As the 2025 North Carolina college football season winds down — just bowl games remaining for Duke and Wake Forest — early pieces of the 2026 schedule are already falling into place.
Four of North Carolina’s FCS programs have released their full 2026 slates. Several game dates have been set for our state’s FBS programs, mostly non-conference contests at this point.
Here are some 2026 schedule highlights to ponder while drinking your champagne and ringing in 2026. Happy New Year!
👉 View the 2026 North Carolina College Football Schedule, organized by week
International kickoff for NC State, UNC
NC State played Virginia in Raleigh this past season but it was considered a non-conference game. The Pack and Cavaliers will meet on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 in Brazil, and it will count in the ACC standings. Go figure.
The Week 0 matchup will be the first-ever FBS game in South America. Dubbed “College Football Brasil” it will be staged at Nilton Santos Stadium (Engenhão) in Rio de Janeiro. NC State, which beat Virginia in 2025, finished 8-5, while the Cavs (10-4) won the ACC regular season.
Meanwhile, UNC will open its 2026 campaign on the same day as NC State in a more familiar though still exotic location. The Tar Heels will face TCU in the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
This will be the Heels’ first football game abroad and the fifth year in a row that the FBS season has started with a Week 0 game in Ireland. TCU was North Carolina’s opening night opponent in 2025 as the Bill Belichick era kicked off in Chapel Hill with a loss.
More Week 0 Action On Deck
Western Carolina, Campbell and North Carolina A&T also will start their 2026 seasons on Saturday, Aug. 29, the weekend before Labor Day. WCU and A&T will be at home, hosting Eastern Kentucky and Morgan State, respectively. Campbell will travel to East Tennessee State.
Bring on ‘Bama, Florida
East Carolina will take aim at a College Football Playoff team in what is currently its season opener. The Pirates will travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. That should keep ECU motivated after a strong finish to the 2025 campaign.
Campbell also will play an SEC foe early in the season, traveling to Florida on Sept. 12. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Camels and Gators.
North Carolina vs. North Carolina matchups
Here are some in-state rivalry games that we already have circled on our calendars:
- Campbell will host Western Carolina for the second year in a row on Sept. 5. Elon will play a return game at Davidson on the same date.
- Appalachian State will visit East Carolina on Sept. 12 and will host Charlotte on Sept. 19. These three schools should all play each other every season (our opinion).
- The Mountaineers have a full slate of in-state non-conference opponents this season, traveling to NC State on Sept. 26.
- The 2026 Aggies-Eagles rivalry between North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T will be Sept. 12 in Durham.
- Campbell will get its shot to play both the Aggies and Eagles, hosting NC A&T in a CAA matchup on Sept. 19 and traveling to NCCU on Oct. 3.
- North Carolina A&T made headlines by beating ECU in 2018. North Carolina Central will take aim at the Pirates in 2026, traveling to Greenville on Sept. 26.
- Elon will serve as North Carolina A&T’s homecoming guest on Oct. 31.
- Campbell and Elon will square off in a late-season CAA clash on Nov. 14.
Notable Non-Conference Foes: Notre Dame, Vandy, Ole Miss & More
- Akron at Wake Forest, Thursday, Sept. 3
- The Darian Mensah Bowl 2.0 – Tulane at Duke, Sept. 5.
- Charlotte at Ole Miss, Sept. 12
- Duke at Illinois, Sept. 12
- Wake Forest at Purdue, Sept. 12
- Western Carolina at Cincinnati, Sept. 12
- NC State at Vanderbilt, Sept. 19
- Notre Dame at UNC, Oct. 3
- Elon at Stanford, Oct. 17
- UNC at Connecticut, Nov. 7
This is just a taste of the 2026 schedule for our state. Look for more team schedules to be released in the days and weeks ahead.
👉 View the 2026 North Carolina College Football Schedule, organized by week
