2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

2026 ACC Football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationAugust 29 to December 5, 2026
Teams17
2027 NFL draft
Regular season
ACC Championship Game
DateDecember 5, 2026
VenueBank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Boston College   0 – 0     0 – 0  
California   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Clemson   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Duke   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Florida State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Georgia Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Louisville   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Miami (FL)   0 – 0     0 – 0  
NC State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
North Carolina   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Pittsburgh   0 – 0     0 – 0  
SMU   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Stanford   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Syracuse   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Virginia   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Virginia Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Wake Forest   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Championship: December 5, 2026
As of March 24, 2026
Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football season, part of the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season, will be the 74th season of college football play for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The entire schedule was released on January 26, 2026.[1]

The Duke Blue Devils are the defending conference champions, having defeated the Virginia Cavaliers in the 2025 ACC Championship Game.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

National rankings
Team ESPN[2] Rivals[3] 24/7[4] On3 Recruits[5] Total signees
Boston College
California
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Pittsburgh
Stanford
SMU
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Note: ESPN only ranks the top 75 teams.

ACC Kickoff

The 2026 ACC Kickoff will be held in July at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina. Coverage of the three day event will be televised by the ACC Network.

Preseason media polls

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Preseason ACC Player of the year

Source:

Ranking Player Position Team Votes

Preseason all-conference teams

Source:

Preseason awards

All–American Teams

AP 1st Team AP 2nd Team AS 1st Team AS 2nd Team AS 3rd Team AS 4th Team WCFF 1st Team WCFF 2nd Team ESPN CBS 1st Team SN 1st Team SN 2nd Team USAT 1st Team USAT 2nd Team SI 1st Team SI 2nd Team

Preseason award watchlists

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Virginia Tech

In September of 2025 after an 0–3 start, Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry.[6] On November 17, 2025 James Franklin was announced as the Hokies next head coach after he was fired from Penn State in October.

California

In November of 2025, the California Golden Bears fired nine year head coach Justin Wilcox.[7] On December 4, 2025, Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi was hired as the Bears next head coach.[8]

Stanford

Tavita Pritchard was named Stanford's head football coach on November 28, 2025 to replace interim head coach Frank Reich.[9]

Head coaching records

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school ACC record
Boston College Bill O'Brien 3 24–25 9–16 5–11
California Tosh Lupoi 1 0–0 0–0 0–0
Clemson Dabo Swinney 18 187–53 187–53 113–29
Duke Manny Diaz 3 39–24 18–9 11–5
Florida State Mike Norvell 7 76–49 38–34 22–26
Georgia Tech Brent Key 4 27–20 27–20 20–11
Louisville Jeff Brohm 4 94–56 28–12 16–8
Miami Mario Cristobal 5 97–79 35–19 18–14
North Carolina Bill Belichick 2 4–8 4–8 2–6
NC State Dave Doeren 14 118–74 95–70 51–55
Pittsburgh Pat Narduzzi 12 80–61 80–61 52–39
SMU Rhett Lashlee 5 38–16 38–16 14–2
Stanford Tavita Pritchard 1 0–0 0–0 0–0
Syracuse Fran Brown 3 13–12 13–12 6–10
Virginia Tony Elliott 5 22–26 22–26 13–18
Virginia Tech James Franklin 1 128–60 0–0 0–0
Wake Forest Jake Dickert 2 32–24 9–4 4–4

Notes:

  • Years at school includes 2026 season.
  • Coaches shown are the coaches who began the 2026 season as head coach of each team.

Rankings

Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Pre Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Wk
15		 Final
Boston College AP
C
CFP Not released
California AP
C
CFP Not released
Clemson AP
C
CFP Not released
Duke AP
C
CFP Not released
Florida State AP
C
CFP Not released
Georgia Tech AP
C
CFP Not released
Louisville AP
C
CFP Not released
Miami AP
C
CFP Not released
North Carolina AP
C
CFP Not released
NC State AP
C
CFP Not released
Pittsburgh AP
C
CFP Not released
SMU AP
C
CFP Not released
Stanford AP
C
CFP Not released
Syracuse AP
C
CFP Not released
Virginia AP
C
CFP Not released
Virginia Tech AP
C
CFP Not released
Wake Forest AP
C
CFP Not released

Schedule

The schedule was released on January 25, 2026.[1] The season will begin on August 29, 2026, with four ACC games in Week 0, including a conference matchup between NC State and Virginia. The regular season will end with the ACC Championship Game on December 5, 2026.

Regular season

Week Zero

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
August 29 TBD p.m. NC State Virginia Nilton Santos Stadium • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (College Football Brazil)  –  
August 29 TBD p.m. North Carolina TCU Aviva Stadium • Dublin, Ireland (Aer Lingus College Football Classic)  –  
August 29 TBD p.m. New Mexico State Florida State Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL  –  
August 29 TBD p.m. Hawaii Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA  –  
#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

Week Ten

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

Week Fourteen

Championship Game

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
December 5 12:00 p.m. Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC ABC    
#Rankings from College Football Playoff. All times are in Eastern Time.

