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ACC Football Takes Center Stage with Five Straight Days of Week 1 Action

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – ACC football will take center stage throughout Labor Day weekend with five straight days of action in Week 1 of the 2026 season, beginning Thursday, September 3, and continuing through Labor Day Monday, September 7.
 
Fourteen ACC teams will compete across 12 games over the five-day stretch, highlighted by five Power Four non-conference contests and two matchups against top-12 opponents.
 
The action begins Thursday night with Akron at Wake Forest at 7 p.m. ET on ACC Network, followed by Colorado at Georgia Tech at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
 
ACC Football Fridays return this Friday, September 4, when No. 7 Miami travels to Stanford for a 9 p.m. ET conference matchup on ESPN. The contest kicks off a record-setting Friday slate for the ACC, which will play 15 Friday games during the 2026 season.
 
Saturday's seven-game schedule is headlined by Clemson's trip to No. 11 LSU at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. ESPN's College GameDay will originate from Baton Rouge for the matchup as the iconic pregame show celebrates its historic 500th road show and begins its 40th season.
 
The ACC will remain in the national spotlight Sunday, September 6, when No. 24 Louisville meets No. 9 Ole Miss in the Music City Kickoff at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
 
Week 1 concludes on Labor Day Monday with an ACC showdown between No. 19 SMU and Florida State at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The contest marks the ACC's 17th consecutive year with a Labor Day game, excluding the 2020 season, and the conference's 20th Labor Day appearance since 2005.
 
The ACC enters Week 1 after going 3-0 in non-conference play during Week 0. ACC teams outscored their non-conference opponents 86-54, a +32-scoring differential, while averaging 28.7 points per game and allowing just 18.0.
 
The conference will again face one of the nation's strongest Week 1 slates. The ACC leads all conferences with five Power Four non-conference games, while seven of the nine Week 1 contests nationally featuring Power Four vs. Power Four opponents – or Notre Dame – include at least one ACC team.
 

Week 1 - ACC Football Schedule
(All Times Eastern Time)

Thursday, September 3
Akron at Wake Forest | 7 p.m. | ACC Network
Colorado at Georgia Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN
 
Friday, September 4
#7 Miami at Stanford | 9 p.m. | ESPN
 
Saturday, September 5
New Hampshire at Syracuse | Noon | ACC Network
Miami (OH) at Pitt | 12:30 p.m. | The CW
Tulane at Duke | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Boston College at Cincinnati | 3:30 p.m. | FOX
Clemson at #11 LSU | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
VMI at Virginia Tech | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network
UCLA at California | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN
 
Sunday, September 6
#24 Louisville vs. #9 Ole Miss | 7:30 p.m. | ABC (Music City Kickoff)
 
Monday, September 7
#19 SMU at Florida State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN



ACC Football Notes
 
ACC Again Owns Labor Day Weekend with “Five Straight 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.
  • Of the nine Week 1 games that feature Power Four vs. Power Four — or Notre Dame — seven include at least one ACC team.
 
ACC Football Fridays
  • ACC Football Fridays kicks off Friday, September 4, with No. 7 Miami at Stanford at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
  • 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.
 
ACC Off to a 3-0 Non-Conference Start
  • ACC football opened the 2026 season with a perfect 3-0 record in non-conference play with three wins in Week 0.
  • ACC teams outscored their non-conference opponents 86-54, a +32-scoring differential in Week 0, while winning by an average of 10.7 points per game.
  • The ACC averaged 28.7 points per game while holding its non-conference opponents to 18.0 points per game.
 
ACC Part of Another Historic College GameDay in Week 1
  • ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Clemson at No. 11 LSU in Week 1, marking the show’s historic 500th road show.
  • The milestone matchup will also kick off the 40th season of college football’s premier pregame show.
  • Clemson was part of College GameDay’s 400th road show, as the No. 2 Tigers played No. 3 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2021.
  • College GameDay held its first-ever on-campus road show on November 13, 1993, when No. 1 Florida State traveled to No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
  • The ACC was also part of College GameDay’s first international road show, when No. 10 Florida State faced Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, in Week 0 of the 2024 season.

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, five vs. B1G, five vs. Big 12 and six 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.
 
Enhanced Instant Replay 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.
 
ACC’s Growing Global Footprint
  • The ACC opened the 2026 season internationally, as North Carolina defeated TCU 15-10 in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on August 29.
  • The matchup marked 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.

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.