College Football is back, kicking off Saturday, August 29, with eight games stretching from Dublin, Ireland, all the way to a 10 p.m. ET kickoff in Las Vegas. It may not be the massive slate we’ll get in Week 1, but Week 0 gives us exactly what we’ve been waiting months for: meaningful college football.
And with the start of a new season comes something new for the Game Day Collective College Football Show.
Every weekly preview will now revolve around five recurring segments: the GDC Upset of the Week, GDC Lock of the Week, GDC Game of the Week, GDC After Dark and the GDC Pick ‘Em Board.
That means no hiding from bad predictions a week later. The picks are going on the record.
For Week 0, I’m calling an ACC upset, taking the points in Fargo, trusting TCU in Dublin and going against the favorite late Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Here are my official Week 0 picks.
GDC Upset of the Week: NC State over Virginia
Prediction: NC State 31, Virginia 27
Virginia deserves plenty of respect entering 2026.
The Cavaliers are coming off an 11-win season and bring back one of the most experienced rosters in college football. They’ll also have a home crowd behind them Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville.
I’m still taking NC State.
The biggest reason starts at quarterback.
CJ Bailey enters his third season as NC State’s starter after throwing for 3,105 yards last season and accounting for 31 total touchdowns. That’s exactly the type of experience I want when picking an underdog in an opening-week conference game. Virginia, meanwhile, will turn to graduate transfer Beau Pribula at quarterback.
There’s also something about this matchup that NC State has figured out.
The Wolfpack have won four consecutive games against Virginia, including a 35-31 victory last season. Virginia has also lost its last three home meetings with NC State and hasn’t beaten the Wolfpack in Charlottesville since 2006.
Does that guarantee anything Saturday?
Of course not.
But when I combine the recent series history with Bailey’s experience and an NC State offense that scored at least 30 points eight times last season, I see a Wolfpack team capable of ruining Virginia’s opener.
Virginia may have the deeper overall roster.
I think NC State has the quarterback I trust more in a close fourth-quarter game.
GDC Upset of the Week: NC State 31, Virginia 27.
GDC Lock of the Week: Jacksonville State +7.5
Straight-up prediction: North Dakota State 27, Jacksonville State 24
One important distinction with the GDC Lock of the Week this season: this isn’t simply going to be my safest straight-up winner.
The Lock is my favorite against-the-spread pick of the week.
For Week 0, I locked in Jacksonville State +7.5 against North Dakota State.
And yes, I’m still picking North Dakota State to win the football game.
I don’t think the Bison win it by more than a touchdown.
Saturday is historic for North Dakota State because the Bison are beginning their first season at the FBS level after building one of the most dominant FCS programs we’ve ever seen. But this isn’t an easy opponent to welcome them to the FBS.
Jacksonville State already knows what this transition looks like.
The Gamecocks have quickly established themselves at the FBS level, reaching two recent Conference USA Championship Games. They also bring back dual-threat quarterback Caden Creel, giving them some important offensive continuity entering the opener.
North Dakota State has more uncertainty in one very important area.
The Bison must replace quarterback Cole Payton and receiver Bryce Lance, who both departed for the NFL. Fifth-year senior Nathan Hayes now takes over at quarterback.
I still trust North Dakota State enough to win at home.
But +7.5 gives me plenty of room in a matchup I expect to remain competitive deep into the fourth quarter.
My projected three-point North Dakota State victory still comfortably gets Jacksonville State inside the number.
GDC Lock of the Week: Jacksonville State +7.5.
Final score: North Dakota State 27, Jacksonville State 24. Jax State covers.
GDC Game of the Week: TCU vs. North Carolina
Prediction: TCU 31, North Carolina 20
If there’s one game casual college football fans are going to find Saturday morning, this is it.
TCU and North Carolina meet at noon ET in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, giving the FBS season an international kickoff.
And there’s already history here.
TCU opened last season by embarrassing North Carolina 48-14, spoiling Bill Belichick’s collegiate coaching debut.
Now Belichick gets another shot at the Horned Frogs.
The interesting part is that neither offense will look exactly like what we saw a year ago.
TCU turns to Jaden Craig, a Harvard transfer, at quarterback. Craig arrives after producing 6,074 career passing yards and 52 touchdown passes during his time at Harvard. North Carolina counters with veteran transfer Billy Edwards Jr., while Bobby Petrino takes control of the Tar Heel offense as coordinator.
