2026 Ultimate College Football Road Trip: The Can’t-Miss Game For Each Week

Picture this: You’re a college football superfan with an unlimited travel budget, 14 free weekends and a dream to attend the most pivotal games of the season. Where would you go?

Here at SportsTravel, we rounded up a weekly list of can’t-miss college football games for that one–of–a–kind, ideal college football season of travel. This list is guided by a few rules I set up to keep the itinerary interesting:

First, no repeated venues. If I had my choice of attending any game in the country, I’d want to head somewhere new each week. (Following this pattern, there will also be just one game listed per week. Yes, there are some jam–packed weeks with a flurry of very important games, but for the purposes of this exercise, we can only visit one college per week.)

Next, no school has more than two total appearances on this list. Of course, only 12 teams will punch tickets to the College Football Playoff at the end of the season, but pivotal games could happen anywhere at any time. We don’t want to get redundant.

Finally, most of the heavy hitters weren’t left out. Each team in the top 10 of the preseason Associated Press Top 25 is represented on this list. But don’t worry, you’ll see some non–Power Four conference representation, too. There are plenty of matchups worth locking in on across the entire FBS.

With all of this in mind, let’s hit the open roads and clear skies. Here’s a week–by–week roundup of SportsTravel’s picks for the most important college football games to travel to this season. (All times Eastern; all rankings as of this week’s AP poll.)

Week 1

Date: Saturday, September 5, 7:30 p.m.
Matchup: Clemson at No. 11 LSU
Location: Tiger Stadium; Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Lane Kiffin era at LSU kicks off with a night game in Death Valley. Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers will be looking to avenge after losing 17–10 at home in last year’s season opener. Whichever team wins this major the non-conference matchup will have an early boost early for a spot in the CFP.

Week 2

Date: Saturday, September 12, 7:30 p.m.
Matchup: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 5 Texas
Location: Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium; Austin, Texas

Two preseason favorites for the national championship meet in Week 2 in a game that will have massive CFP implications. Then No. 3 Ohio State won last year’s meeting against top-ranked Texas 14–7 in each team’s season opener, a loss that helped keep the Longhorns out of last year’s CFP despite a strong finish. This year the game is in Austin, and beyond the stakes for both teams, the quarterback duel — Texas’s Arch Manning against Ohio State’s Julian Sayin — could also be a factor in the Heisman Trophy race.

Week 3

Date: Saturday, September 19, 7:30 p.m.
Matchup: No. 11 LSU at No. 9 Ole Miss
Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium; Oxford, Mississippi

It didn’t take long for Kiffin to make his return to Oxford. The coach brought Ole Miss to the CFP for the first time in 2025, but took the head coaching job at LSU before the playoff began and was not allowed to coach the Rebels in the playoff. Four former Ole Miss players joined Kiffin at LSU, and they will also be making their return to Oxford to face head coach and former defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

Week 4

Date: Saturday, September 26, TBD
Matchup: No. 2 Oregon at No. 14 USC
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; Los Angeles, California

The Ducks open Big Ten play with a trip to Los Angeles, where head coach Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans are looking to make a statement in their hopes of reaching the CFP for the first time. Oregon trounced the Trojans, 42–27, last year in Eugene en route to their second straight CFP berth.

Week 5

Date: Saturday, October 3, TBD
Matchup: No. 14 BYU at TCU
Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, Texas

TCU suffered a deflating Week Zero loss to North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, limiting the Horned Frogs’ margin for error if they are to get back to the CFP. This Big 12 matchup against BYU will help decide the conference race, with the loser likely on the outside looking in at a spot in the CFP.

Week 6

Date: Saturday, October 10, TBD
Matchup: No. 3 Georgia at No. 13 Alabama
Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium; Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Two SEC heavyweights collide in Tuscaloosa for the latest edition of the rivalry that has come to define the conference in recent years. Since 2017 the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide have faced off in two national title games (each winning one) and four SEC championship games (Georgia’s 28-7 win last year was its first against Alabama). Alabama hasn’t lost to Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2007, and keeping that streak alive could once again title the league’s balance of power.

Week 7

Date: Saturday, October 17, TBD
Matchup: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 6 Indiana
Location: Memorial Stadium; Bloomington, Indiana

The defending national champion Hoosiers host the preseason No. 1-ranked Buckeyes in what’s set to be an electric Big Ten clash. Indiana has reloaded after the departure of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the NFL, and it will be looking to prove its improbable title run was no fluke by beating Ohio State again, 10 months after doing so in the conference championship game.

Week 8

Date: Saturday, October 24, TBD
Matchup: No. 6 Indiana at No. 16 Michigan
Location: Michigan Stadium; Ann Arbor, Michigan

This clash is another big test for the state of the Big Ten. Michigan is just three seasons removed from a national championship of its own, and taking down the reigning champions would go a long way toward getting back to the CFP under fist-year head coach Kyle Whittingham.

Week 9

Date: Saturday, October 31, TBD
Matchup: Memphis at Army
Location: Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium; Memphis, Tennessee

The Group of Six’s automatic CFP bid could be on the line in this matchup. Memphis defeated UNLV, 27–21, in Week Zero, and looks to be a serious contender out of the American Athletic Conference. A win over a tough Army team could give the Tigers some serious momentum.

Week 10

Date: Saturday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.
Matchup: No. 7 Miami at No. 4 Notre Dame
Location: Notre Dame Stadium; South Bend, Indiana

The Hurricanes and Fighting Irish played one of the most pivotal games of the 2025 season, as Miami’s 27–24 win on August 31 propelled the Hurricanes to one of the last spots in the 12-team field, while Notre Dame was the first team left out. The 2026 edition of this matchup comes later in the season and could have just as many implications.

Week 11

Date: Saturday, November 14, TBD
Matchup: No. 16 Michigan at No. 2 Oregon
Location: Autzen Stadium; Eugene, Oregon

This is only the third season Oregon has played in the Big Ten, but these two traditional powers could be playing one of the pivotal games of the Big Ten season when they meet in Eugene. The Ducks have won their last three matchups against the Wolverines, including a 38-17 beatdown at the Big House in their inaugural Big Ten season two years ago.

Week 12

Date: Saturday, November 21, TBD
Matchup: No. 8 Texas A&M at No. 10 Oklahoma
Location: Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium; Norman, Oklahoma

The Aggies will visit Norman for the first time since leaving the Big 12 in 2012, and this time, they’re both SEC foes. Texas A&M and Oklahoma both made the CFP a year ago. This matchup in the penultimate game of the regular season could determine if one — or both — make it back this year.

Week 13

Date: Friday, November 27, 7:30 p.m.
Matchup: No. 5 Texas at No. 8 Texas A&M
Location: Kyle Field; College Station, Texas

A game that has been played 120 times but took more than a decade off because of conference realignment before resuming in 2024 gets its latest rendition on Black Friday. Last year’s upset of No. 3 Texas A&M wasn’t enough to get Texas into the CFP. Will this year be different?

Bonus

Date: Saturday, December 12, 3 p.m.
Matchup: Army vs. Navy
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

One week after the power conferences host their league title games, this American classic holds its 127th edition, capping off another regular season of college football season. Army–Navy classically serves as the perfect endpoint to the year, so where’s a better place to end our journey to the most important games?