Cal, Clemson, Louisville and SMU make up the Atlantic Coast Conference home portion of Syracuse football’s 2026 schedule.

The ACC announced the conference slate on Tuesday for the season, which is the first to be played under the newly adopted nine-game conference schedule.

On the road, Syracuse will face Boston College, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt and Virginia.

Duke, Georgia Tech and Miami, all of whom finished 6-2 in the conference in 2025, are not on the schedule.

Why 9 games

In September, the ACC announced that each of the 17 schools would play a nine-game conference schedule and a minimum of 10 games each season against Power Four opponents, beginning in 2027. (By nature of an uneven number of schools in the conference, one team each season will play only eight ACC games, plus two other power opponents.

More Syracuse stories

One good thing did come out of SU loss against Hofstra

Adrian Autry singing similar refrain after Hofstra loss

New Syracuse DC feels he's exactly where he needs to be

The 2026 season is considered to be a “transition” year, with 12 teams playing nine conference games, like Syracuse, and the other five playing eight games – in part due to the need to honor existing non-conference game contracts.

“Transitioning to a nine-game conference schedule strengthens our competitive framework, aligns us with the other Power Four conferences and provides greater consistency for our student-athletes, coaches and fans,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “This phased approach reflects our commitment to competitive equity, scheduling flexibility and delivering a premier football product across all 17 institutions.”

The non-power factor

Syracuse already had four nonconference games scheduled for the 2026 season: Notre Dame, Toledo, UConn and New Hampshire. The UConn game is slated to be played in East Hartford, Conn., with the others set for the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse.

Notre Dame will serve as the 10th required power game in 2026. With a 12-game schedule, that means the Orange must cancel or postpone a scheduled date with one of the other three schools.

On April 1, Syracuse announced it had agreed to a two-game series with Toledo, with the Orange hosting a 2026 game and visiting Toledo in 2029.

UConn and Syracuse are scheduled to play each season through 2028, with FCS program New Hampshire a one-time game in 2026.

The ACC matchups

The ACC will announce teams’ full schedules, including game dates, in late January.

This is the ACC portion of the schedule, per school:

California

Home: Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Away: NC State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia  

Duke

Home: Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford

Away: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest  

Louisville

Home: Florida State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Wake Forest

Away: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse  

Miami

Home: Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Pitt, Virginia Tech Away: Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford, Wake Forest  

NC State

Home: California, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse, Wake Forest

Away: Florida State, North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia (College Football Brazil)  

Pitt

Home: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse

Away: Boston College, California, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech  

SMU

Home: Boston College, California, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Away: Florida State, Louisville, Stanford, Syracuse  

Stanford

Home: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU

Away: California, Duke, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest  

Syracuse

Home: California, Clemson, Louisville, SMU

Away: Boston College, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, Virginia  

Virginia

Home: California, Duke, North Carolina, NC State (College Football Brazil), Syracuse

Away: Florida State, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest  

Virginia Tech

Home: Georgia Tech, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia

Away: Boston College, California, Clemson, Miami, SMU  

Wake Forest

Home: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Virginia

Away: California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, SMU  

Boston College

Home: Florida State, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech

Away: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU  

Clemson

Home: Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech

Away: California, Duke, Florida State, Syracuse  

Florida State

Home: Clemson, NC State, SMU, Virginia

Away: Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Pitt  

Georgia Tech

Home: Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest

Away: Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech

North Carolina

Home: Louisville, Miami, NC State, Syracuse

Away: Clemson, Duke, Pitt, Virginia

Join the Conversation

Remember to join our SYRACUSE on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other ORANGE fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!