The first ACC game of 2026 arrives a week ahead of schedule – and several thousand miles from where it was supposed to be played. NC State at Virginia was announced as the centerpiece of College Football Brasil, set for Rio de Janeiro’s Nilton Santos Stadium as the first FBS game ever staged in South America. When organizers pulled the plug in June, the ACC moved the matchup to Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, and an NCAA waiver preserved the original Week 0 date of Saturday, Aug. 29.
What survived the relocation is a genuinely meaningful football game. It counts in the ACC standings under the league’s new nine-game conference model, it pairs a Virginia team fresh off a school-record 11-win season with the NC State squad that handed it its only road loss of 2025, and it stands alone as the only conference matchup – and the only all-Power Four game on American soil – in the entire Week 0 slate.
The chart below has the complete viewing information, from kickoff by time zone to why an ACC game is happening in August at all.
What Time Does NC State vs. Virginia Start?
Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Scott Stadium – 12:30 p.m. for Pacific viewers and for Arizona, which aligns with Pacific time in August. It slots in half an hour behind the USC-San Jose State kickoff, making the two games a natural afternoon doubleheader.
What Channel Is the Game On?
ESPN carries the game nationally. It’s the network’s second college football window of the day, following the TCU-North Carolina opener from Dublin.
How to Stream It (Including Without Cable)
The ESPN App streams the broadcast with a TV-provider login or ESPN’s direct-to-consumer subscription. Live-TV streaming services that carry ESPN – YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and Sling among them – also work; confirm ESPN is in your plan tier.
Where Is the Game Being Played?
Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia – capacity roughly 61,500, and the Cavaliers’ home since 1931. If you saw earlier coverage placing this game in Brazil, that information is outdated: the Rio event was cancelled and the official venue is Charlottesville, confirmed by the ACC in June.
Why an ACC Game Is in Week 0
Week 0 access normally requires an exemption tied to Hawai’i or an approved classic, as covered in our Week 0 explainer. This game got there by waiver: the FBS Oversight Committee approved the schools’ request to keep the Aug. 29 date after the Brazil cancellation rather than force two rebuilt schedules. It’s a fitting quirk for the final year of Week 0 itself.
Quick Answers
Does this count in the ACC standings?
Yes – fully. It’s a league game under the ACC’s new nine-game conference schedule, just played earlier than any conference game in recent memory.
What happened to the Brazil game?
Organizers informed the ACC and both schools in early June that the event could not be conducted, and the game was relocated to Virginia’s campus. No FBS game has yet been played in South America.
What’s on before and after?
The Dublin opener at noon, San Jose State-USC on NBC at 3, and an evening slate running to a 10 p.m. finale – the full lineup is in our Week 0 schedule and TV guide.
The Bottom Line
NC State vs. Virginia kicks off Saturday, Aug. 29 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App from Scott Stadium in Charlottesville – a real ACC standings game in Week 0, born of a cancelled Brazilian experiment and preserved by an NCAA waiver, between last season’s 11-win Cavaliers and the Wolfpack team that beat them.