The 2026 ACC football schedule release has been set for Monday, Jan. 26, according to TV listings on ESPN’s website.
The reveal of the 2026 ACC football schedule will occur during a special ACC Football Schedule Release Show at 6:00pm ET on the ACC Network and ESPN2. The show will feature ACC Huddle host Taylor Tannebaum and analysts Jimbo Fisher, Eric Mac Lain, and Eddie Royal.
Beginning in 2026, the 17-team ACC will play a partial nine-game conference schedule. 12 league members will play nine ACC games, while the remaining five will play eight conference matchups. The 12 teams playing nine conference games will be required to play at least one power non-conference opponent, while teams playing eight league games will have to play two non-conference power opponents.
The 2026 schedule format will serve as a “bridge” or “transition” as the conference moves toward fully implementing a nine-game league schedule in 2027. Beginning in 2027, 16 teams will play a nine-game ACC schedule annually, with one team each season playing eight league games due to the odd number of conference members (17).
Below are the league opponents for each ACC team in 2026.
2026 ACC Football Opponents
NINE-GAME ACC SLATE (12 Teams)
California Golden Bears
HOME: Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
AWAY: NC State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia
Duke Blue Devils
HOME: Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford
AWAY: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest
Louisville Cardinals
HOME: Florida State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Wake Forest
AWAY: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse
Miami (FL) Hurricanes
HOME: Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Pitt, Virginia Tech
AWAY: Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford, Wake Forest
NC State Wolfpack
HOME: California, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse, Wake Forest
AWAY: Florida State, North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia (in Brazil)
Pitt Panthers
HOME: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse
AWAY: Boston College, California, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech
SMU Mustangs
HOME: Boston College, California, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
AWAY: Florida State, Louisville, Stanford, Syracuse
Stanford Cardinal
HOME: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU
AWAY: California, Duke, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Syracuse Orange
HOME: California, Clemson, Louisville, SMU
AWAY: Boston College, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers
HOME: California, Duke, NC State (in Brazil), North Carolina, Syracuse
AWAY: Florida State, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Virginia Tech Hokies
HOME: Georgia Tech, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia
AWAY: Boston College, California, Clemson, Miami, SMU
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
HOME: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Virginia
AWAY: California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, SMU
EIGHT-GAME ACC SLATE (5 Teams)
Boston College Eagles
HOME: Florida State, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
AWAY: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU
Clemson Tigers
HOME: Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
AWAY: California, Duke, Florida State, Syracuse
Florida State Seminoles
HOME: Clemson, NC State, SMU, Virginia
AWAY: Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Pitt
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
HOME: Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest
AWAY: Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech
North Carolina Tar Heels
HOME: Louisville, Miami, NC State, Syracuse
AWAY: Clemson, Duke, Pitt, Virginia
This is my educated guess for remaining of Notre Dame ACC opponents.
10/10 Stanford
11/14 SMU
11/27 or 11/28 at Syracuse
10/17 is a excellent choice for Notre Dame at BYU
Surprised the ACC hasn’t pushed the Notre Dame Miami game to the end of the season. Seems like a great game to play on rivalry weekend.
Miami would make a excellent void to fill to replace USC on Thanksgiving weekend.
The easiest, and smartest solution, to the ACC’s 9-game scheduling problem with 17 schools in the conference is to have the 5 games against Notre Dame that is part of the ACC-Notre Dame agreement count as conference games. Those 5 schools that play Notre Dame as part of the ACC-Notre Dame agreement would play 8 additional ACC conference games, while the other 12 schools play 9 conference games. That is a mathematical solution to the scheduling problem. During the 1950s and 1960s some SEC teams had games against teams outside the SEC count as conference games. The 1958 Ole Miss 56-7 win over Houston is an example.