025 playoff first round (ACU won 38-20 at home).
Alabama A&M vs. Howard (in Atlanta) – The MEAC-SWAC Challenge is a staple of FCS opening weekend. Each team is 0-1 in the Challenge, which the MEAC leads 12-7.
Eastern Washington at Northern Arizona – Given the national powers atop the Big Sky, this is one of those must-have games in the new nine-game conference schedule.
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