UNC football 2026 schedule is out. Highlights for Bill Belichick’s second season

UNC football took a stumble in Bill Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill, finishing 4-8 after an unprecedented level of investment from the university.

The 2026 slate ahead of the Tar Heels won’t be any easier.

North Carolina’s football schedule, announced by the ACC on Monday night, features four teams that were ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll last season — and that’s not including the reigning ACC champions, Duke.

Two of those games, against TCU and Virginia, will be away from Kenan Stadium. UNC will host Notre Dame and Miami.

The Tar Heels have an oddly placed nonconference game when it plays at UConn on Nov. 7. That comes one week after the game with Miami and one week before another big ACC game with Louisville.

Here’s a look at the highlights of UNC’s football schedule:

Can’t miss game

UNC vs. Notre Dame, Oct. 3: The Tar Heels haven’t beaten the Fighting Irish since 2008, dropping five straight. North Carolina gets a chance to change that with this early October clash against Notre Dame — a team that finished No. 10 in the country last season.

Toughest stretch

After starting the season in late August, UNC has two open weeks within its schedule. The bad news is they both come in September, which means the Tar Heels will play their final nine games without a week off.

That will make the season’s final three games in November a difficult stretch as UNC closes against Louisville, Virginia and the heated rivalry game against N.C. State.

In Belichick’s first season, UNC closed out its 4-8 campaign with three losses in a row. The quest to not repeat that won’t be easy this season.

Easiest stretch

With all those games against teams that ended last season ranked, there aren’t many soft spots in UNC’s schedule this season. September sets up as good as it can, though. After opening in Ireland, the Heels get Labor Day weekend off then return to play on Sept. 12 at home against their lone FCS opponent, East Tennessee State.

Next comes a trip to Clemson, which isn’t usually easy but the Tigers are coming off a down season. Then UNC gets another open week before it opens October against Notre Dame.

Notable nonconference game

UNC vs. TCU in Ireland, Aug. 29: What better way to measure how far the Tar Heels have come in a year than with a sequel of Belichick’s epic introduction to Chapel Hill?

After falling to TCU, 48-14, in last year’s season opener, North Carolina will take its talents to Ireland in this rematch at the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

Filled with intrigue

UNC vs. N.C. State, (Nov. 18): This game always delivers, even amid demoralizing seasons for either squad.

North Carolina has dropped the past five rivalry games and has yet to win since the COVID-19 pandemic.

This matchup will be particularly interesting if Tar Heel-turned-Wolfpacker running back Davion Gause sees the field. Not that it needed any more fuel.

UNC SCHEDULE 2026

(*) -- ACC game

(#) - At Dublin, Ireland

This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 6:55 PM with the headline "UNC football 2026 schedule is out. Highlights for Bill Belichick’s second season."