The ACC football schedule opponents and format have been set for the 2024 through 2030 seasons, the conference announced on Monday.
The 2024 ACC football season will be the first for the league as a 17-team conference fallowing the addition of the California Golden Bears, SMU Mustangs, and Stanford Cardinal.
Beginning in 2024, the 17-team ACC will play an eight-game conference schedule with four non-conference contests. All 17 teams will play each other at least twice in 7 years, once at home and once on the road. The current 14 ACC members will play in California three times over the seven years and no team will travel to California for a conference game in back-to-back seasons.
Additionally, all 17 ACC teams will compete in one division after the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions were eliminated last year. The two teams with the highest winning percentage in conference play will advance to the ACC Football Championship Game, which is held annually at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
The new ACC schedule model has also protected 16 annual matchups. Per the ACC, “…11 are retained from the current 3-5-5 schedule model, two are restored rivalries from the divisional format in Miami-Virginia Tech and NC State-Wake Forest and the three new schools fill the remaining three.”
Below are the 16 protected annual matchups (Georgia Tech and Louisville have none):
- Boston College-Syracuse
- Boston College-Pitt
- Syracuse-Pitt
- North Carolina-Virginia
- North Carolina-Duke
- North Carolina-NC State
- NC State-Wake Forest
- NC State-Duke
- Duke-Wake Forest
- Virginia Tech-Virginia
- Florida State-Clemson
- Miami-Florida State
- Miami-Virginia Tech
- Stanford-Cal
- Stanford-SMU
- Cal-SMU
“We are extremely excited to welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford to the ACC and look forward to having them compete beginning in the fall of 2024,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Throughout the entire scheduling model process, the membership was incredibly thoughtful and purposeful in building a creative, flexible and aggressive conference scheduling model while keeping the student-athlete experience at the forefront. The excitement and anticipation for our teams, alumni and fans will undoubtedly build as we look ahead to the future of this incredible conference.”
The 2024 ACC football schedule with dates will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 at 9:00pm ET on the ACC Network.
Listed below are the opponents for each ACC team for the 2024 through 2030 seasons.
Future ACC Football Opponents
2024 Home: Louisville, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse
2024 Away: Florida State, SMU, Virginia, Virginia Tech
2025 Home: Cal, Clemson, Georgia Tech, SMU
2025 Away: Louisville, Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse
2026 Home: Florida State, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
2026 Away: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU
2027 Home: Louisville, Stanford, Virginia, Wake Forest
2027 Away: Cal, Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse
2028 Home: Duke, Miami, Pitt, Syracuse
2028 Away: Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State
2029 Home: Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, SMU
2029 Away: Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse, Wake Forest
2030 Home: Clemson, NC State, Pitt, Syracuse
2030 Away: Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Virginia
2024 Home: Miami, NC State, Stanford, Syracuse
2024 Away: Florida State, Pitt, SMU, Wake Forest
2025 Home: Duke, North Carolina, SMU, Virginia
2025 Away: Boston College, Louisville, Stanford, Virginia Tech
2026 Home: Clemson, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2026 Away: North Carolina State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia
2027 Home: Boston College, Florida State, Louisville, SMU
2027 Away: Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Stanford
2028 Home: Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Pitt, Stanford
2028 Away: Florida State, Louisville, SMU, Wake Forest
2029 Home: Duke, Miami, SMU, Syracuse
2029 Away: Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford
2030 Home: Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia
2030 Away: Duke, Georgia Tech, SMU, Virginia Tech
2024 Home: Louisville, NC State, Stanford, Virginia
2024 Away: Florida State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2025 Home: Syracuse, Duke, Florida State, SMU
2025 Away: Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina, Georgia Tech
2026 Home: North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Miami
