College football fans are well acclimated to the sport’s annual calendar.
Week 0 kicks off in August the week before Labor Day Weekend. Then, Week 1 always occupies the holiday weekend as a five-day showcase, spanning from a slate of Thursday night kickoffs to a standalone nationally-televised Monday night showdown.
That’s the model the college football calendar followed nearly every year in recent memory. But there have been exceptions — particularly in 2014 and 2021. Week 1 launched earlier than
usual in these two years, and each year featured a Wednesday night matchup between FBS and FCS opponents. Both matchups were originally scheduled on hump day, with their kickoff dates unaffected by inclement weather or hurricanes.
In 2014, Georgia State hosted Abilene Christian at the Georgia Dome (the Panthers’ home stadium that season), filing a waiver request to the NCAA to play on a Wednesday due to the venue’s packed event schedule that week. Thursday night was reserved for Boise State vs. Ole Miss and Saturday was reserved for Alabama vs. West Virginia. Georgia State couldn’t play on Friday because the NFL schedule wasn’t released yet, and the Georgia Dome required one open date in case the Atlanta Falcons played host that weekend (they wound up playing in Jacksonville that week). This Week 1 matchup was nationally televised on ESPNU.
In 2021, UAB hosted Jacksonville State two years prior to the Gamecocks’ promotion to the FBS level. Atypical of FBS vs. FCS matchups, this was a neutral-site game at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, AL — the typical home of the Salute to Veterans Bowl (formerly Camellia Bowl). Montgomery served as UAB’s temporary home since Protective Stadium in Birmingham was not formally open yet. Protective Stadium officially opened its gates to the public one month later on Oct. 2 for the Blazers’ contest vs. Liberty, their second home game of 2021. This Week 1 matchup was nationally televised on ESPN.
There have been other fall Wednesday night contests in college football history. In the Wednesday that would have before the 1992 equivalent to Week 0, Texas A&M defeated Stanford 10-7 in a neutral-site game in Anaheim. Three other Wednesday night games were played right before Labor Day Weekend from 1986 to 1991. Giants Stadium in East Rutherford served as the setting of Alabama’s 1986 victory over Ohio State and Penn State’s 1991 win over Georgia Tech — both top 10 matchups. And 1987 featured a non-neutral game as Pitt traveled to Provo to take down BYU on a Wednesday.
Let’s take a look at the two 21st century Wednesday night Week 1 openers:
2014 – Georgia State 38, Abilene Christian 37
Georgia State football was born in 2010. The Panthers experienced a rapid rise to the FBS level, latching onto the Sun Belt in 2013. However, the immediate results were unkind but expected for a brand new program. Georgia State finished its inaugural FBS season with an 0-13 record, dropping three non-conference contests to FCS competition.
Thus, Georgia State opened the 2014 campaign eyeing its first-ever win as an FBS program. Although the opponent Abilene Christian was FCS, the Panthers still got the job done in thrilling fashion on the stage of ESPNU. Georgia State trailed by nine with under four minutes to go, but quarterback Nick Arbuckle led his troops on a late touchdown drive in the midst of a 413-yard, 4-touchdown performance. Arbuckle and the Panthers then retrieved the ball down two with 2:41 to go. They converted two 4th-and-longs to set up kicker Wil Lutz for a 26-yarder. The future New Orleans Saints/Denver Broncos kicker drained the clutch attempt, snapping Georgia State’s 16-game win streak.
Fun fact about this game: this was the first college football game played in Underdog Dynasty’s site history.
2021 – UAB 31, Jacksonville State 0
Seven years later, Wednesday night football struck again. UAB, which played the very first game of the pandemic-affected 2020 season, reveled in the national spotlight once again in 2021. This time, fans were allowed back in full capacity.
UAB, fresh off a 2020 Conference USA championship, left zero doubt against then-FCS opponent Jacksonville State. The Blazers dominated in Montgomery, producing a 31-0 shutout behind Tyler Johnston’s 319 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 17-of-21 showing. Wide receiver Trea Shropshire produced a game-high 127 receiving yards and a touchdown as UAB started 1-0 in the final season of the Bill Clark era.
While it’s certainly inconvenient for fans traveling to the stadiums, playing a standalone game in the most football-starved time of the year comes with obvious advantages. Spectacles such as Weekday CUSA and Midweek MACtion trade off attendance for increased television exposure. That being said, should a Week 1 Wednesday night college football game become a more common occurrence?
