New CFB Rumors on Potential Schedule Change amid College Football Playoff Debate

The college football season reportedly could be starting earlier for many teams in the future.

Seth Emerson and Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic reported Tuesday an NCAA committee is "moving toward making a recommendation" of pushing up the start of the season for all teams to late August in what is now called Week 0.

Such a change could happen as soon as the 2027 campaign and would give each team at least two bye weeks within a 12-game schedule.

Emerson and Russo reported the NCAA football oversight committee would have to approve the change but also noted such a move "was seen as low-hanging fruit because it has widespread support" as the sport continues to debate the future format of the College Football Playoff.

A switch to a Week 0 start would not be dependent on any particular format, so it could be made before the future of the CFP is decided.

It should be noted such a change would not mean the season ended sooner. Thanksgiving weekend is seen as a critical time for the sport with rivalries and the race for the CFP dominating discussions, and the plan would be to keep it as the end of the regular season and start the campaign 14 weeks back.

While that would mean three of the next five years starting on what is now Week 0, there will be some years where the season would still start on Labor Day weekend depending on how many weeks back it is from Thanksgiving.

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Some teams play Week 0 games with the current scheduling format, but they require waivers from the NCAA. This year's Week 0 slate will feature a game in Ireland between North Carolina and TCU as well as a game in Brazil between ACC rivals NC State and Virginia.

Even if such a change is instituted in the near future, the CFP debate remains the biggest ongoing scheduling question in the sport. The current 12-team field will remain in place for the upcoming 2026 campaign with the SEC and Big Ten continuing to debate on future 16- or 24-team formats.

The Big Ten is pushing for an eventual 24-team field that would eliminate conference championship games, while ESPN's Heather Dinich reported in January that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been public in his preference for a 16-team model.

"Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti would agree to that only if Sankey committed to a 24-team field after three years," Dinich reported.

It seems like there would be far more unanimous support for pushing the start up to Week 0 at least.