College football is back: Week 0 features 7 games Saturday

The much anticipated debut of the 2023 college football season is finally upon us. Week 0 will feature 7 contests on Aug. 26 to whet the whistle of parched fans.

Here’s a breakdown of the schedule (All times EST):

• 2:30 p.m. on NBC: Navy vs. No. 13 Notre Dame (from Ireland)
• 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network: UTEP at Jacksonville State
• 7 p.m on ESPN.: UMass at New Mexico State
• 7 p.m. on FS1: Ohio at San Diego State
• 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network: Hawaii at Vanderbilt
• 8 p.m. on Pac-12 Network: San Jose State at No. 6 USC
• 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network: Florida International at Louisiana Tech

Notre Dame is a heavy favorite despite Navy losing by only 3 points in last season’s matchup. ESPN’s Rece Davis and Stanford Steve expect the Midshipmen to cover the 21-point spread. This will be the debut under center for Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, who transferred after 5 prolific seasons at Wake Forest.

USC is coming off a season in which they posted an 11-3 record as quarterback Caleb Williams captured the Heisman Trophy. However, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum cites the defense as why he doesn’t think the Trojans will make the College Football Playoff.

This is the second season in a row that Vanderbilt opens up vs. Hawaii, after a 63-10 victory in 2022. Vanderbilt has posted a mark of 7-17 under head coach Clark Lea.

Rolando Rosa

Rolando Rosa brings his experience covering college football to Saturday Tradition. Follow him on Twitter @RolandoRosa3.