The ACC released its 2026 football schedule on Monday night, locking in dates for NC State, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest. While opponents were largely known, the release clarifies when key conference games, rivalry matchups and bye weeks fall for each of the state’s ACC programs.
North Carolina ACC Schedules At A Glance
Duke Blue Devils
Season opener: vs. Tulane, Saturday, Sept. 5
Home opener: vs. Tulane, Saturday, Sept. 5
Conference opener: vs. Stanford, Saturday, Sept. 19
Notables: Four of the Blue Devils’ last six games will come on the road – at Virginia, at NC State, at Miami and at Wake Forest … ACC title game rematch will be either Oct. 23 or 24 at Virginia.
Open dates: Aug. 29, Oct. 3
🗓️ View Duke’s full 2026 schedule
NC State Wolfpack
Season opener: vs. Virginia, Saturday, Aug. 29
College Football Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Home opener: vs. Richmond, Saturday, Sept. 12
Conference opener: vs. Virginia, Saturday, Aug. 29
Notables: NCSU is the only NC team to face both Stanford (away) and California (home). The ACC could put one or both of those games on Friday nights in late October … Wolfpack will play App State for the first time since 2006.
Open dates: Sept. 5, Oct. 17
🗓️ View NC State’s full 2026 schedule
UNC Tar Heels
Season opener: vs TCU, Saturday, Aug. 29
2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland
Home opener: vs. East Tennessee State, Saturday, Sept. 12
Conference opener: at Clemson, Saturday, Sept. 19
Notables: UNC will play nine Saturdays in a row after two early open dates … The Tar Heels do not play Wake Forest this season, a sad casualty of an expanded ACC.
Open dates: Sept. 5, Sept. 26
🗓️ View UNC’s full 2026 schedule
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Season opener: vs. Akron, Thursday, Sept. 3
Home opener: vs. Akron, Thursday, Sept. 3
Conference opener: vs. Miami, Friday, Sept. 18
Notables: The Deacs will play the ACC champs (Duke), ACC runners-up (Virginia) and the national runners-up (Miami) – all at home … Wake is the only in-state team playing on Thursday night on Labor Day weekend.
Open dates: Aug. 29, Oct. 24
🗓️ View Wake Forest’s full 2026 schedule
ACC In-State “Big Four” Matchups 2026
Oct. 10 – Wake Forest at NC State
Oct. 17 – UNC at Duke
Nov. 6 or 7 – Duke at NC State
Nov. 28 – Duke at Wake Forest
Nov. 28 – NC State at UNC
Big Four and ACC Football Schedule Nuggets
- NC State and Virginia will be the first college football teams to play a regular season game in South America. College Football Brasil will feature the Pack and Cavaliers on Saturday, Aug. 29 in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile on the same day, rival UNC will play TCU in Ireland in the annual Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin.
- Because of their international travels in Week 0, NC State and UNC will not have games on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-5) and will not play in front of their home fans until Saturday, Sept. 12.
- Two of Duke‘s non-conference opponents will be teams that beat the Blue Devils in 2025, Tulane and Illinois.
- UNC will play 11 FBS opponents, including 10 teams that went to bowl games in 2025. The Tar Heels will face a stiffer schedule overall than last season, including games against Notre Dame, Clemson, Miami, Louisville, Virginia and in-state rivals NCSU and Duke.
- The ACC Football Championship Game will move from its traditional nighttime TV slot to noon this season. The ACC title contest is set for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. ABC will once again broadcast the league’s finale. “Being the first conference championship to kick off on Championship Saturday allows us to lead the day on a national stage, showcase our student-athletes and programs and deliver a marquee event to fans across the country,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a release.
- Beginning in 2026, the ACC will transition to a nine-game conference scheduling model. This season, 12 of 17 teams will play nine league games, including Duke, NC State and Wake Forest. UNC will face eight ACC foes, as well as two other Power Four opponents (TCU, Notre Dame).
Find Full 2026 Schedules & Updates
Kickoff times and television information are still to be determined and will become available as the 2026 season approaches. For the most up-to-date schedules, visit our team pages:
- Duke football schedule
- NC State football schedule
- UNC football schedule
- Wake Forest football schedule
Looking for more North Carolina college football schedules?
🏫 Team Schedules Hub – Browse full-season schedules for all 33 NC schools
🗓️ Weekly Master Schedule – View all NC games organized by week
