Let’s get ready for some 2026 college football, but instead of me previewing the contest on the field, let’s think ahead about possibly heading out to road games and how to get there, what to do when you’re there (aside from football and tailgating), and some unique places to visit depending on your travel needs.

Also, I don’t have the scratch to do this myself, so allow me to entertain myself with the fantasy that I could go to an away game and enjoy myself, shall we?

Game Time: September 19th, 11 am CT (Noon ET); Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

Tickets: If you don’t have any, on Stubhub they are currently going for $180 a piece (if you’re getting two tickets) in the nosebleeds, but there are lower levels seats from the mid two hundreds and up, and one lunatic is selling lower levels for $174 a piece right now, so act fast, if you can.

Getting There

By Car – I’ll use Atlanta as the starting point, but it’ll be a solid ten hour drive to get there, roughly 707 miles. Depending on your ride, that’s likely two tanks of gas. For my Ram 1500, that’d be about 300 dollars round trip, maybe more affordable for a economy car.

By Plane – According to Google Flights, your cheapest days to leave are Tuesday or Thursday. Frontier has a connecting flight option that runs $264 round trip on Thursday and $240 on Tuesday. Wednesday or Friday flights are $518, though there is a connecting option via American Airlines for $459 dollars. Of course, these are flights from Hartsfield, so it might differ for you depending on your home airport.

Where to Stay:

I opted for a Thursday-Sunday stay using Booking.com, and here’s what I came up with…

Closest Available to Razorback Stadium:

Nothing – At this point, the only available listings that are within walking distance are apartments…which run from 4k up. There is one place with five rooms left that’s a little stretch of the legs called Moxy Fayetteville for $1319.

Near the Stadium, But a Bit of Walk or an Uber There:

On the Stadium side of I-49 are two options: Candlewood Suites ($1257 for three nights) and Staybridge Suites ($1429). Just on the other side of I-49 are slightly more affordable options: Super 8 ($530), Baymont ($507), and Days Inn ($659).

What to Do When You’re There:

Family Types – If you’re the outdoorsy family, take a visit to the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (note – Fridays they serve beer and wine on the lawn, if that helps), or you can take the kiddos on a blast to the past by visiting the Arkadia Retrocade, which houses 100s of retro arcade games. For $5 a piece, you can play all you want. Heck, maybe go there even if you don’t have kids. There’s also Lokomotion, which is a family fun poark with go karts and rides for the littles. And, if you have kids who have the rare gift of an interest in museums, there’s the Arkansas Air and Military Museum.

Adult Fun – There are the Razorback Regional Greenway and Centennial Parks if you want to get outdoors and need place to bike or run for exercise types, or if you want to get your exercise doing a pub crawl, you can follow the Fayetteville Ale Trail to what looks like a long and buzzy (and expensive, likely) trip through breweries around town. Multiple sites seemed to suggest the best brewery, if you don’t want to wander all over, is Fossil Cove, though depending on your taste and thirst, they all look pretty good.

If you’re into shopping and antiques, give the Fayetteville Funky Flea Market a looksy. For the arts and entertainment folks, there’s TheaterSquared and Walton Arts Center, although both don’t have anything listed for performances the weekend of the game, so check back closer to the game to see if anything is going on.

For nightlife, it’s Dickson Street, and catching some live music at George’s Majestic Lounge, where you can catch Ultra Suede for a happy hour show at 5 pm on Friday (apparently, they are very entertaining and gets the crowd moving), or Khaki Onion at 9 pm, which seems like a pretty cool band to watch if you want to stay up late and hair of the dog it the next day at the game. Don’t forget, it’s an 11 am kickoff, gang. I still have bad memories from the 1998 Outback Bowl regarding staying out late in Ybor and sweating it to an 11 am start the next day. I think.

Additionally, downtown you’ll have a host of watering holes to choose from, from Maxine’s Tap Room for proper cocktails (once an Esquire “Best Bar in America”), Vault if you’re a bourbon lover, Pinpoint for cocktails and pinball, and Sidecar Cocktail Lounge, which seems to have a Athens vibe to it from what I can see.

Where to Eat: I hesitate to put this here, especially if anyone here has been there and knows a better place, but here’s my attempt to put you on some places people seem to rave about. For burgers, everyone seems to be pointing to Hugo’s, which seems to have a wide array of options on the menu outside of the burgers, but the burger is apparently their signature dish. Of course, there’s BBQ galore, including Wright’s in nearby Johnson and people seem to like Penguin Ed’s.

For sandwiches, et al, people seem to rave about Hammontree’s – Northwest Arkansas’s Destination for Grilled Cheese (?). Seriously, if you look at the menu, and if you like grilled cheese, this could be a somewhat religious experience for you. Remaining in the melted cheese arena, if you’re looking for a good pizza and beer joint, a place that’s a little uptown but gets a lot of good reviews is Smokin’ Oak.

For breakfast, look towards The Big Biscuit, which is open for breakfast and lunch only (also seems to be pretty kid friendly) or if you’re a late riser and looking for a good brunch, people seem to like The Farmer’s Table Cafe.

I’m sure there’s more options, and it’s a town with a college so opportunities surely abound.

If you’ve been to Fayetteville for a game, drop your recommendations in the comments below.