ESPN has officially announced that it will again be carrying a handful of FCS games during the upcoming season. With the season still three months away, there is a strong likelihood that more contests will be added to this list but here’s every contest that will hit national TV this year as it has been announced so far:
The Big Sky slate gets going right away this year with Idaho taking on Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on the Friday of Week 0. Both the Vandals and the Mustangs missed out on the playoffs last year and finished 2025 with similar 4-8 overall records. That being said, each will be looking to make some noise this year and, as tough as it is to be a dark horse in the Big Sky, both feel like they can take that next step this fall. Cal Poly and Idaho did not play last season and, oddly enough, the two schools have only met three times on the gridiron despite sharing the same conference since 2018. This will be the first time in three years that the Mustangs have hosted the Vandals and ESPN will be carrying the game which is set to kickoff at 10:00 PM (ET).
Southern vs. Alabama State
The first Saturday of the season will feature four FCS games on linear television with the first being a SWAC battle Alabama State and Southern in Birmingham. ASU was one of the stories of HBCU football last year as they strung together the program’s first ten-win season since 2004. Quarterback Andrew Body is one of the best returning signal callers in the country and the Hornets look as though they might be able to compete for a conference title this year. The Jaguars, meanwhile, had a down year a season ago, winning just two games and finishing last in the SWAC West division. Still, Southern is just two seasons removed from playing in the league championship. ESPNU will have the game at 3:00 PM (ET).
For a while the fate of the annual FCS Kickoff game was unclear but it will play on and it will again feature the Mercer Bears. Last season Mercer dueled UC Davis in a game that got cut short due to lightning in Montgomery. This year they’ll take on East Texas A&M out of the Southland and do so in their own building. Mercer is back-to-back-to-back SoCon champions and has reached at least the second round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. The Lions are now entering their fifth season as a Division I program and third under head coach Clint Dolezel. They have not posted a winning season since moving up from DII. The game will air on ESPN with a scheduled kickoff time of 7:00 PM (ET).
The MEAC/SWAC Challenge returns with Alabama A&M taking on Howard in Atlanta. The Bison representing the MEAC played in the Celebration Bowl back in 2023 but have only won nine games combined over the last two seasons. A new era will be kicking off, though, as Ted White will make his head coaching debut and look to return Howard to the top. Alabama A&M is in a similar spot after winning only four games a year ago. Both the Bulldogs and Bison enter this year as expected middle-of-the-road teams in their respective leagues but that doesn’t mean the usual pomp and circumstance that accompanies this game won’t be alive and well. As per usual, the contest will be on ABC and will kick off at 7:30 PM (ET).
Prairie View A&M @ Tarleton State
One of the more intriguing games in the FCS during Week 0 will be last year’s SWAC champions Prairie View A&M traveling to take on a likely Top 10 team in Tarleton State. The Panthers surged in Tremaine Jackson’s first season at the helm last year and almost took home an HBCU title in the Celebration Bowl, falling short in four overtimes. PVAM wants to get back and has the chance to really make an early case for itself against a Texans team that has real national title hopes on its own end. Tarleton State has been a playoff team each of the last two years out of the UAC but came up on the wrong end of an upset in the quarterfinals at home last fall as the #4 overall seed. They’re reloaded and hungry as well making this showdown as exciting as any in the opening weekend. ESPN2 will have the contest at 9:00 PM (ET).
Northern Arizona @ Montana State
The national champs will get the bright lights in Week 4 as they take on Northern Arizona. Montana State comes into 2026 as the heavy favorite to repeat as pretty much their whole team comes back after winning it all last year. Justin Lamson, Taco Dowler, Adam Jones and all the other stars that shined so brightly for MSU during last season’s run to a title will be back as will head coach Brent Vigen. The Bobcats have been practically unbeatable at home but NAU will come in to give it a swing. The Lumberjacks are a fringe playoff team in their own right and they have some real talent as well. QB Ty Pennington is one of the best in the Big Sky and he can light it up on any given week. This could be a fireworks show in Bozeman and a national audience will get to watch on a late night ESPN2 kickoff at 10:30 PM (ET).
