Football

ACC Showcases All 17 Teams Across 16 Non-Conference Matchups in Week 2

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – All 17 Atlantic Coast Conference football teams will be in action this weekend as Week 2 features a full slate of 16 non-conference matchups. The weekend begins Friday night when Louisville hosts James Madison, before continuing with 15 games across a packed Saturday schedule.
 
From noon kickoffs to a 10:15 p.m. ET nightcap, ACC teams will take the national stage throughout the day on Saturday in a showcase of compelling non-conference action.
 
Building on a historic opening weekend, the ACC continues to challenge itself against top competition. After playing a national-best seven non-conference games against peer Power 4 opponents (plus Notre Dame) in Week 1, the league will face five more Power 4 foes in Week 2 — totaling 12 such matchups across the first two weeks of the season.
 
Week 2 - ACC Football Schedule
(all times Eastern Time)
 
Friday, September 5
James Madison at Louisville | 7 p.m. | ESPN2
Series: Louisville leads, 1-0
Last meeting: Louisville, 34-10 (2022)
 
Saturday, September 6
#11 Illinois at Duke | Noon | ESPN
Series: Series tied, 1-1
Last meeting: Illinois, 28-14 (1965)
 
Virginia at NC State | Noon | ESPN2
Series: NC State leads, 37-22-1
Last meeting: NC State, 24-21 (2023)
*Non-Conference Game
 
Central Michigan at Pitt | Noon | ESPNU
Series: First Meeting
 
East Texas A&M at #14 Florida State | Noon | ACC Network
Series: First Meeting
 
Baylor at #17 SMU | Noon | The CW
Series: Baylor leads, 39-36-7
Last meeting: Baylor, 40-13 (2016)
 
UConn at Syracuse | Noon | ACCNX
Series: Syracuse leads, 7-6
Last meeting: Syracuse, 31-24 (2024)
 
Western Carolina at Wake Forest | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Series: Wake Forest leads, 3-0
Last meeting: Wake Forest, 40-24 (1991)
 
Troy at #8 Clemson | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Series: Clemson leads, 2-0
Last meeting: Clemson, 30-24 (2016)
 
Gardner-Webb at Georgia Tech | 3:30 p.m. | ACCNX
Series: Georgia Tech leads, 1-0
Last meeting: Georgia Tech, 10-7 (2008)
 
Texas Southern at California | 6 p.m. | ACCNX
Series: First Meeting
 
North Carolina at Charlotte | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Series: North Carolina leads, 1-0
Last meeting: North Carolina, 38-20 (2024)
 
Bethune-Cookman at #5 Miami | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
Series: Miami leads, 7-0
Last meeting: Miami, 48-7 (2023)
 
Boston College at Michigan State | 7:30 p.m. | NBC
Series: Boston College leads, 5-1-1
Last meeting: Boston College, 23-19 (2024)
 
Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Series: Virginia Tech leads, 6-4
Last meeting: Vanderbilt, 34-27 (ot) (2024)
 
Stanford at BYU | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN
Series: Stanford leads, 2-1
Last meeting: BYU, 35-26 (2022)
 
 
ACC Football Notes
 
Historical Week 1 for the ACC
  • The ACC capped off a strong start to the 2025 season, with two teams recording a top-10 win in their Week 1 openers – as Florida State beat No. 8 Alabama and No. 10 Miami downed No. 6 Notre Dame.
  • The ACC’s two top-10 non-conference wins in Week 1 last week marked only the second time since 1980 that a single conference has achieved two such victories to start the season; the previous instance was when the SEC did so in 2018. (Stats Perform)
  • Overall, the ACC went 12-4 in Week 1, including posting three non-conference wins over Power 4 and Notre Dame.
  • The ACC played five non-conference games versus AP Top 25 opponents in Week 1 - the most in Week 1 in ACC history.
 
