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.
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 24/7 On3 Recruits Total signees Boston College 48 53 55 24 California 64 56 52 18 Clemson 19 20 21 23 Duke 62 71 70 15 Florida State 15 16 14 34 Georgia Tech 47 41 38 24 Louisville 42 48 49 21 Miami (FL) 10 9 9 33 North Carolina 14 19 17 41 NC State 46 49 48 28 Pittsburgh 43 44 45 21 Stanford 30 37 39 24 SMU 22 32 24 24 Syracuse 27 35 33 27 Virginia NR 111 96 14 Virginia Tech 21 30 29 23 Wake Forest 45 39 41 30
ACC Kickoff The 2026 ACC Kickoff was held from July 15–17 at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina. Coverage of the three day event will be televised by the ACC Network.
The schedule for the teams is as follows:
July 15 Florida State Miami (FL) NC State Stanford Virginia
July 16 Boston College Clemson Georgia Tech Louisville Syracuse Virginia Tech
July 17 California Duke North Carolina Pitt SMU Wake Forest
Preseason media polls On July 28, 2026, the league released the preseason poll as voted on by 183 media members during ACC Kickoff.
1 Miami 3159 (165) 2 SMU 2794 (6) 3 Louisville 2569 (4) 4 Clemson 2520 (7) 5 Georgia Tech 2006 (2) 6 Virginia 1981 7 NC State 1964 8 Virginia Tech 1962 9 Pitt 1740 10 Duke 1452 11 Florida State 1439 (3) 12 California 1392 13 Wake Forest 1103 14 Syracuse 878 15 North Carolina 831 16 Boston College 491 17 Stanford 483 (1)
Preseason ACC Player of the year
Source:
1 Darian MensahQB Miami 97 2 Kevin Jennings SMU 25 3 Isaac Brown RB Louisville 16 4 CJ Bailey QB NC State 15 5 Duce Robinson WR Florida State 12 6 Sammy BrownLB Clemson 11 7 Kam Robinson Virginia 5 8 Will Heldt DE Clemson 4 9 Mason Heintschel QB Pittsburgh 3
Preseason all-conference teams
Source:
Offense
Quarterback Darian MensahMiami 112 Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. 127 Isaac Brown Louisville 94 Wide receiver Malachi Toney Miami 164 Duce Robinson Florida State 131 Bryant Wesco Clemson 64 Tight end Jeremiah Hasley Duke 61 All-Purpose Malachi Toney Miami 94 Tackle P. J. Williams SMU 96 McKale BoleyVirginia 77 Guard Noah Josey 71 Samson Okunlola Miami 53 Center Josh Bates SMU 64
Defense
Defensive end Will Heldt Clemson 87 Clev Lubin Louisville 79 Defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. Miami 126 Kemari Copeland Virginia Tech 89 Linebacker Sammy Brown Clemson 139 Kam Robinson Virginia 98 Mohamed Toure Miami 64 Cornerback Ashton Hampton Clemson 81 Chris Peal Syracuse 45 Safety Bryce Fitzgerald Miami 86 KP Price Boston College 45
Specialist Placekicker Aidan Birr Georgia Tech 105 Punter Daniel Sparks Virginia 48 Specialist Malachi Toney Miami 104
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 1st Team ESPN 2nd Team CBS 1st TeamCBS 2nd Team SN 1st Team SN 2nd Team USAT 1st Team USAT 2nd Team SI 1st Team SI 2nd Team Cooper Barkate, WR, Miami Aidan Birr, K, Georgia Tech Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville Sammy Brown, LB, Clemson Bryce Fitzgerald, DB, Miami Mark Fletcher Jr., RB, Miami Justice Haynes, RB, Georgia Tech Clev Lubin, DL, Louisville Ahmad Moten Sr., DL, Miami Chris Peal, CB, Syracuse Duce Robinson, WR, Florida State Daniel Sparks, P, Virginia Malachi Toney, WR, Miami Bryant Wesco, WR, Clemson P. J. Williams, OL, SMU
Preseason award watchlists
