The ACC announced the 2021 football schedules for every conference member on Thursday morning, so North Carolina's slate for next fall is now etched in stone.
Of note, the ACC will return to the divisional alignment, seven teams in the Coastal and seven in the Atlantic divisions.
North Carolina will play nine games versus ACC teams, though the Nov. 6 game versus Wake Forest will not count in the conference standings, as it’s part of a home-and-home series the schools agreed to because they weren’t playing enough through the regular conference schedule rotation. The game at UNC this past season was not part of that series.
Some Interesting Schedule Notes
*UNC opens the season either Thursday Sept. 2 or Friday Sept. 3 at Virginia Tech. The date hasn’t been determined yet, but it will be one of those nights.
*The Tar Heels will face NC State on Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving. The game will be at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
*UNC will host Miami on Oct. 16 a week after hosting Florida State, but the Hurricanes will get 16 days to prepare for the Tar Heels. The Canes play Virginia on Sept. 30 and are off until visiting Kenan Stadium.
*UNC has three consecutive home games in October: Duke, FSU and Miami.
*UNC will play at Pitt on a Thursday night again, this will be the fourth consecutive time the Tar Heels and Panthers have met at Heinz Field on a Thursday night. They also did in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
*UNC’s nonconference games are versus Georgia State, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Wofford.
*Six of UNC’s first seven games are ACC contests, as three of its last five are non-league tilts.
*The last time FSU visited Kenan Stadium was in 2009, which happened to be the first Thursday night game ever played at Kenan.
*Beginning with the home game versus Georgia State on Sept. 11, UNC will play five of six games at Kenan Stadium.
*UNC and Notre Dame also played in 2006, 2008, 2014, and 2017 before this past season's meeting. They also play in 2022 in Chapel Hill.
*This will be UNC's first ever meeting versus Georgia Sate.
UNC's 2021 Football Schedule
Sept 2/3 – At Virginia Tech
Sept. 11 – Georgia State
Sept. 18 – Virginia
Sept. 25 – At Georgia Tech
Oct. 2 – Duke
Oct. 9 – Florida State
Oct. 16 – Miami
Oct. 30 at Notre Dame
Nov. 6 – Wake Forest
Nov. 11 – At Pittsburgh
Nov. 20 – Wofford
Nov. 26 – At NC State
*Stay with THI as we add more to this report.
