- No. 7 Miami, No. 21 Louisville, Clemson and North Carolina headline ACCN’s opening four weeks
- ACC Network Primetime Football visits Virginia Tech, Clemson and Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte
- ACC Network enters its eighth college football season with 13 games across the first four weeks
The countdown to kickoff for the 2026 college football season on ACC Network is officially underway, as the schedule of games across ESPN networks for Weeks 0-3 of the new season was announced today.
ACC Network opens its eighth college football season in Palo Alto, Calif. on Saturday, August 29 as Stanford hosts Hawai’i at 7 p.m. ET. The matchup begins a stretch of 35 games featuring ACC teams across ESPN networks during the season’s first four weeks, including 13 contests on ACC Network.
Action continues over Labor Day Weekend with a primetime showdown on Thursday, Sept. 3 as Wake Forest hosts Akron (7 p.m.). ACC Network’s first full Saturday slate of the season features a tripleheader with Syracuse, Duke and Virginia Tech each opening their home schedules. ACC Network Primetime Football heads to Blacksburg as Virginia Tech hosts VMI at 7:30 p.m.
Week 2 features three consecutive days of action spotlighting nationally ranked ACC programs. Reigning national finalist Miami, ranked No. 7 in ESPN’s Way Too Early Top 25, hosts Florida A&M on Thursday, September 10 (8 p.m.), before No. 21 Louisville welcomes Villanova on Friday night (7 p.m.). Saturday’s Week 2 lineup includes another ACCN tripleheader beginning with Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels hosting East Tennessee State at noon. California travels to Syracuse for an ACC matchup in the afternoon window before ACC Network Primetime Football visits Clemson, where Dabo Swinney and the Tigers host Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m.
Week 3 on ACCN opens with Georgia Tech, entering its fourth full season under head coach Brent Key, hosting Mercer at noon. The week concludes in Charlotte with the Duke’s Mayo Classic as Virginia faces West Virginia in primetime at 7:30 p.m.
In addition to ACC Network’s linear schedule, ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) will stream five additional games during the season’s opening four weeks, highlighted by No. 22 SMU hosting UC Davis on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Additional marquee matchups featuring ACC teams across ESPN platforms include No. 21 Louisville facing No. 9 Ole Miss in the Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff on Sunday, Sept. 6 (7:30 p.m., ABC), Florida State hosting No. 22 SMU on Monday, Sept. 7 (7:30 p.m., ESPN), Georgia Tech welcoming No. 25 Tennessee on Sept. 12 (7 p.m., ESPN) and a ranked ACC showdown between No. 22 SMU and No. 21 Louisville on Sept. 19 (3:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2).
Fans can also prepare for the season with ACC Network’s extensive lineup of original programming highlighting all 17 ACC programs. ACCN’s signature studio football show, ACC Huddle, recently featured dedicated spring football preview specials for each program, breaking down offseason developments, roster movement and key storylines entering 2026.
The ACC is coming off a 2025 season in which the conference finished 9-5 in postseason play, matching its highest postseason win total since 2016. Led by national finalist Miami, the ACC also finished 7-3 in postseason play against fellow Power 4 conferences.
Additional scheduling details, including commentator assignments for each game, will be announced later this summer.
ESPN networks – 2026 Early Season ACC Football Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Sat, Aug 29 | Noon | Aer Lingus College Football Classic: North Carolina vs. TCU (Dublin, Ireland) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | NC State at Virginia | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | Hawai’i at Stanford | ACC Network | |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 7 p.m. | Akron at Wake Forest | ACC Network |
| 8 p.m. | Colorado at Georgia Tech | ESPN | |
| Fri, Sep 4 | 9 p.m. | Miami at Stanford | ESPN |
| Sat, Sep 5 | Noon | New Hampshire at Syracuse | ACC Network |
| 3:30 p.m. | Tulane at Duke | ACC Network | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Clemson at LSU | ABC | |
| 7:30 p.m. | VMI at Virginia Tech | ACC Network | |
| 10:30 p.m. | UCLA at California | ESPN | |
| Sun, Sep 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff: Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Nashville, Tenn.) | ABC |
| Mon, Sep 7 | 7:30 p.m. | SMU at Florida State | ESPN |
| Thu, Sep 10 | 8 p.m. | Florida A&M at Miami | ACC Network |
| Fri, Sep 11 | 7 p.m. | Villanova at Louisville | ACC Network |
| 7 p.m. | Richmond at NC State | ESPNU | |
| 7 p.m. | Norfolk State at Virginia | ACCNX | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Rutgers at Boston College | ESPN2 | |
| Sat, Sep 12 | Noon | East Tennessee State at North Carolina | ACC Network |
| 3:30 p.m. | UCF at Pittsburgh | ESPN2 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | California at Syracuse | ACC Network | |
| 4 p.m. | UC Davis at SMU | ACCNX | |
| 7 p.m. | Tennessee at Georgia Tech | ESPN | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Georgia Southern at Clemson | ACC Network | |
| Thu, Sep 17 | 7:30 p.m. | Syracuse at Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| Fri, Sep 18 | 7:30 p.m. | Miami at Wake Forest | ESPN |
| Sat, Sep 19 | Noon | North Carolina at Clemson | ESPN |
| Noon | Mercer at Georgia Tech | ACC Network | |
| 12:45 p.m. | NC State at Vanderbilt | SEC Network | |
| 2 p.m. | Maine at Boston College | ACCNX | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Florida State at Alabama | ABC | |
| 3:30 p.m. | SMU at Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Wagner at California | ACC Network | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Duke’s Mayo Classic: West Virginia vs. Virginia (Charlotte) | ACC Network | |
| Fri, Sep 25 | 10:30 p.m. | Clemson at California | ESPN |
| Sat, Sep 26 | Noon | Bucknell at Pittsburgh | ACCNX |
| 3:30 p.m. | William & Mary at Duke | ACCNX | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech at Stanford | ESPN | |
| Fri, Oct 2 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| Fri, Oct 9 | 7 p.m. | Florida State at Louisville | ESPN |
| Fri, Oct 23 | 7 p.m. | Duke at Virginia | ESPN |
| 10:30 p.m. | NC State at Stanford | ESPN | |
| Fri, Nov 6 | 7 p.m. | Virginia Tech at SMU | ESPN |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 7 p.m. | Florida State at Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| Fri, Nov 20 | 7:30 p.m. | Clemson at Duke | ESPN |
| Fri, Nov 27 | 3:30 p.m. | Florida at Florida State | ABC |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Noon | ACC Championship Game (Charlotte, N.C.) | ABC |
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