Not even a week after their first primetime game, Montana State will get another on the following Friday. This time, though, they’ll be on the road in a place that hasn’t been kind to them in recent years. Idaho’s famed Kibbie Dome will play host to the ‘Cats and the last time it did, MSU lost. The Vandals under second-year head coach Thomas Ford look to be on the upswing and have a chance to land a haymaker to the Big Sky standings if they can pull off an upset here. Idaho typically does well at home but Montana State, as stated before, is a buzzsaw. ESPN will carry this one with another late kickoff at 10:30 PM (ET).
Eastern Washington @ UC Davis
One of the other main contenders in the Big Sky will get its time in the spotlight as well as UC Davis welcomes in Eastern Washington. The Aggies have been a consistent quarterfinal team under Tim Plough but now they have their sights set on more in 2026. UC Davis will have its dynamic pair of brothers back on defense with Rex and Porter Connors as well as standout running back Jordan Fisher. EWU has fallen off quite a bit as of late but when the Eagles are involved there’s always a chance of a shootout. Winners of five games last year, Eastern Washington is trying to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2021 and an upset on the road in Davis would go a long way in making that happen. The game will air on ESPN2 and is set to begin at 8:30 PM (ET).
Illinois State @ Southern Illinois
Arguably the best story in the entire FCS last season was that of Illinois State and its miraculous run to the national championship game. The Redbirds fell just one point short in an instant overtime classic and bring back a good chunk of the big names that made that happen. Victor Dawson, Dylan Lord and Ty Niekamp should have ISU right in the thick of things again as they head to Carbondale during the middle of the season for an important date with Southern Illinois. SIU has maybe the most dangerous dual-threat quarterback out there with D.J. Williams and has its sights set on the playoffs as well. With no more North Dakota State, the Missouri Valley race feels way more open and this one might have a lot to say about deciding it. It has not yet been announced which ESPN network will air the Week 7 game nor what the kickoff time will be.
South Dakota @ South Dakota State
The South Dakota Showdown returns to national TV for the third straight year with it going down in Brookings this time around. South Dakota State should be a preseason Top 3 team and have legitimate reason to think it can reach Nashville even after an up-and-down 2025 season. The Jacks will still have standout quarterback Chase Mason and, if he can avoid last year’s injuries, could be playing for a national title come January. South Dakota admittedly has a lot more questions after losing head coach Travis Johansen after just one season as well as quarterback Aidan Bouman. The ‘Yotes, however, won this game last fall and took the Jackrabbits to overtime in it two years ago. Nothing is a given in this rivalry and an TBD ESPN network will have the game. No kickoff time has been announced yet.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium will welcome in the ESPN cameras again this season for a game that shapes up to be extremely important in the playoff chase. Montana stormed its way to the semifinals last year but has a very new look in 2026 without longtime head coach Bobby Hauck around now. Bobby Kennedy leads the Griz into a new era but the expectations remain the same, especially with stars like Eli Gillman and Keali’i Ah Yat still spearheading the offense. Few teams even came close to the Grizzlies last year but one that did was Idaho State. The Bengals are a sleeper this year and, like UM, should have a dangerous offense. Jordan Cooke has an absolute cannon of an arm and Chedon James is wearing stripes again after a couple of seasons away. It’s sure to be a raucous crowd and a cold night when ISU comes to town and that’s just how they like in Missoula. Either ESPN or ESPN2 will broadcast the game which will get underway at 8:30 PM (ET).
Few college football games hold the history and prestige as “The Game” and this year when Harvard and Yale meet for their annual clash it will again be on ESPNU. This contest is the one that so often decides the Ivy League champion as it did a year ago and both of these storied schools were the inaugural representatives for the conference in the playoffs last winter. Boston’s Fenway Park will host the 142nd edition of this rivalry and the stakes will likely be just as high as they usually are. The Bulldogs now have last year’s Eddie Robinson Award winner Kevin Cahill calling the shots after he got hired over from Lehigh while the Crimson are looking to get revenge for last year’s surprising loss in the regular season finale. There has not been a game time announced yet.