Stanford Football's 2026 Season: What's New and What's Next

Stanford's football team has some big changes coming up for the 2026 season. The ACC, which Stanford joined a couple of years ago, has decided to play nine conference games instead of the usual eight. This means Stanford and 11 other ACC teams will have a busier schedule. The other five teams will have to play two extra games against Power 4 teams, making sure they have at least 10 Power 4 games in total. For Stanford, most of their conference opponents are already set. They will play eight of the nine teams they were supposed to play. The home games are against Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, and SMU. The away games are against California, Duke, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. One interesting thing is that Stanford will finally play at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium in 2026. They were supposed to go there in 2027, but now it's happening a year earlier. Stanford and Virginia Tech have played twice before, with Stanford winning both times.The Bill Walsh Legacy Game, which is a big deal between Stanford and San Jose State, has some date changes. The game that was supposed to be in late November 2026 in San Jose is now moved to September 2031. So, the next time they play will be in November 2028 at Stanford Stadium. They will also play in 2034, 2035, and 2036, with the 2035 game in San Jose. Stanford has also added a new game against Elon University on October 17, 2026. This will be the first time these two teams play each other. Elon has played against Duke, the current ACC champion, in the last two seasons. With the new schedule, Stanford still has one more game to fill against a Power 4 team. The full 2026 schedule, with all the dates, will be announced in late January.