Global Stage and a New Era: The ACC Unveils the 2026 Football Schedule

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On Monday, the Atlantic Coast Conference officially pulled the curtain back on its most ambitious football schedule to date. During a two-hour special on the ACC Network, Commissioner Jim Phillips unveiled a 2026 slate defined by international milestones, a major scheduling shift, and a “Power Four” non-conference gauntlet that is the toughest in the country.

Week 0: Three Continents, One Saturday

The ACC is taking “coast-to-coast” to a global level. On August 29, 2026, the conference will anchor a historic Week 0 by playing games across three different continents.

College Football Brasil: In a historic first, NC State and Virginia will face off in the first-ever FBS game in South America. The conference matchup will take place at Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Aer Lingus College Football Classic: North Carolina will travel to Dublin, Ireland, to face TCU (Big 12) at Aviva Stadium, marking the Tar Heels’ first international appearance.
Stateside Kickoff: Stanford hosts Hawaii, and Florida State welcomes New Mexico State to round out a four-game Week 0 lineup.

The Big Shift: Transition to Nine Games

The 2026 season serves as a “bridge year” for the ACC’s move to a permanent nine-game conference schedule.

The 9+1 Model: 12 ACC programs will play nine league games plus at least one Power Four non-conference opponent.
The 8+2 Model: The remaining five programs will play eight league games but are required to play at least two Power Four non-conference opponents.
Toughness by Design: In total, the ACC will play 25 non-conference games against Power Four teams—the most of any conference. This includes 9 games vs. the SEC, 5 vs. the Big Ten, 5 vs. the Big 12, and 6 vs. Notre Dame.

Marquee Matchups & Key Storylines

The Labor Day Monday Tradition

The ACC will once again own the Labor Day stage on September 7, as SMU travels to Tallahassee to face Florida State. This marquee Monday night game serves as a high-stakes introduction to the “new” ACC for the Mustangs.

Clemson’s “Challenge Letter”

Analysts are already pointing to Clemson’s schedule as one of the most difficult in recent memory. The Tigers open on the road at LSU (Sept. 5) and endure a brutal late-September stretch: a Friday night cross-country flight to California (Sept. 25) followed by a short-week turnaround to host national runner-up Miami (Oct. 3).

The Rivalry Window

Week 7: The schedule hits a fever pitch with “Rivalry Week Lite,” featuring Florida State vs. Miami and North Carolina vs. Duke.
Thanksgiving Weekend: The season culminates with a massive slate including Georgia Tech at Georgia, South Carolina at Clemson, Florida at Florida State, and the NC State vs. UNC showdown.

Championship Saturday: A High Noon Showdown

In a break from tradition, the conference announced that the 2026 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off at Noon ET on Saturday, December 5 on ABC.

By moving from its traditional night window to noon, the ACC will be the first conference to kick off on Championship Saturday, aiming to “lead the day” on the national stage from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Key Date	Matchup	Location
Aug 29	NC State vs. Virginia	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Aug 29	North Carolina vs. TCU	Dublin, Ireland
Sept 7	SMU at Florida State	Tallahassee, FL
Sept 25	Clemson at California	Berkeley, CA
Dec 5	ACC Championship Game	Charlotte, NC