College football games tonight have officially kicked off the 2026 season, and Week 1 already delivered one of the most eye-catching results of the opening slate. On Thursday, Sept. 3, Colorado beat Georgia Tech in a walk-off finish that gave the season an immediate jolt, while Missouri, Utah and UMass also opened with wins.
The key thing for fans is that this is not a one-night start to the year. Week 1 runs from Sept. 3 through Monday, Sept. 7, stretching across Labor Day weekend and turning the opening round into a five-day marathon rather than a single kickoff window.
Colorado grabs the early headline
Colorado’s win over Georgia Tech was the result that stood out most, and it came with Deion Sanders’ team finding a way to finish the job in dramatic fashion. In a weekend built around fresh starts and first impressions, that kind of ending instantly changes the conversation around Week 1.
Missouri also beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Utah defeated Idaho, and UMass beat Rutgers on Thursday, giving the opening day a full set of results before the weekend schedule even had a chance to build.
How the opening week is being staged
The schedule itself is part of the story. Week 1 is spread across five days, from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Monday, Sept. 7, which means fans have games lined up throughout Labor Day weekend. For a season opener, that creates a much longer build-up than the traditional single-day launch.
It also means there are different ways to watch. Some Thursday games are available on traditional TV networks, while others are streaming-only on + or Peacock. In other words, the opening night slate is as much about where the games are shown as which teams are involved.
What comes next
With the 2026 college football season now underway, the focus turns to the rest of Week 1 and whether Thursday’s early results are the first signs of momentum or just the first step in a long opening stretch. Either way, the season has started with a bang, and the schedule still has several days left to play out.
