A Historical Look at a Unique Early-Season Situation
Unlike the NFL, where every team plays on the first weekend, college football has a unique Week 0 in which only a handful of teams play. A majority of those teams will then play in Week 1 against an opponent making its season debut.
That begs the natural question of which has more importance: shaking out the rust in live game experience – or holding a potential advantage in terms of film and preparation.
Teams that have yet to play a game can see what their opponent did in their opener. Meanwhile, they also have the benefit of the unknown. The latter can be especially important in college football, where we see an abundance of coaching and roster turnover each offseason.
Additionally, teams that have yet to play may have a preparation edge. While their opponent may have spent time preparing for their first opponent, teams who didn’t play in the opening week had no such concerns.