Cal, Stanford football schedules revealed for first season in the ACC

It won’t take long for the Cal and Stanford football programs to experience the reality of life in the ACC when they move into their new home next season.

The Bears open conference play on the road Sept. 21 against powerhouse Florida State, the defending ACC champs who produced a perfect regular season but were left out of the College Football Playoff.

The Cardinal begins ACC competition with a Friday night game at Syracuse on Sept. 20, then visits Clemson a week later for a dastardly bicoastal double dip.

Those were two of the most interesting revelations Wednesday as the ACC released the conference schedule for the 17-team league, which includes a third newcomer, SMU.

All told, each Bay Area school will play three ACC games on the East Coast next season as part of a seven-year schedule rotation that was released in October. Cal visits Florida State, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest, with Stanford heading to Syracuse, Clemson and N.C. State.

Both schools will play SMU each season, with the location based on the site of the matchup against each other. The team that hosts Big Game will play SMU on the road; the Big Game visitor will play SMU at home.

Additionally, Stanford and Cal will play four non-conference games.

The Bears face UC Davis, San Diego State and Oregon State at home and Auburn on the road.

The Cardinal plays TCU and Cal Poly at home and Notre Dame and San Jose State (in the return of the Bill Walsh Legacy Game) on the road.

Notre Dame is an affiliate member of the ACC in football. But the matchup with Stanford will not count toward the conference standings.

Kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

The ACC title game is Dec. 7 in Charlotte.

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