NC State Athletics

Football

ACC Football Kicks Off with Five Teams in Action in Week 0

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football season kicks off Saturday, August 29, with four games across three networks, highlighted by an international opener and the nation’s only Week 0 conference matchup.
 
North Carolina opens the season against TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at noon ET on ESPN from Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The matchup marks the ACC’s third appearance in the event since 2016.
 
At 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, NC State travels to Virginia for the only conference matchup involving an FBS league during Week 0. The game will count in the ACC standings after being relocated from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
A pair of 7 p.m. ET home games close out the Week 0 slate, as New Mexico State visits Florida State on The CW and Stanford hosts Hawaii on ACC Network.

A pair of Week 0 games—NC State at Virginia and New Mexico State at Florida State—will feature the ACC’s Enhanced Instant Replay Access, giving viewers live access to real-time replay discussions during the broadcasts.
 

Week 0 - ACC Football Schedule
(all times Eastern Time)

Saturday, August 29
North Carolina vs. TCU | Noon ET | ESPN (Aer Lingus College Football Classic – Dublin, Ireland)
NC State at Virginia | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
New Mexico State at Florida State | 7 p.m. ET | The CW
Hawaii at Stanford | 7 p.m. ET | ACC Network

ACC Football Notes
 
ACC’s Growing Global Footprint
  • The ACC will open the 2026 season internationally, as North Carolina faces TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on August 29.
  • The matchup marks the ACC’s third appearance in Dublin since 2016. Georgia Tech faced Boston College on September 3, 2016, before playing Florida State in the 2024 season opener on August 24, 2024.
  • The ACC’s international presence will expand in 2027 with multiple games outside the United States.
  • Pitt will face Wisconsin in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin on August 28, while Syracuse and Wake Forest will play the first ACC matchup in Canada in Toronto on August 28 or 29.
 
Strongest Non-Conference Schedule Once Again in 2026
  • ACC teams are scheduled to play 25 non-conference games against Power Four plus Notre Dame — the most of any conference.
    • Includes nine games vs. SEC, 5 vs. B1G, 5 vs. Big 12 and 6 vs. Notre Dame.
  • Two-thirds of the ACC’s non-conference games are against Power Four or bowl-eligible teams.
  • All 17 ACC teams will play at least 10 games vs. Power Four and Notre Dame.
  • Three of the five FBS teams playing 11 or more games vs. Power Four and Notre Dame hail from the ACC.
  • ACC teams have a total of 12 non-conference games against teams ranked in ESPN’s 2026 Way-Too-Early Top 25.
  • ACC will play 12 games against teams ranked in the final 2025 College Football Playoff rankings and AP Top 25.
  • ACC teams have a combined 29 games against 23 teams that received a 2025 bowl invitation.
 
ACC Again Owns Labor Day Weekend with “Five Days of ACC Football”
  • 14 ACC teams will compete in 12 games across five straight days (Thursday, September 3 – Monday, September 7).
  • SMU at Florida State on Labor Day Monday marks the ACC’s 17th consecutive year playing on Labor Day (excluding 2020) and 20th since 2005.
  • ACC leads all conferences in Week 1 Power Four non-conference games with five.
 
ACC Football Fridays
  • During the 2026 season, the ACC is playing a record 15 games on Fridays.
  • Over the first six weeks of the season, ACC teams will appear in nine Friday games, which includes four Friday contests in Week 2.
  • The league will continue to take center stage in October and November:
    • At least one Friday night game will be played in each of Weeks 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
    • Thanksgiving week concludes with Florida at Florida State on Black Friday.
 
Enhanced Instant Relay Access Expands in Year Two
  • The ACC will significantly expand its Enhanced Instant Replay Access initiative in 2026, giving viewers more opportunities to hear and see real-time replay discussions during ACC football broadcasts.
  • Enhanced access is scheduled for 19 games across Weeks 0-3, up from five games during the same span in 2025.
  • Including Friday night games already scheduled for Weeks 4-14, at least 27 games will feature enhanced access in 2026—matching the 27 games included during the entire 2025 season.
  • The ACC has also added four cameras inside the Game Day Operations Center for ESPN and ACC Network to incorporate into broadcasts, providing viewers with an additional look at the conference’s replay operations and process.
  • The initiative provides viewers with live audio among the Referee, stadium replay official and ACC Collaborative Instant Replay Official in Charlotte as replay decisions are reviewed and determined.
 
Strength and Depth of ACC Football
  • Over the last three seasons, the ACC has had 11 or more bowl-eligible teams — the longest streak of any conference.
  • Last year, the ACC had seven teams with nine or more wins on the season — the most in a single season in ACC history.
  • Nine ACC teams had eight or more wins in 2025 — tied for the most in FBS and the most in a single season in ACC history.
  • In 2024, four teams finished the season with 10 or more wins — the first time in ACC history.
 
2026 ACC Football Championship Game
  • The Championship Game will kick off on Saturday, December 5, at noon ET on ABC, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • 2026 marks the 14th consecutive year, and the 18th time overall, that the ACC Football Championship Game will air on ABC.
  • ACC Championship games have been televised on either ABC or ESPN every year since their inaugural season in 2005.
  • The ACC’s top two teams will be showcased in the only Power Four conference championship game in the noon television time slot.