What Happens if Week Zero is Canceled?

Eighteen weeks from today (126 days), college football fans will hopefully be able to watch maybe four games, but certainly follow nine games. At this point in time, I am not optimistic that the season will be able to start on August 29th this year. To tell you the truth, I would be thrilled if the season was able to start September 3rd thru 7th, but that could be a stretch. If the season were to start in early September - it would be the greatest Labor Day weekend ever for me, but only if fans are allowed to attend!

If indeed Labor Day is the start of the 2020 CFB season, what would happen to the games scheduled the week before? After doing some digging around all the teams’ schedules, I found out that the two most important games, Navy vs. Notre Dame and Marshall vs. East Carolina, could be rescheduled for Week 1. Another two games, the solid FCS matchup between Austin Peay and Central Arkansas, and Hawaii vs. Arizona could be played later in September. After these games there is only one other game that could be rescheduled without any issues - Stony Brook vs. Fordham could be played on 10/24.

That leaves four games that could be a problem. One, New Mexico State vs. UCLA (have I ever mentioned that I love the Bruin’s traditional home uniforms?), could be played Halloween night, provided the Bruins could move their game with Utah to the week before (10/24). That leaves three games that would have to be made up in early December - which is Championship Week. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, and the teams involved are unlikely to be playing in conference championship games (Cal, UNLV, New Mexico, and Nevada), but will the FCS teams involved (UC-Davis and Idaho State) be able to play that late in the season - the 2nd weekend of the playoffs for the division?

No matter what happens to Week Zero this year, I have faith that most, if not all, the scheduled games would be playe at some point in the season. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that this great sport is able to get up and running in early September…