ACC Offenses
  • All 16 ACC teams in action in Week 1 scored double-digit points in their season-opening contests, highlighted by three teams breaking the 50-point mark - Boston College (66 points), Pitt (61) and Louisville (51).
  • Five ACC teams scored 45 points or more over Week 1, the second-most of any conference in the first week of play.
  • Over Week 0 and Week 1, ACC teams are averaging 32.2 points per game, the third-most among all conferences.
  • ACC teams have combined for 39 offensive plays that have gone for at least 30 yards this season, the most of any FBS conference. (Stats Perform)
 
ACC Football Fridays
  • ACC Football is set to dominate Fridays this fall, with a league-record 12 games scheduled for Fridays in 2025, the most of any conference.
  • 12 of the ACC’s 17 football programs will participate in at least one primetime Friday night game.
  • Louisville will host James Madison this week on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
 
Strongest Non-Conference Schedule
  • ACC teams are scheduled to play 26 games against peer Power 4 Conference opponents and Notre Dame in 2025, the most of any conference by at least eight games – ACC – 26; SEC – 18; Big 12 – 14; Big Ten – 12.
  • ACC teams are scheduled to play 15 non-conference games against opponents that were ranked in the 2025 Preseason AP Poll, five more than any other conference. Nine of those contests will come versus foes ranked in the top 10, also the most of any conference.
  • ACC teams will play 35 non-conference games against opponents that appeared in a bowl game last year, including eight against teams that made the 12-team College Football Playoff.
  • Based on team records from last season, the ACC is slated to play the toughest strength of schedule (.591) in non-conference play this season (considers FBS opponents only). (Stats Perform)
 
ACC is Again the Conference of Quarterbacks
  • The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Kevin Jennings at SMU, Eli Holstein at Pitt, Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, CJ Bailey at NC State and Tommy Castellanos at Florida State.
  • Five ACC quarterbacks were ranked in ESPN’s Top 15 QBs in College Football in 2025 – Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Carson Beck of Miami, Haynes King of Georgia Tech, Kevin Jennings of SMU and Darian Mensah of Duke.
  • The ACC features nine of the top 30 quarterback transfers heading into the 2025 season and has seen a strong influx of talent at the position, including notable names like Carson Beck (Miami), Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (California), Darian Mensah (Duke), Miller Moss (Louisville), Steve Angeli and Rickie Collins (Syracuse), Dylan Lonergan (Boston College), Chandler Morris (Virginia), Gio Lopez (North Carolina), Devin Brown (California), Daniel Kaelin (Virginia), and Deshawn Purdie (Wake Forest).
  • The ACC had 13 quarterbacks named to the 2025 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List – no other conference had more.
  • The ACC also had seven quarterbacks named to the 2025 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List.
 
ACC is Loaded with Preeminent Players
  • The ACC is stacked with preeminent players again heading into the 2025 season, including:
    • Five ACC players are ranked on ESPN’s list of 25 non-QB playmakers to watch.
    • ACC has 10 of the top 50 best players in college football (PFF College 50).
    • ACC has 1 of the 3 top returning players across six different positions (Pro Football Focus).
    • ACC has 3 of the top 10 teams in the 247Sports 2025 Transfer Football Team Rankings.
    • ACC has 22 of the top 100 transfers in the 247Sports 2025 College Football Transfer Portal Top Prospects.
 
ACC x NFL
  • No conference blends college football and NFL experience quite like the ACC in 2025, with three former NFL head coaches now leading programs: Bill O’Brien (Boston College), Bill Belichick (North Carolina), and Frank Reich (Stanford), the most of any conference.
  • Belichick (six Super Bowl wins) and Reich (one) are the only two college football head coaches who have also won a Super Bowl as either head coach or coordinator in the NFL.
  • Several ACC programs also feature General Managers with deep NFL ties, including Ron Rivera (Cal), John Garrett (Duke), Michael Lombardi (North Carolina) and Andrew Luck (Stanford), along with a growing number of former NFL stars contributing across coaching staffs and player development roles.