Head-to-head matchups

2026 ACC head-to-head matchups
Team Boston College California Clemson Duke Florida State Georgia Tech Louisville Miami NC State North Carolina Pittsburgh SMU Stanford Syracuse Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest
vs. Boston College — × × × × × × × ×
vs. California × — × × × × × ×
vs. Clemson × — × × × × × × ×
vs. Duke × — × × × × × ×
vs. Florida State × × — × × × × × ×
vs. Georgia Tech × × — × × × × × ×
vs. Louisville × × × × — × × ×
vs. Miami × × × — × × × ×
vs. NC State × × × × — × × ×
vs. North Carolina × × × × — × × × ×
vs. Pittsburgh × × × — × × × ×
vs. SMU × × × × × × × —
vs. Stanford × × × × × — × ×
vs. Syracuse × × × × × — × ×
vs. Virginia × × × × × × × —
vs. Virginia Tech × × × × × × — ×
vs. Wake Forest × × × × × × × —
Total 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
BC CAL CLEM DUKE FSU GT LOU MIA NCSU UNC PITT SMU STAN SYR UVA VT WF

× – Matchup not played in 2026
Updated before the season.

ACC vs other conferences

ACC vs Power Four matchups

The following games include ACC teams competing against "Power Four" conference teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, as well as Notre Dame. All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score

Note:† Denotes Neutral Site Game

ACC vs Group of Six matchups

The following games include ACC teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt, as well as the Pac-12.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score

ACC vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include ACC teams competing against FBS independents UConn or UMass (but excluding independent Notre Dame, which appears in the Power Four section above).

Date Visitor Home Site Score

ACC vs FCS matchups

The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.

Date Visitor Home Site Score

Records against other conferences

Postseason

Bowl games

Legend
ACC win
ACC loss
  Cancellation
Bowl game Date Site Time (EST) Television ACC team Opponent Score Attendance


Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week Quarterback Receiver Running Back Offensive Line Defensive Line Linebacker Defensive Back Specialist Rookie
Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Position Player Team Position
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14

All-conference teams

Source:

ACC individual awards

All-Americans

Consensus All-Americans

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. Players are chosen against other players playing at their position only. To be selected a consensus All-American, players must be chosen to the first team on at least half of the five official selectors as recognized by the NCAA. Second- and third-team honors are used to break ties. Players named first-team by all five selectors are deemed unanimous All-Americans. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine consensus and unanimous All-Americans.[10]

2025 Consensus All-Americans
Unanimous Consensus

Associated Press

2026 AP All-Americans
First Team Second Team Third Team

AFCA

2026 AFCA All-Americans
First Team Second Team

FWAA

2026 FWAA All-Americans
First Team Second Team

The Sporting News

2026 Sporting News All-Americans
First Team Second Team

WCFF

2026 Walter Camp All-Americans
First Team Second Team

Television Selections

The Atlantic Coast Conference has television contracts with ESPN, which allow games to be broadcast across ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, TNT, ESPN2, ESPNU and ACC Network. Streaming broadcasts for games under ACC control are streamed on ESPN+. Games under the control of other conferences fall under the contracts of the opposing conference.

Network Wk 0 Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 C Bowls NCG Totals
ABC 1 1 - 2
ESPN – – –
ESPN2 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
ESPNU – – – – – – – – – – – – –
FOX – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
FS1 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
FS2 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
CBS – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
NBC – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The CW – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
CBS Sports Network – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
ACC Network – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
TNT (TruTV, TBS) – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
ESPN+ (streaming) – – – – – – – – – – -
TNT Max (streaming) – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Platform Games
Broadcast 0
Cable 0
Streaming 0

Home game attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Total Average % of Capacity
Boston College Alumni Stadium 44,500
California California Memorial Stadium 63,000
Clemson Memorial Stadium 81,500
Duke Wallace Wade Stadium 35,018
Florida State Doak Campbell Stadium 79,560
Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Stadium 55,000
Louisville L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium 60,800
Miami Hard Rock Stadium 65,326
North Carolina Kenan Memorial Stadium 50,500
NC State Carter–Finley Stadium 56,919
Pittsburgh Acrisure Stadium 68,400
SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium 32,000
Stanford Stanford Stadium 50,424
Syracuse JMA Wireless Dome 49,057
Virginia Scott Stadium 61,500
Virginia Tech Lane Stadium 65,632
Wake Forest Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium 31,500
Conference

NFL draft

See also: 2027 NFL draft

The 2027 NFL draft will be held in Washington, D.C.. The following list includes all ACC players in the draft.

List of selections

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team

Total picks by school

Team Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Total
Boston College
California
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Pittsburgh
SMU
Stanford
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Total

References

  1. ^ a b "ACC Unveils 2026 Football Schedule". theacc.com. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  2. ^ Haubert, Craig (February 5, 2025). "2025 college football recruiting class rankings: Top 75 schools". ESPN. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  3. ^ "2025 Class Rankings". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  4. ^ "2025 Football Recruiting Team Rankings". 247Sports. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  5. ^ "2025 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings". on3.com. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  6. ^ "Hokies fire coach Brent Pry after starting 0-3". ESPN. September 14, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  7. ^ Thamel, Pete (November 23, 2025). "California fires coach Justin Wilcox after nine seasons". ESPN. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  8. ^ Uggetti, Paolo (December 4, 2025). "Cal hires Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi as next head coach". ESPN. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  9. ^ Thamel, Pete (November 28, 2025). "Stanford names former QB Tavita Pritchard head coach". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  10. ^ "2010-11 NCAA Statistics Policies(updated 9/15/2010)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
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