2026 Away: Syracuse, Duke, Florida State, Cal
2027 Home: Boston College, Wake Forest, Florida State, Stanford
2027 Away: Louisville, NC State, Virginia Tech, SMU
2028 Home: Syracuse, Louisville, NC State, Pitt
2028 Away: Virginia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Stanford
2029 Home: Virginia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Cal
2029 Away: Pitt, North Carolina, Miami, SMU
2030 Home: North Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech, Miami
2030 Away: Boston College, Wake Forest, Florida State, Cal
2024 Home: Florida State, North Carolina, SMU, Virginia Tech
2024 Away: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, Wake Forest
2025 Home: Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest
2025 Away: Cal, Clemson, North Carolina, Syracuse
2026 Home: Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford
2026 Away: Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest
2027 Home: Louisville, Miami, NC State, Wake Forest
2027 Away: Florida State, North Carolina, Pitt, Stanford
2028 Home: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia
2028 Away: Boston College, Miami, NC State, Wake Forest
2029 Home: Pitt, NC State, Stanford, Wake Forest
2029 Away: Cal, Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
2030 Home: Cal, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina
2030 Away: Clemson, NC State, SMU, Wake Forest
2024 Home: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, North Carolina
2024 Away: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU
2025 Home: Miami, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2025 Away: Clemson, NC State, Stanford, Virginia
2026 Home: Clemson, NC State, SMU, Virginia
2026 Away: Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Pitt
2027 Home: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt
2027 Away: Cal, Clemson, North Carolina, Syracuse
2028 Home: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, North Carolina
2028 Away: Miami, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2029 Home: Miami, NC State, Stanford, Syracuse
2029 Away: Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia
2030 Home: Clemson, Louisville, Virginia, Wake Forest
2030 Away: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Syracuse
2024 Home: Duke, Florida State, Miami, NC State
2024 Away: Louisville, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
2025 Home: Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
2025 Away: Boston College, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest
2026 Home: Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest
2026 Away: Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech
2027 Home: Cal, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia
2027 Away: Florida State, Miami, SMU, Wake Forest
2028 Home: Clemson, Pitt, SMU, Stanford
2028 Away: Cal, Duke, Louisville, Virginia
2029 Home: Florida State, Louisville, Virginia, Virginia Tech
2029 Away: Boston College, Clemson, SMU, Wake Forest
2030 Home: Boston College, Cal, SMU, Wake Forest
2030 Away: Louisville, Miami, Stanford, Syracuse
2024 Home: Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, SMU
2024 Away: Boston College, Clemson, Stanford, Virginia
2025 Home: Boston College, Virginia, Clemson, Cal
2025 Away: Pitt, Virginia Tech, Miami, SMU
2026 Home: Pitt, Florida State, SMU, Stanford
2026 Away: Syracuse, North Carolina, NC State, Georgia Tech
2027 Home: Syracuse; Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Clemson
2027 Away: Boston College, Duke, Miami, Cal
2028 Home: Boston College, NC State, Georgia Tech, Cal
2028 Away: Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Clemson, SMU
2029 Home: Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech
2029 Away: Pitt, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Stanford
2030 Home: Boston College, Pitt, Virginia, Georgia Tech
2030 Away: Syracuse, NC State, Duke, Florida State
2024 Home: Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2024 Away: Cal, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse
2025 Home: Syracuse, Louisville, NC State, Stanford
2025 Away: Florida State, Pitt, SMU Virginia Tech
2026 Home: Boston College, Florida State, Pitt, Virginia Tech
2026 Away: Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford, Wake Forest
2027 Home: Cal, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Virginia
2027 Away: Duke, Florida State, NC State, Virginia Tech
2028 Home: Duke, Florida State, Stanford, Virginia Tech
2028 Away: Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt, Virginia
2029 Home: Clemson, North Carolina, SMU, Wake Forest