Lott Trophy Sammy Brown Clemson LB Jr. Fisher Camac Virginia DE Sr. Bryce Fitzgerald Miami DB So. Clev Lubin Louisville DL Sr. Luke Mergott Duke LB Jr. Damon Wilson II Miami DL Sr. Dodd Trophy Jeff Brohm Louisville HC Mario Cristobal Miami Brent Key Georgia TechMaxwell Award Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele California QBSo. Nate Sheppard Duke RB Duce Robinson Florida State WRSr. Justice Haynes Georgia TechRB Isaac Brown LouisvilleJr. Darian MensahMiami QB Malachi Toney WR So. Mark Fletcher Jr. RB Sr. CJ Bailey NC StateQB Jr. Mason Heintschel Pittsburgh So. Kevin Jennings SMU Sr.Davey O'Brien Award Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele CaliforniaQB So. Darian Mensah Miami R-Jr. CJ Bailey NC State Jr. Kevin Jennings SMU R-Sr.Doak Walker Award Evan Dickens Boston CollegeRB Sr.Adam MohammedCaliforniaJr.Ousmane KromahFlorida StateSr.Quintrevion WisnerJustice HaynesGeorgia TechMalachi HosleyMark Fletcher Jr.MiamiDemon JuneNorth CarolinaSo.Jayden Scott Jr.NC StateJr.Kendrick RaphaelSMUSr.Peyton LewisVirginiaJr. Marcellous HawkinsVirginia TechGr.Biletnikoff Award Chase HendricksCaliforniaWRSr. Ian Strong T. J. Moore Clemson Jr. Javen Nicholas Duke Gr. Duce Robinson Florida StateSr. Tre Richardson Louisville Cooper BarkateMiami R-Sr. Malachi Toney So. Victor Snow NC State R-Sr. Que'Sean Brown Virginia Tech R-Jr.John Mackey Award Dorian Thomas CaliforniaTE R-Jr. Jeremiah Hasley Duke GS Chris Corbo Georgia TechR-Sr. Brody Foley Louisville Elija Lofton Miami Jr. Jelani Thurman North Carolina R-Jr. Randy Pittman Jr. SMU Sr. Luke Reynolds Virginia Tech Jr.Rimington Trophy Matt Craycraft DukeC GS Ryan Carretta Pittsburgh R-Jr. Joshua Bates SMU R-Jr.
Butkus Award Sammy Brown ClemsonLB Jr. Luke Mergott Duke Sr. Kyle Efford Georgia Tech R-Sr. Mohamed Toure Miami GS Peyton Seelmann North Carolina Jr. Braylan Lovelace Pittsburgh Sr. Matt Rose Stanford5Y Sr. Gary Bryant III Syracuse Kam Robinson Virginia Sr.Jim Thorpe Award Ashton Hampton Clemson CB Jr. Bryce Fitzgerald Miami S So. Chris Peal Syracuse CB R-Jr.Bronko Nagurski Trophy Melkart Abou Jaoude North Carolina DE R-Jr. Sammy Brown Clemson LB Jr. Kemari Copeland Virginia Tech DT R-Sr. Koen Entringer LouisvilleS R-Jr. Bryce Fitzgerald Miami So. Clev Lubin Louisville DE R-Jr. Ahmad Moten Sr. Miami DT R-Sr. Kam Robinson VirginiaLB Sr. Matt Rose Stanford R-Sr. Damon Wilson II Miami DE Sr.Outland Trophy Ryan Baer Pittsburgh OT R-Sr. Joshua Bates SMU C R-Jr. Malachi Carney Georgia Tech GR-Sr. Kemari Copeland Virginia Tech DT Noah Josey Virginia G GS Matthew McCoyMiami OTR-Sr. Ahmad Moten Sr. DT Lance Robinson Louisville C GS BJ Williams Pittsburgh G Sr. P. J. Williams SMU OT R-Sr.Lou Groza Award Luca Lombardo Boston CollegeK Sr. Nolan Hauser Clemson Jr. Gabe Panikowski Florida StateSr. Aidan Birr Georgia Tech Jack Olsen Miami Will Bettridge Virginia GSRay Guy Award Daniel Hughes Florida StatePSr. Dylan Joyce Miami Daniel Sparks Virginia R-Sr.Paul Hornung Award Adam Mohammed California RB Jr. Tre Richardson LouisvilleWR Sr. Malachi Toney Miami So. Jayden Scott NC State RB Jr. Demetres Samuel Syracuse CB/WR So. Solomon Beebe Virginia RB Jr.Wuerffel Trophy Josiah Griffin Boston College DL R-Jr. Jordan King California WR R-Sr. Gideon Davidson Clemson RB So. Micah Sahakian Duke OL GS Duce Robinson Florida State WR Sr. Jordan Walker Georgia Tech DE 5Y Sr. Clev Lubin Louisville DER-Sr. Ahmad Moten Sr. Miami DL Jordan Shipp North Carolina WR Jr. Isaiah Shirley NC State DT Sr. Mason Heintschel Pittsburgh QB So. Alexander Kilgore SMU LB Sr. Braden Marceau-Olayinka Stanford DL R-Jr. Cornell Perry Syracuse DB 5Y Sr. Ethan Minter Virginia S Jr. Marcellous Hawkins Virginia Tech RB R-Sr.Walter Camp Award Sammy Brown Clemson LB Jr. Duce Robinson Florida State WR Sr. Isaac Brown LouisvilleRB Jr. Mark Fletcher Jr.Miami Sr. Darian Mensah QB R-Jr. Malachi Toney WR/PR So. CJ Bailey NC StateQB Jr. Kevin Jennings SMU R-Sr.Jet Award Malachi Toney Miami WR So. Solomon Beebe Virginia RB Jr. Kam Shanks Wake Forest WR R-Jr.Patrick Mannelly Award Adam Booker MiamiLSR-Sr. Christian Epling Virginia Tech Morgan Tribbett SMU Jr. Peyton Warford Stanford R-Sr.
