XFL schedule 2020: Times, dates and matchup information as new league kicks off after Super Bowl LIV

Super Bowl LIV is over, but that doesn't mean football has to end. The XFL's inaugural season has kicked off with two games on Saturday (check out the scores below) and two more on Sunday, Feb. 9, as the startup league reboots from its previously failed venture from almost 20 years ago, and only one year after seeing the Alliance of American Football implode in spectacularly depressing fashion.

Vince McMahon, billionaire maestro of the WWE and creator of the XFL, hopes joining forces with XFL commissioner and league CEO Oliver Luck will help to avoid the pitfalls that doomed the developmental pro league nearly two decades ago, and they're off to a solid start with funding and process, at least. They successfully executed their draft in late October that featured nearly 800 players tossing their name into the pool, and took the next step toward their [re-]inaugural opening day when they officially released the 2020 schedule in late 2019. The XFL will average two games per day -- playing on both Saturdays and Sundays -- with the playoffs set to begin in mid-April. 

First let's take a glance at the teams involved: 

XFL East XFL West

DC Defenders

Seattle Dragons

New York Guardians

Los Angeles Wildcats

Tampa Bay Vipers

Dallas Renegades

St. Louis BattleHawks

Houston Roughnecks

And now, the complete schedule, including dates and times for the playoffs and XFL Championship. 

Week 1 Matchup Date

Defenders 31, Dragons 19

Saturday, Feb. 8

Roughnecks 37, Wildcats 17

Saturday, Feb. 8

Vipers at Guardians 

Sunday, Feb. 9 (2 p.m. ET) on Fox (stream on fuboTV)

BattleHawks at Renegades

Sunday, Feb. 9 (5 p.m. ET) on ESPN

Week 2  Matchup Date

Guardians at Defenders

Saturday, Feb. 15 (2 p.m. ET)

Vipers at Dragons

Saturday, Feb. 15 (5 p.m. ET)

Renegades at Wildcats

Sunday, Feb. 16 (3 p.m. ET)

BattleHawks at Roughnecks

Sunday, Feb. 16 (6 p.m. ET)

Week 3 Matchup Date

Roughnecks at Vipers

Saturday, Feb. 22 (2 p.m. ET)

Renegades at Dragons

Saturday, Feb. 22 (5 p.m. ET)

Guardians at BattleHawks

Sunday, Feb. 23 (3 p.m. ET)

Defenders at Wildcats

Sunday, Feb. 23 (6 p.m. ET)

Week 4 Matchup Date

Wildcats at Guardians

Saturday, Feb. 29 (2 p.m. ET)

Dragons at BattleHawks

Saturday, Feb. 29 (5 p.m. ET)

Roughnecks at Renegades

Sunday, March 1 (4 p.m. ET)

Defenders at Vipers

Sunday, March 1 (7 p.m. ET)

Week 5 Matchup Date

Dragons at Roughnecks

Saturday, March 7 (2 p.m. ET)

Guardians at Renegades

Saturday, March 7 (5 p.m. ET)

BattleHawks at Defenders

Sunday, March 8 (3 p.m. ET)

Vipers at Wildcats

Sunday, March 8 (9 p.m. ET)

Week 6 Matchup Date

Roughnecks at Guardians

Saturday, March 14 (2 p.m. ET)

BattleHawks at Vipers

Saturday, March 14 (5 p.m. ET)

Renegades at Defenders

Sunday, March 15 (4 p.m. ET)

Wildcats at Dragons

Sunday, March 15 (7 p.m. ET)

Week 7 Matchup Date

Renegades at Vipers

Saturday, March 21 (2 p.m. ET)

Wildcats at BattleHawks

Saturday, March 21 (5 p.m. ET)

Guardians at Dragons

Sunday, March 22 (3 p.m. ET)

Defenders at Roughnecks

Sunday, March 22 (6 p.m. ET)

Week 8 Matchup Date

Vipers at Defenders

Saturday, March 28 (2 p.m. ET)

BattleHawks at Guardians

Saturday, March 28 (5 p.m. ET)

Roughnecks at Wildcats

Sunday, March 29 (3 p.m. ET)

Dragons at Renegades

Sunday, March 29 (6 p.m. ET)

Week 9 Matchup Date

Renegades at Roughnecks

Thursday, April 2 (8 p.m. ET)

Defenders at Guardians 

Saturday, April 4 (2 p.m. ET)

Vipers at BattleHawks

Sunday, April 5 (12 p.m. ET)

Dragons at Wildcats

Sunday, April 5 (6 p.m. ET)

Week 10 Matchup Date

Wildcats at Renegades

Thursday, April 9 (8 p.m. ET)

Roughnecks at Dragons

Saturday, April 11 (2 p.m. ET)

Defenders at BattleHawks

Sunday, April 12 (3 p.m. ET)*

Guardians at Vipers

Sunday, April 12 (6 p.m. ET)*

Playoffs Matchup Date

East No. 2 at East No. 1

Saturday, April 18 (3 p.m. ET)

West No. 2 at West No. 1

Sunday, April 19 (3 p.m. ET)

Championship Matchup Date

East vs. West

Sunday, April 26 (3 p.m. ET)

It's key to note times for the Week 10 battles on Sunday are subject to change. 

As you can see, the XFL consists of eight teams who'll duke it out on weekend afternoons for the right to be the last one standing on April 26. The more astute eye will notice the season begins immediately following Super Bowl 54, which affirms their unwillingness to go head-to-head with the juggernaut that is the NFL. Their will be a one week bye between the playoff games and the championship, and that also coincidentally (or not so much) prevents a clash with the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas -- set to run from April 23-25.

The XFL Championship game will be held one day after the NFL Draft closes, and it'll be interesting to see how player performance from the former impacts the decisions of scouts and general managers regarding the latter. If there are standout veteran players from the XFL, it could make some NFL teams think twice about the value they place on certain players and/or positions in the collegiate prospect pool; and this could be especially true in the later rounds and undrafted free agency.

That is, of course, if the XFL can successfully complete the season without suffering the same fate as the AAF. 

To their credit, although they lasted only one season in 2001, they did play it to its conclusion, but are hoping this time around their stay won't be so short-lived. And so it goes, the XFL is "back for the first time" on Saturday, Feb. 8. 

Football has no offseason in 2020.