The Atlantic Coast Conference and its television partners on Wednesday announced the kickoff times and networks for most ACC football games during the first three weeks of the 2023 football season. The ACC’s early-season schedule features a pair of games over the first three weeks on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” as well as 11 appearances on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
The announcement also includes the times and networks for the league’s Thursday and Friday night matchups throughout the 2023 campaign.
“The 2023 ACC Football season has no shortage of incredible matchups – including our new conference schedule – and we are thrilled to have our teams significantly highlighted on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Our league will once again open with five consecutive games over Labor Day weekend, while continuing to arguably play the toughest non-conference schedule in the country. We appreciate our partners in Disney, ESPN and ACC Network and we all look forward to the upcoming season with great anticipation.”
Seven ACC contests are scheduled for national ABC broadcasts over the first three weeks of the season. ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” will feature ACC teams in two of the first three weeks. On Sept. 2, North Carolina and Heisman Trophy candidate Drake Maye take on South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. On Sept. 16, Pitt travels to face off with rival West Virginia in the latest edition of the Backyard Brawl.
ACC teams will play in the Noon ABC window each of the first three weeks, with Virginia vs. Tennessee (in Nashville) on Sept. 2, Notre Dame at NC State on Sept. 9 and Florida State at Boston College on Sept. 16.
The ACC will be featured throughout the Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 4) with a dozen games over a five-day span. No other league plays across all five days in Week One. This is the fifth time in the last seven years the ACC has played over five consecutive days in Week One.
The Labor Day weekend opens on Thursday, Aug. 31, as Wake Forest entertains Elon at 7 p.m. on ACC Network and NC State visits UConn on CBS Sports Network. On Friday, Sept. 1, Miami plays host to Miami (Ohio) at 7 p.m. on ACC Network and Georgia Tech takes on Louisville at 7:30 p.m. at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on ESPN in the first conference game of the season.
The first Saturday slate of the 2023 season features seven games: Virginia vs. Tennessee in Nashville (noon, ABC), Northern Illinois at Boston College (noon, ACCN), Wofford at Pitt (3:30 p.m., ACCN), Colgate at Syracuse (4 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+), North Carolina vs. South Carolina in Charlotte (7:30 p.m., ABC) and Old Dominion at Virginia Tech (ACCN, 8 p.m.).
On Sunday, Sept. 3, Florida State plays LSU at 7:30 p.m. on ABC in the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando, Florida, in a rematch of the 2022 season opener in New Orleans, won by the Seminoles, 24-23. The opening weekend concludes at 8 p.m. on Labor Day (Sept. 4), with Clemson playing at Duke on ESPN.
Week Two features all 14 ACC teams competing at home in non-conference action. ABC will broadcast an ACC doubleheader with Notre Dame at NC State at noon and Texas A&M at Miami at 3:30 p.m. ACC Network will showcase a quadruple-header, beginning at 11 a.m. with Vanderbilt at Wake Forest and continuing with Charleston Southern at Clemson (2:15 p.m.), Appalachian State at North Carolina (5:15 p.m.) and Southern Miss at Florida State (8:30 p.m.).
Week Three consists of 13 matchups, including a pair of national broadcasts on ABC, with FSU at BC at noon and Pitt at WVU at 7:30 p.m. Six of the 12 non-conference games feature ACC teams on the road against Power Five opponents.
The ACC Football Championship game on Dec. 2 will air at 8 p.m. on ABC, featuring the top two teams based on winning percentage. Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium once again will play host to the championship game. The ACC and the Charlotte Sports Foundation have an agreement in place to keep the championship game in Charlotte through the 2030 season.
The ACC and ESPN also announced information for nine additional Thursday and Friday games later in the season. Listed in the schedule below are the games that have been selected for television as of May 31.
The 71st season of ACC Football is the first under a 3-5-5 scheduling model announced last June that covers the 2023-26 seasons. Each team will play three primary opponents annually and face the other 10 league teams twice during the four-year cycle, once at home and once on the road. The schedule allows for each team to face all 13 conference opponents home and away at least once over the four-year period.
