ESPN Reveals Slate of College Football Matchups During Disney's Upfront

At yesterday's Disney Upfront presentation, ESPN revealed a slate of College Football coverage for the upcoming season, featuring big games and high stakes matchups.

What's Happening:

• Revealed at yesterday's Upfront presentation, ESPN shined a light on a series of key games from their 2026 college football schedule.
• Revealed were a slate of early season showcases, premier conference matchups, and iconic rivalries that will air on both ESPN and ABC.
• Nine of ESPN.com’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 are featured in the schedule release, including No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Miami, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 11 LSU. College GameDay Built by The Home Depot also announced its first two stops of the season.
• The 2026 season opens on a global stage, as ESPN networks present college football from Ireland and Brazil, in addition to one of the sport’s most celebrated HBCU traditions in Atlanta.
  • Saturday, Aug. 29 kicks off with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland as Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels face No. 23 TCU (Noon ET, ESPN).
  • Later that day, NC State meets Virginia in the inaugural College Football Brasil game (3:30 p.m., ESPN) from Rio de Janeiro, marking another milestone in the sport’s international growth and featuring ACC teams in a conference clash.
  • The evening concludes with the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff (7:30 p.m., ABC), as Alabama A&M faces Howard in Atlanta, continuing a celebrated tradition spotlighting Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

• Labor Day Weekend on ESPN and ABC features a lineup filled with ranked teams, traditional powers and high stakes showcases.
• The action begins Thursday night as Colorado visits Georgia Tech (Sept. 3, 8 p.m., ESPN), as Buffs head coach Deion Sanders returns to Atlanta where ‘Coach Prime’ once starred for both the hometown Braves and Falcons. The following night features a premier Friday matchup with No. 7 Miami traveling west to face ACC foe Stanford (Sept. 4, 9 p.m., ESPN). The Hurricanes enter the 2026-27 season with ACC and CFP title aspirations after an appearance in last year’s National Championship game.
• Saturday’s lineup on ABC delivers wall-to-wall marquee matchups:
  • No. 16 Alabama opens its season against East Carolina (Noon), as the Crimson Tide aim to return to SEC and CFP contention.
  • The Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta features Baylor and Auburn (3:30 p.m.), an early-season test for programs looking to make statements in their respective conferences.
  • In primetime, Clemson visits No. 11 LSU (7:30 p.m.) in an ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One showdown, as Lane Kiffin makes his LSU head coaching debut under the lights in Baton Rouge in the Tiger-vs-Tiger tussle.
• The weekend continues with back-to-back nights of showcases:
  • Sunday night (Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m., ABC) features No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 9 Ole Miss in Nashville at the inaugural Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff. Ole Miss advanced to last season’s CFP semifinals, while Louisville continues its rise in the ACC.
  • Labor Day Monday (Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m., ESPN) caps the weekend with No. 22 SMU traveling to Florida State for an ACC conference clash.

• In September, one of the biggest games of the season is in Week 2, as No. 1 Ohio State faces No. 5 Texas in Austin (Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m., ABC). Both programs are fresh off strong 2025 seasons, with CFP expectations once again in focus.
• Week 3 features another Saturday Night Football clash between No. 11 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss (Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m., ABC). Already a spirited SEC rivalry, this matchup will be the focus of the college football world as Kiffin returns to Oxford to face his former team for the first time since departing for LSU in December during last season’s Playoff.
• ESPN networks close the regular season with a compelling set of rivalry matchups across Thanksgiving night and Black Friday in Week 13:
  • No. 23 TCU at No. 8 Texas Tech (Nov. 26, 8 p.m. ESPN), a Thanksgiving showdown between Big 12 title-contenders.
  • The 123rd Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and No. 9 Ole Miss (Nov. 27, Noon, ABC) kicks off Thanksgiving Friday, as the Rebs look for their fourth straight win in the series.
  • The Sunshine State Showdown featuring Florida at Florida State (Nov. 27, 3:30 p.m., ABC), renewing one of college football’s most iconic rivalries.
  • No. 5 Texas at No. 10 Texas A&M (Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m., ABC), a primetime Lone Star State clash featuring two projected top 10 teams with CFP aspirations.
• ABC will present the ACC, American, Big 12 and SEC Championship Games with ESPN delivering the MAC and Sun Belt title games the first weekend of December as ESPN networks conclude their signature coverage of conference action.
• The Big 12 gets the ABC action started on Friday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m., live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The ACC Championship Game will kick off Championship Saturday action from Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium at noon on Saturday, Dec. 5, followed by the SEC Championship Game at 4 p.m. from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and the American Championship Game live at 8 p.m. from a campus site to be determined.
• On ESPN during Conference Championship Weekend, the Sun Belt Championship kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4. Saturday at noon, regular season MACtion concludes with the MAC Championship from Detroit on ESPN. On ESPN2, the SWAC Championship starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Celebration Bowl to face the MEAC champion.

College Football on ESPN and ABC:

• College football on ESPN and ABC is easily one of the biggest sports TV coverage packages, with ESPN owning or sharing rights to many of the top conferences and the entire College Football Playoff system.
• ABC serves as the over-the-air broadcast home for many of the marquee games, further expanding the Disney-owned coverage.
• Because they are under the same corporate umbrella, ESPN and ABC often share announcers, crews, packages, and of course, the game rights.
• That said, an ESPN College Football branded game may air on either network, depending on the matchup or slot.