Bednarik Award Sammy BrownClemson LBJr. Ashton HamptonCB Ja'Bril Rawls Florida State R-Jr. Clev Lubin Louisville DER-Sr. Ahmad Moten Sr.Miami DT Damon Wilson IIDE Sr. Melkart Abou Jaoude North Carolina R-Sr. Braylan Lovelace PittsburghLB Sr. Matt Rose Stanford R-Sr. Kam Robinson Virginia Sr. Kemari Copeland Virginia Tech DTR-Sr. Langston Hardy Wake Forest DERotary Lombardi Award Sammy Brown Clemson LB Jr. Clev Lubin Louisville Edge R-Sr.Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award Jaron-Keawe SagapoluteleCalifornia QB So. AJ Tuitele LB R-Fr. Sioape Vatikani OL R-Sr. Abel Hoopii SMU OL So. Simione PaleStanford OL Sr. Tevarua Tafiti DE R-Sr. Dallas Afalava Wake Forest DL Sr.Manning Award Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele CaliforniaQB So. Walker Eget Duke R-Sr. Darian Mensah Duke R-Jr. CJ Bailey NC State Jr. Mason Heintschel Pittsburgh So. Kevin Jennings SMU R-Sr.Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award CJ Bailey NC StateQB Jr. Kevin Jennings SMU R-Sr.Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Bryant Wesco Clemson WR Jr. Matt Craycraft Duke C Gr. Quintrevion Wisner Florida State RB Sr. Kevin JenningsSMU QBR-Sr. P. J. WilliamsOL Byron Washington Syracuse So. Chico Holt Stanford TE R-Jr. Wondame Davis Jr. Wake Forest WR R-So.
Head coaches
Coaching changes Virginia Tech In September of 2025 after an 0–3 start, Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry. 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. On December 4, 2025, Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi was hired as the Bears' next head coach.
Stanford Tavita Pritchard was named Stanford's head football coach on November 28, 2025, to replace interim head coach Frank Reich.
Head coaching records TeamHead coachYears at schoolOverall recordRecord at schoolACC 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 (FL) 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 40–16 40–16 15–2 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 Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Final Boston College AP — — — — — — C — — — — — — CFP Not released California AP RV — — — — — C RV — — — — — CFP Not released Clemson AP RV — — — — — C 23 RV RV RV RV — CFP Not released Duke AP — — — RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV 21 23 CFP Not released Florida State AP — — — — — — C RV — — — — — CFP Not released Georgia Tech AP RV — — — — — C RV — — — — — CFP Not released Louisville AP 24 24 23 16 RV — C RV RV RV 19 RV — CFP Not released Miami AP 7 7 5 6 4 4 C 7 7 5 5 4 4 CFP Not released North Carolina AP — — — — — — C — RV — — — — CFP Not released NC State AP — — — — — — C RV — — — — — CFP Not released Pittsburgh AP RV RV RV RV RV 25 C RV RV RV RV RV 24 CFP Not released SMU AP 19 17 16 22 21 — C 20 17 16 25 19 — CFP Not released Stanford AP — — — — — — C — — — — — — CFP Not released Syracuse AP — — — — — — C — — — — — — CFP Not released Virginia AP RV 25 25 — — — C RV 25т 25 — RV — CFP Not released Virginia Tech AP RV RV RV RV RV — C RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Wake Forest AP — — — — RV RV C — — RV — RV RV CFP Not released
Schedule