Stanford Football 2026 Schedule: Key Games, Good and the Bad

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Stanford gave away a few wins last year – Hawaii and North Carolina – in a 4-8 run, and it’ll be a battle for new head coach Tavita Pritchard to make this a better year with the team’s 2026 football schedule.

Not only do the Cardinal get the ACC schedule, and the travel, and a slew of tough fights, but they also have to go to Notre Dame.

Here’s our breakdown of the team’s slate.

Breaking Down Stanford’s 2026 Football Schedule

Nov 22, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Micah Ford (20) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium.© Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Good

For the most part, there are enough workable home games – Hawaii, Elon, and maybe NC State and SMU – to come up with a decent base of wins. Missing Clemson, Florida State, Pitt, and Virginia should help, and …

The Bad

The Cardinal don’t get a lot of home games after the middle of September.

Yes, the road game at Cal is just up the street, but it’s the third straight away date late in the season, and the end of a run of six road games in nine dates.

What ACC Teams Stanford Will Miss

Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia.

It’s not bad, especially if North Carolina kicks it all in, but that means Stanford has to deal with Miami, and will go to Duke, Louisville, and Wake Forest.

Stanford’s Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026

Best Case: Start hot, end hotter

No one’s expecting the Cardinal to rip off wins over Miami, at Duke, and Georgia Tech, but take one of them, and great. Two, and boom.

They win at Virginia Tech, take down Cal, beat SMU, and the program has a bowl trip.

Worst Case: The road is rough

Stanford should benefit from a few teams struggling through the long road trip and the time change, but it’s still asking a lot to beat Miami and the good ACC teams coming to town.

It loses at Duke and at Wake Forest before going to Notre Dame, and there’s a problem against Louisville and Virginia Tech to be out of the bowl hunt by mid-November.

Stanford Football 2026 Schedule

Aug 29 Hawaii
Sept 4 Miami
Sept 12 OPEN DATE
Sept 19 at Duke
Sept 26 Georgia Tech
Oct 3 at Wake Forest
Oct 10 at Notre Dame
Oct 17 Elon
Oct 24 NC State
Oct 31 at Louisville
Nov 7 OPEN DATE
Nov 14 at Virginia Tech
Nov 21 at Cal
Nov 28 SMU

Games That Will Decide Stanford’s Season

1. Georgia Tech, Sept. 26. It’ll take a bit to get up to speed, but it’s the third game in the ACC season, and with road games at Wake Forest and Notre Dame to follow, it’s a must-win moment.

2. at Cal, Nov. 28. Two first-year coaches will be going at it in their first Big Game. After rocking Cal last year, it would be a big deal for Stanford to win this again, and then …

3. SMU, Nov. 28. Where is the program at by the end of the season? This will be a rebuilding year, but if the Cardinal can get hot late, this would be a big win going into the offseason.

This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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