The ACC/SEC Challenge matchups are set, per Jon Rothstein, and NC State will be playing at Auburn. The Tigers likely won’t be as good as they were this past season, but that’ll be a tough game, to be sure. And a ranked matchup, perhaps?
Auburn checks in at 32 in Torvik’s early ratings for 2026, while State is at 38. If that proves roughly accurate then State will have a decent chance of getting out of there with a win.
NC State could end up playing a half dozen top-50 teams in the non-conference: Kansas (No. 16 in Torvik), Auburn (32), and VCU (46) for sure, plus USC (25), Texas (35), and Boise State (51) potentially in Maui.
As for the other ACC/SEC matchups, well, the Challenge doesn’t look terribly promising for the ACC, though the top six matchups or so could be pretty compelling. Can’t get any worse than last year, though. Probably.