Stanford Football Unveils 2026 Schedule

The 2025 college football season just ended, but we now know what Stanford's 2026 season will look like. This week, the Cardinal revealed its full schedule of games for the '26 campaign in their first season under new head coach Tavita Pritchard.

Slated to take on some tough opponents, the 2026 season will be a good test of grit for the Cardinal and help them figure out how far away they are from being legit contenders.

The non-conference opponents have been known for some time, but after the ACC announced the full slate of conference opponents, Stanford's schedule was officially completed. The new season begins with a week zero matchup against Hawaii on Aug. 29, the third time in four seasons that the Cardinal and Rainbow Warriors will kick off a season.

But, it is the first time in the current series that the two teams will face off in Stanford Stadium.

Then, in week one, Stanford will immediately be met with arguably their toughest test of the season—a home matchup against the College Football Playoff runner-ups, the Miami Hurricanes. For the Hurricanes, that will be their first matchup of the new campaign while Stanford looks for redemption after losing 42-7 in 2025 to the Canes.

To round out September, the Cardinal will face Duke and Georgia Tech before hitting the road the first two weeks in October to face off against Wake Forest and Notre Dame. After home games against Elon and NC State, Stanford goes on the road for three straight weeks to face Louisville, Virginia Tech and Cal (129th Big Game) before playing the regular season finale at Stanford Stadium against SMU.

The full schedule of games for Stanford can be found below:

Saturday, Aug. 29: vs. Hawaii

Friday, Sept. 4: vs. Miami

Saturday, Sept. 19: at Duke

Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Georgia Tech

Saturday, Oct. 3: at Wake Forest

Saturday, Oct. 10: at Notre Dame

Saturday, Oct. 17: vs. Elon (Homecoming)

Friday, Oct. 23 or Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. NC State

Saturday, Oct. 31: at Louisville

Saturday, Nov. 14: at Virginia Tech

Saturday, Nov. 21: at California

Saturday, Nov. 28: vs. SMU

Duke and Georgia Tech are two teams to watch this season, with the latter recently landing former Indiana quarterback Alberto Mendoza in the transfer portal and looking to prove that they are ready to compete for an ACC championship. Duke, while losing quarterback Darian Mensah, are still expected to be a strong team in the ACC in 2026 after a 6-2 finish in conference play.

Notre Dame, a program that went 10-2 in 2025, will once again be a force in college football as they look to return to the College Football Playoff after a one year absence. Losing several key players such as Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame will also get back important players like quarterback CJ Carr.

As for Stanford's game against Elon, that game replaces the Bill Walsh Legacy Game against San Jose State and is the first time that the schools will face each other.

2026 will be pivotal for the Cardinal, but if they can compete against these teams, good things could be coming to The Farm this fall.

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