A college football game will be played in Brazil in 2026, according to a report from 247Sports. The game would mark the first-ever college football contest to be played in that country.
Per the report, the matchup will feature the NC State Wolfpack taking on the Virginia Cavaliers and the game will be played on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, which is Week Zero that season. Under current NCAA rules, college football games played in foreign countries are eligible to be contested in Week Zero, which is the unofficial name for the Saturday that is one week prior to Labor Day weekend.
The NC State-Virginia matchup next season is the second of a non-conference home-and-home series between the two ACC schools. The first game of the series was played earlier this season on Sept. 6 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. The Wolfpack won that contest, 35-31.
The 2026 matchup was originally scheduled to be played at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. An exact date for that game was not assigned when the contract was executed back in May 2024. The two schools scheduled the series for their respective non-conference slates due to not meeting in ACC action in 2025 and 2026.
If finalized, the NC State-Virginia game in Brazil would mark the first international ACC football game since Georgia Tech defeated Florida State, 24-21, in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, to kickoff the 2024 season.
Last month, it was officially announced that the Arizona State Sun Devils and Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 will meet in the inaugural Union Jack Classic in London, England, on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. The matchup will mark only the second college football game to be played in England following Richmond vs. Boston on Oct. 16, 1988.
College football will also return to Ireland next season in the form of a Big 12-ACC matchup, as the TCU Horned Frogs will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin. The game is slated for Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 (Week Zero).
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