Wake Forest and Syracuse will open the 2027 college football season in Week 0 in Toronto, the schools and ACC announced Thursday morning.
The ACC contest, which will air on either ABC or ESPN, will kick off either Aug. 28 (a Saturday) or Aug. 29 (a Sunday) with either ABC or ESPN televising. Although Syracuse (3-9 in 2025) is located only 250 miles from Toronto, Wake Forest is designated as the home team. Wake Forest, which was 9-4 last fall, averaged 29,433 fans per home game during the 2025 season. The teams last met in the 2023 regular-season finale.
The game will be played at BMO Field, an outdoor soccer facility that will host World Cup matches this summer and is the home venue of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. This matchup marks the first American college football game in Toronto since the 2010 International Bowl.
“We are thrilled to bring ACC football to an international stage in Toronto,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement. “This conference game represents an exciting opportunity to showcase our student-athletes and our member institutions, as well as put on full display the energy of college football to a new and diverse audience.”
The ACC has become more aggressive with staging and participating in international football games. This year in Week 0, North Carolina faces TCU in Dublin, Ireland and longtime ACC foes NC State and Virginia meet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Canadian clash is the second 2027 international contest involving an ACC team. Pittsburgh is scheduled to face Wisconsin in Dublin. The Big 12 also has looked toward international markets with Arizona State and Kansas playing this fall in London.
