Week Zero's top games to watch: UNC looks for revenge against TCU, NC State-Virginia open with ACC matchup

The offseason is over, and college football is back … for a few teams, at least.

As in recent years, the regular season will start with a "Week Zero” handful of games. The vast majority of FBS teams will begin play a week later.

Even with an eight-game slate on tap for Saturday, Aug. 29, there is still plenty to look for as the college football season begins.

The day begins as North Carolina takes on TCU in Dublin, Ireland. This will be the official start of Year 2 in the Bill Belichick era at UNC, and he will be looking to improve on the disappointing 4-8 2025 campaign that included a 48-14 blowout loss to TCU in the season opener.

Saturday's slate concludes as Memphis heads west to take on UNLV. Charles Huff will debut as the Tigers' new head coach after going 7-5 with Southern Miss last season. The Rebels are not only preseason favorites in the Mountain West, but also many analysts' choice to get the Group of Six College Football Playoff spot.

Here are the five biggest games in Week Zero:

UNC overhauled its quarterback room this offseason. Last year, Max Johnson played in four games while Gio Lopez saw action in 11 games. Johnson is now the starting quarterback at Georgia Southern, while Lopez stayed in the ACC and took his talents to Wake Forest.

The Tar Heels have named Billy Edwards Jr. as their starting quarterback. Edwards Jr. began his collegiate career at Maryland, spending three seasons with the Terrapins. He transferred to Wisconsin last season, but played in only two games after dealing with a knee injury.

The Horned Frogs blew out UNC in Week 1 last year and finished the season with an overall 9-4 record, but they went 5-4 in Big 12 play. It did mark back-to-back nine-win seasons or head coach Sonny Dykes, and the Horned Frogs have won at least nine games in three of the four seasons he has been at the helm. They need a strong start to the year and would love to go into the Oct. 3 matchup against BYU with a 4-0 record and momentum.

TCU will be led by Harvard transfer quarterback Jaden Craig after Josh Hoover left for Indiana in the offseason. Craig is more of a pocket passer and threw for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns and 7 interceptions last season as the Crimson finished 9-2 in their FCS season.

One preseason AP-ranked team will see action in Week Zero as the No. 14 Trojans host San Jose State. USC is coming off a 9-4 season in its second year in the Big Ten. The Trojans are still searching for their first College Football Playoff berth with Lincoln Riley as their head coach.

Jayden Maiava played in all 13 games for USC last season. He finished with 3,711 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The QB doesn't rush often, but did tally six rushing touchdowns.

USC's big question will be who steps up at wide receiver after the departure of Makai Lemon (picked 20th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles) and Ja'Kobi Lane (third-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens). The teammates combined for 1,901 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

San Jose State had a disappointing 3-9 season last year with a 2-6 record in the Mountain West. The Spartans named transfer quarterback Luke Weaver as their starter against USC. Weaver played in just five games at Hawaii last year and finished with 628 passing yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He won the job over redshirt freshman Robert McDaniel and true freshman Daniel Rolovich.

There are only two Week Zero matchups between conference opponents, and NC State facing Virginia is easily the bigger one.

The Wolfpack finished last season 8-5 after beating Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl. NC State will have a familiar face under center as CJ Bailey is back for his third year as the starter.

So far, over two years, he has tallied 5,518 passing yards, 42 passing touchdowns, 19 interceptions, 494 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 25 games. One thing to watch here is the Wolfpack's running game. Hollywood Smothers transferred to Texas, and redshirt sophomore Jayden Scott is expected to take over in the backfield.

Virginia made it all the way to the ACC championship last season. The Cavaliers fell to Duke 27-20 in overtime, but picked up a win in the Gator Bowl to finish 11-3 — their most wins in program history.

UVA will start transfer QB Beau Pribula in Week Zero; he played in 10 games for Missouri last season. Pribula threw for 1,941 yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also ran for 297 yards and six more touchdowns on the ground.

The Seminoles will open their 2026 season at home against New Mexico State in a non-conference matchup. Florida State is looking to rebound after a disappointing 5-7 finish last year. The Noles only managed two conference wins, beating Wake Forest and Clemson.

Former FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos is in the transfer portal; the Seminoles will be led by transfer QB Ashton Daniels. After spending three years at Stanford, Daniels transferred to Auburn last year. He played in only four games and finished with just 797 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Mike Norvell has been Florida State's head coach for six seasons. The team has gone 38-34 in that span, and he enters this year firmly on the hot seat.

New Mexico State started last season 3-2, but then lost five consecutive games. When the dust settled, the Aggies finished the year 4-8 and went 2-6 in conference play. New Mexico State will turn to Trey Hedden as its starting quarterback. Hedden transferred to the Aggies from Furman. Last year, he had 2,967 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for the Paladins.

After back-to-back 10+ win seasons under Ryan Silverfield, the Tigers took a step back last season, finishing 8-5 and going 4-4 in conference play. Silverfield left for Arkansas, and now Huff begins a new era at Memphis.

The Tigers have had a lengthy quarterback battle between Marcus Stokes and former five-star QB Air Noland. Stokes transferred to Memphis from West Florida (D-II). Noland spent one season with Ohio State and last season with South Carolina. He’s appeared in just two games and is 2-of-3 passing for 13 yards.

UNLV is a popular pick to make the CFP as the Group of Six representative. Part of that stems from belief in Dan Mullen’s system after his team finished 10-4 last year.

The Rebels also have an ongoing quarterback battle between Jackson Arnold (who transferred in from Auburn) and Alex Orji, who played in three games for UNLV last season before suffering season-ending injuries. Arnold played in 10 games for Auburn last year before being benched for poor performance. He finished with 1,309 yards, 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.