The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most difficult in the country. In addition to 25 games against Power 5 opponents, the ACC will play 11 non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2022 Associated Press Top 25 poll. Eight schools – Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest – play two Power 5 conference opponents (including Notre Dame). Louisville and Pitt each play three. ACC teams will play 27 games against opponents that appeared in a bowl game last year and 11 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2023 Way-Too-Early Top 25.
Thursday, Aug. 31
Elon at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACCN
NC State at UConn, TBD, CBS Sports Network
Friday, Sept. 1
Miami (Ohio) at Miami, 7 p.m., ACCN
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech (at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta), 7:30 PM, ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 2
Virginia vs. Tennessee (in Nashville), Noon, ABC
Northern Illinois at Boston College, Noon, ACCN
Wofford at Pitt, 3:30 p.m., ACCN
Colgate at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
North Carolina vs. South Carolina (in Charlotte), 7:30 p.m., ABC
Old Dominion at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m., ACCN
Sunday, Sept. 3
LSU vs. Florida State (in Orlando), 7:30 p.m., ABC
Monday, Sept. 4
Clemson at Duke, 8 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Sept. 7
Murray State at Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ACCN
Saturday, Sept. 9
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, 11 a.m., ACCN
Notre Dame at NC State, Noon, ABC
Purdue at Virginia Tech, Noon, ESPN2
James Madison at Virginia, Noon, ESPNU
Holy Cross at Boston College, Noon, ACCNX/ESPN+
South Carolina State at Georgia Tech, 1 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Charleston Southern at Clemson, 2:15 p.m., ACCN
Texas A&M at Miami, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Appalachian State at North Carolina, 5:15 p.m., ACCN
Lafayette at Duke, 6 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Southern Miss at Florida State, 8:30 p.m., ACCN
Cincinnati at Pitt, TBD time/network
Western Michigan at Syracuse, TBD time/network
Thursday, Sept. 14
Bethune-Cookman at Miami, 7:30 p.m., ACCN
Friday, Sept. 15
Virginia at Maryland, 7 p.m., FS1
Saturday, Sept. 16
Wake Forest at Old Dominion, Noon, ESPN2 or ESPNU
Florida State at Boston College, Noon, ABC
Louisville vs. Indiana (in Indianapolis), Noon, BTN
Minnesota at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Northwestern at Duke, 3:30 p.m., ACCN
Virginia Tech at Rutgers, 3:30 p.m., BTN
Georgia Tech at Mississippi, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
Florida Atlantic at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACCN
Pitt at West Virginia, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Syracuse at Purdue, 7:30 p.m., NBC
VMI at NC State, TBD time/network
Friday, Sept. 22
NC State at Virginia, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday, Sept. 29
Louisville at NC State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Oct. 26
Syracuse at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Nov. 2
Wake Forest at Duke, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday, Nov. 3
Boston College at Syracuse, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday, Nov. 4
Notre Dame at Clemson, time TBD, ABC
Thursday, Nov. 9
Virginia at Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Nov. 16
Boston College at Pitt, 7 p.m., ESPN
Friday, Nov. 24
Miami at Boston College, Noon, ABC
Saturday, Dec. 2
ACC Football Championship Game, 8 p.m., ABC
ACC Bowl Game Affiliations
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, Dec. 22, 6:30 p.m., ESPN, or TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, Dec. 23, Noon, ABC
Military Bowl, Dec. 27, 2 p.m., ESPN
Duke’s Mayo Bowl Dec. 27, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Wasabi Fenway Bowl, Dec. 28, 11 a.m., ESPN
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 28, 2:15 p.m., ESPN
Pop-Tarts Bowl (formerly Cheez-It Bowl), Dec. 28, 5:45 p.m., ESPN
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Dec. 29, Noon, ESPN
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl, Dec. 29, 2 p.m., CBS
Capital One Orange Bowl, Dec. 30, 4 p.m., ESPN
Reliaquest Bowl, Jan. 1, Noon, ESPN2
SDCCU Holiday Bowl, TBD
Atlantic Coast Conference
