Sports Media Watch presents a one-stop hub for the latest news surrounding the 2026 college football schedule. For the full college football schedule, see this page.

New wrinkles in CFP schedule
As part of the first year of the new media rights deal for the College Football playoff, ABC will simulcast four of ESPN's CFP games, including a First Round game on December 19 at noon, a quarterfinal at 4 PM on New Year's Day, the Sugar Bowl semifinal on January 15, and the title game from Las Vegas on January 25.
TNT Sports's slate will expand to 5 games, including two First Round games, the Fiesta Bowl on December 30 as well as a second quarterfinal, and the January 14 Orange Bowl semifinal. ESPN will exclusively televise one Friday-night First Round game on December 18, as well as the primetime quarterfinal on New Year's Day.
The January 1 quarterfinals, which include the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Cotton Bowl, will not have confirmed kickoff times set until the bracket is released on December 6. Under the new arrangement, the Rose Bowl could theoretically air in primetime for the first time since 2006.

CBS sets Big Ten schedule
CBS's fourth season of covering Big Ten football begins in the northwest, as Oregon hosts Boise State in Week One. Weeks Two and Three feature Mississippi State-Minnesota and USC-Rutgers in the network's traditional 3:30 PM window. A Black Friday special will feature Nebraska and Iowa at noon on November 27.
CBS will also air three non-conference games featuring the Big 12 visiting the revamped Pac-12 conference in primetime. Texas Tech visits Oregon State in Week Two, followed by BYU-Colorado State in Week Three and Arizona-Washington State, all at 7:30 PM ET. CBS will also televise the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday, December 4.

ABC loads up on SEC early
ABC announced four new SEC contests to be featured in the early part of the season. Week Two features southwestern showdown between Arizona State and Texas A&M, followed by a conference play contest between Alabama and Kentucky.
In Week Three, defending SEC champion Georgia hosts Arkansas at noon, followed by a battle of blue bloods as Florida State travels to Alabama.
The new announcements come in addition to the previously-released primetime games, including Clemson-LSU, Ohio State-Texas, and LSU-Ole Miss.

FCS showdowns dot ESPN’s slate
A couple of FCS clashes find their way to ESPN's linear networks this fall, beginning with a Friday-night Week Zero matchup between Idaho and Cal Poly at 10 PM ET on ESPN.
The next day, the FCS Kickoff between East Texas A&M and Mercer airs in primetime on ESPN, with Prairie View A&M visiting Tarleton State on ESPN2 at 9 PM ET.
Other games from the Big Sky, Ivy League, and more will be featured on ESPN platforms all season long.

ESPN announces Champ Week slate
ESPN networks will air seven conference championship games to cap off the regular season. The action kicks off Friday night with the Sun Belt Championship at 7 PM ET on ESPN, followed by the Big 12 Championship at 8:00 on ABC from Arlington, TX.
On Saturday, December 5, ABC features a tripleheader of the ACC at noon, SEC at 4 PM, and the American in primetime. ESPN will also air the MAC Championship at noon.
From the FCS, ESPN2 will also have the SWAC Championship Game at 2 PM on Saturday.

ABC sets Black Friday tripleheader
ABC will return an SEC-led tripleheader to its airwaves on Black Friday this year. The action kicks off at noon featuring the Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and Ole Miss, followed by Florida at Florida State at 3:30 PM. The Lone Star Showdown takes the nightcap as Texas visits Texas A&M in College Station.
Last year's Texas/A&M game was ABC's most watched non-championship game of the season and the most-watched weeknight CFB game on record.
Additionally, ESPN will air a Big 12 contest between TCU and Texas Tech on Thanksgiving night at 8 PM.

ABC sets early “Saturday Night Football” slate
ESPN announced Tuesday a few early contests for ABC's "Saturday Night Football" franchise. The first will feature the debut of LSU head coach Lane Kiffin against Clemson in Week One. Week Two spotlights a heavyweight matchup between Ohio State and Texas. Kiffin returns to Ole Miss in a massive Week Three game. All three games begin at 7:30 PM ET.
Also on ABC will be the Week Zero MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff between Alabama A&M and Howard, and the Sunday night meeting of Louisville and Ole Miss in Nashville on September 6.

Fox sets two Big Noon showdowns
The Michigan Wolverines will play at least twice on FOX this season, as part of the networks "Big Noon Saturday" franchise. The first will be a non-conference clash with the Oklahoma Sooners in Week 2, a rematch of their meeting in Norman on ABC last year.
The second will be the annual rivalry game at Ohio State on November 28, on FOX for the sixth straight year.

Fox confirms it will air Big Ten Championship
Fox Sports confirmed Monday it will air the Big Ten Championship game on December 5. The game was originally promised to NBC, who resold the game back to Fox.
The 2025 title game between #2 Indiana and #1 Ohio State drew 18.3 million viewers on FOX, the second-most watched game of the regular season.

ESPN bookends Labor Day weekend with ACC clashes
A pair of ACC conference games will headline ESPN's weeknight coverage in college football's Week One. Stanford will host Miami at 9 PM ET on Friday, September 4 on ESPN. Then on Labor Day night (Monday, September 7), Florida State will host SMU.
In a non-conference contest, Georgia Tech will host Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday, September 3, at 8 PM on ESPN.

ESPN kicks off Week Zero with international slate
ESPN announced TV details for a pair of international matchups in college football. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic will return with TCU facing Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels in Dublin, Ireland. The game will air on ESPN at noon ET on August 29.
The second game will feature an ACC showdown between NC State and Virginia from Rio De Janeiro. That game will begin at 3:30 PM ET, also on ESPN.







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