Kickoff times are being revealed for Stanford's 2026 schedule, and the Cardinal will be under the lights for the majority of their home games. From a rematch with Hawaii to a showdown with national runners-up Miami, here's what we know so far.
The start of the 2026 college football season is looming on the sports calendar, with a brief summer hiatus in between. For Stanford, the offseason has been a long but productive one, with several changes made to bring the program back to national relevance.
As the new season approaches, kickoff times are starting to be revealed for each of Stanford's games, as well as which network the broadcasts will be on. Whenever the Cardinal play at Stanford Stadium, they will be under the lights the majority of the time.
Stanford opens at home on Aug. 29 against Hawaii at 4 p.m. (PT) on the ACC Network. This is the second consecutive season that the Cardinal begin their season against Hawaii — Stanford lost the Week 0 matchup last year, 23-20.
The Cardinal will then welcome the national runners-up in Miami to The Farm in Week 2, with that game set for 6 p.m. (PT) on ESPN.
The Cardinal hit the road for the first time on Sept. 19, facing a Duke program with College Football Playoff aspirations at 1 p.m. PT on The CW.
The Cardinal return home to face Georgia Tech at 7:30 p.m. (PT) on ESPN on September 25. Georgia Tech went 9-4 last season, including a 6-2 record in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 against Stanford all time, with the previous two matchups coming in the 1991 Aloha Bowl, which Tech won 18-17, and the 2001 Seattle Bowl, where Stanford fell 24-14. This will be their first time facing off as ACC opponents.
The final two games so far that have kickoff times are the Cardinal's games against Notre Dame and NC State, respectively. Set to hit the road to face Notre Dame on Oct. 10, kickoff for that game is at 12:30 p.m. (PT) and will air on NBC, which covers all of Notre Dame's home games.
Then, on Oct. 23, the Cardinal host NC State at 7:30 p.m. (PT) on ESPN in a game that, depending on where both teams stand, has the potential to be a marquee matchup with bowl game implications.
The remaining six games against Wake Forest, Elon, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Cal and SMU still need kickoff times.
Leaving the Pac-12 for the ACC in part because of the unconventional kickoff times that Pac-12 games got, often starting late at night, the Cardinal are still getting the short end of the stick in terms of scheduling — with all of their home kickoff times so far set for late at night.
This is a team on the rise, but late West Coast starts limit one of Stanford's other selling points for joining the ACC: national visibility for recruiting.