That Petrino addition is one of the biggest reasons I expect North Carolina to look significantly better Saturday.
But significantly better doesn’t automatically mean good enough to beat TCU.
The Horned Frogs still appear to have the stronger overall roster, and receiver Jordan Dwyer already knows how to hurt this North Carolina defense. Dwyer enters 2026 as one of TCU’s top targets after a strong first season with the program.
The biggest concern with TCU is obvious: Craig is making an enormous jump in competition.
Playing quarterback at Harvard and playing quarterback against a Power Four defense are very different assignments.
North Carolina’s best path to winning this football game is to make Craig uncomfortable early, protect the football, and avoid the disastrous mistakes that allowed last year’s matchup to slip away from the Tar Heels.
I don’t expect another 48-14 beatdown.
I expect North Carolina to make this a football game.
But when it gets into the second half, I trust TCU’s roster more.
GDC Game of the Week: TCU 31, North Carolina 20.
GDC After Dark: Memphis over UNLV
Prediction: Memphis 31, UNLV 28
This might be my boldest pick on the entire Week 0 board.
When Saturday begins in Dublin, you’ll have to make it all the way until 10 p.m. ET to get to the final FBS kickoff of the night.
And it will be worth staying awake.
Memphis travels to Las Vegas for a fascinating matchup with UNLV at Allegiant Stadium.
These aren’t mediocre Group of Six programs looking for attention.
Over the past three seasons, Memphis is 29-10, and UNLV is 30-12. If both teams are still in the hunt for conference championships later this season, the result of this game could eventually become relevant in College Football Playoff discussions as well.
UNLV is the safer pick.
The Rebels have more continuity and home-field advantage, and they enter Year 2 of the Dan Mullen era.
But I’m taking Memphis.
The Charles Huff era begins Saturday for the Tigers, and Huff inherits a Memphis program that has developed one of the stronger winning cultures outside the Power Four. Memphis has also opened each of the past three seasons 3-0.
There are certainly questions.
New coach. Roster turnover. Quarterback uncertainty—road game.
That’s why this isn’t one of my highest-confidence selections.
But that’s also exactly what makes this an intriguing Week 0 game.
Almost all of the obvious advantages point toward UNLV.
I’m betting Memphis is more prepared to compete immediately under Huff than people expect.
Give me one more upset before everybody finally turns the television off Saturday night.
GDC After Dark: Memphis 31, UNLV 28.
My Complete Week 0 GDC Pick ‘Em Board
Those four games headline the show, but every FBS matchup Saturday gets an official GDC prediction.
TCU vs. North Carolina
Pick: TCU
Prediction: TCU 31-20
Confidence: 8/10
San Jose State at No. 14 USC
Pick: USC
Prediction: USC 48-13
Confidence: 10/10
NC State at Virginia
Pick: NC State
Prediction: NC State 31-27
Confidence: 7/10
Jacksonville State at North Dakota State
Pick: North Dakota State
Prediction: NDSU 27-24
Confidence: 6.5/10
GDC Lock: Jacksonville State +7.5
Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan
Pick: Eastern Michigan
Prediction: Eastern Michigan 31-23
Confidence: 7/10
New Mexico State at Florida State
Pick: Florida State
Prediction: Florida State 45-13
Confidence: 9.5/10
Hawai’i at Stanford
Pick: Stanford
Prediction: Stanford 27-24
Confidence: 7/10
Memphis at UNLV
Pick: Memphis
Prediction: Memphis 31-28
Confidence: 6/10
The Picks Are Officially on the Record
So there it is.
My first GDC card of the 2026 college football season:
Upset of the Week: NC State over Virginia, 31-27
Lock of the Week: Jacksonville State +7.5
Game of the Week: TCU over North Carolina, 31-20
GDC After Dark: Memphis over UNLV, 31-28
Highest-confidence winner: USC — 10/10
Lowest-confidence pick: Memphis — 6/10
Most importantly, these picks aren’t disappearing once the games begin.
Every week on the Game Day Collective College Football Show, we’ll keep track of the overall Pick ‘Em record, our Upset of the Week record, and the ATS record for the GDC Lock of the Week.
College football is back. Let’s see how Week 0 treats us.
What pick do you disagree with the most? Let us know, and follow Game Day Collective throughout the 2026 college football season for weekly predictions, rankings, reactions, and analysis.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Josh Mahler
Editor/Founder | Game Day Collective
@realJoshMahler
