The wait is finally over. The 2026 college football season kicks off on Saturday with a Week 0 slate, and there will be five ACC schools- North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina State, and Stanford begin their seasons.
Camps are over, and anyone who isn't playing this weekend will get going in full next weekend with a full Week 1 slate. There have been some changes this offseason and some changes and injuries that have happened in camp. Here are the Week 0 ACC power rankings.
Week 0 ACC Football Power Rankings
17. Boston College Eagles
16. Stanford
15. Syracuse
14. North Carolina
Out of this group, Stanford and North Carolina begin their season this weekend. The Tar Heels will be in Dublin, Ireland, to play TCU to open the second season for Bill Belichick at UNC. Last season, TCU blasted the former New England Patriots head coach to the tune of 48-14 to open the season in Chapel Hill. As for Stanford, the Cardinal will host Hawai'i on Saturday in a game where they are a slight favorite to win.
13. Florida State
12. Wake Forest
11. Duke
10. North Carolina State
In this group, Mike Norvell begins a pivotal season for FSU when the Seminoles host New Mexico State on Saturday. A slow start, and Florida State could all of a sudden find the money to send him packing. There is a lot of hype surrounding NC State with QB CJ Bailey, and rightfully so, but never trust a Dave Doeren-coached team that visits Virginia on Saturday.
9. California
8. Pittsburgh
7. Georgia Tech
6. Virginia
Out of this group, Virginia will host NC State this weekend, but Virginia Tech will play all four of these teams this season: three in Blacksburg, and they will travel to Cal. This is a group of teams that could be good enough to finish in the top 5, but also struggle and end up outside the top 5, closer to 10.
5. Virginia Tech
4. Clemson
3. Louisville
2. SMU
1. Miami
None of these teams play this weekend, but Clemson has a tough opener next weekend at LSU, while Miami will travel to Northern California to play Stanford. Not to be outdone, Louisville has a tough opener against Ole Miss on Labor Day Weekend in the Liberty Music City Kickoff. SMU opens Labor Day night at Florida State. A lot of questions will be answered in the ACC early in the season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google