The Tar Heel football calendar opens with a full slate of 26 games on September 12 2026 offering a jam packed Week 2 spanning the state’s three major divisions
A Packed Week 2 Across All Levels
Among the headline matchups NC State welcomes Richmond to Carter Finley Stadium on Friday night while Appalachian State travels to Greenville for an in state clash with East Carolina Duke heads to Champaign for a Big Ten test against Illinois and Wake Forest makes the short trip to West Lafayette to face Purdue in an ACC Big Ten crossover North Carolina opens its home schedule against East Tennessee State in Chapel Hill aiming to start the season 2 0
The century old rivalry between NC A&T and NC Central resumes in Durham at 6 p m streamed on ESPN+ Meanwhile Elon makes the journey to Kingston Rhode Island to meet the defending CAA champions and Campbell heads south to Gainesville for a test against Florida Charlotte will venture to Oxford Mississippi to take on Ole Miss and Western Carolina will travel to Cincinnati for a non conference showdown Division II programs Catawba and Mars Hill meet in a FloCollege aired contest and the CIAA’s Johnson C Smith squares off with Winston Salem State in a Saturday night spectacle
Broadcast partners span traditional cable satellite and streaming platforms Friday night action arrives on ESPNU while Saturday’s early afternoon games are split between FS1 the ACC Network and FloCollege The CIAA matchup and the NC A&T NC Central rivalry are exclusive to ESPN+ and several games including the Catawba Mars Hill meeting will be streamed via FloCollege This diversified coverage ensures that fans across North Carolina and beyond can follow every play
With such a wide array of opponents venues and broadcast options the Week 2 schedule not only promises high energy competition but also provides a comprehensive preview of how the state’s programs will navigate early season challenges from in state derbies to out of state tests setting the tone for the months ahead