2029 Away: Cal, Florida State, NC State, Virginia Tech
2030 Home: Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech
2030 Away: Clemson, North Carolina, SMU, Virginia
2024 Home: Duke, Stanford, Syracuse, Wake Forest
2024 Away: Cal, Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina
2025 Home: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
2025 Away: Duke, Miami, Pitt, Wake Forest
2026 Home: Cal, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest
2026 Away: Florida State, North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia Tech
2027 Home: Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, Pitt
2027 Away: Duke, Syracuse, Virginia, Wake Forest
2028 Home: Boston College, Duke, SMU, Wake Forest
2028 Away: Cal, Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina
2029 Home: Miami, North Carolina, Pitt, Virginia
2029 Away: Duke, Florida State, SMU, Wake Forest
2030 Home: Duke, Louisville, Stanford, Wake Forest
2030 Away: Boston College, North Carolina, Pitt, Virginia Tech
2024 Home: Georgia Tech, NC State, Pitt, Wake Forest
2024 Away: Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Virginia
2025 Home: Clemson, Duke, Stanford, Virginia
2025 Away: Cal, NC State, Syracuse, Wake Forest
2026 Home: Louisville, Miami, NC State, Syracuse
2026 Away: Clemson, Duke, Pitt, Virginia
2027 Home: Duke, Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech
2027 Away: Georgia Tech, NC State, Stanford, Wake Forest
2028 Home: Boston College, NC State, Stanford, Wake Forest
2028 Away: Duke, Florida State, SMU, Virginia
2029 Home: Cal, Clemson, Duke, Virginia
2029 Away: Louisville, Miami, NC State, Virginia Tech
2030 Home: Miami, NC State, SMU, Virginia Tech
2030 Away: Cal, Clemson, Duke, Virginia
2024 Home: Cal, Clemson, Syracuse, Virginia
2024 Away: Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU
2025 Home: Boston College, Louisville, Miami, NC State
2025 Away: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Syracuse
2026 Home: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse
2026 Away: Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech
2027 Home: Boston College, Cal, Duke, SMU
2027 Away: Florida State, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia
2028 Home: Miami, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2028 Away: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Georgia Tech
2029 Home: Boston College, Clemson, Louisville, Stanford
2029 Away: Duke, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
2030 Home: NC State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
2030 Away: Boston College, Louisville, Stanford, Wake Forest
2024 Home: Boston College, Cal, Florida State, Pitt
2024 Away: Duke, Louisville, Stanford, Virginia
2025 Home: Louisville, Miami, Stanford, Syracuse
2025 Away: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Wake Forest
2026 Home: Boston College, Cal, Virginia, Wake Forest
2026 Away: Florida State, Louisville, Stanford, Syracuse
2027 Home: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Virginia Tech
2027 Away: Cal, Pitt, Virginia, Wake Forest
2028 Home: Cal, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina
2028 Away: Georgia Tech, NC State, Stanford, Virginia Tech
2029 Home: Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, Stanford
2029 Away: Boston College, Cal, Miami, Syracuse
2030 Home: Cal, Duke, Miami, Syracuse
2030 Away: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt, Stanford
2024 Home: Louisville, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2024 Away: Cal, Clemson, NC State, Syracuse
2025 Home: Boston College, Cal, Florida State, Pitt
2025 Away: Miami, North Carolina, SMU, Virginia
2026 Home: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU
2026 Away: Cal, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest
2027 Home: Cal, Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse
2027 Away: Boston College, Clemson, SMU, Virginia Tech
2028 Home: Clemson, SMU, Virginia, Virginia Tech
2028 Away: Cal, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina
2029 Home: Boston College, Cal, Louisville, Wake Forest
2029 Away: Duke, Florida State, Pitt, SMU
2030 Home: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Pitt, SMU
2030 Away: Cal, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia
2024 Home: Virginia Tech, Miami, Stanford, Georgia Tech
2024 Away: Pitt, Boston College, NC State, Cal
2025 Home: Boston College, Pitt, North Carolina, Duke
2025 Away: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU
2026 Home: Louisville, Clemson, SMU, Cal
2026 Away: Boston College, Pitt, North Carolina, Virginia
2027 Home: Boston College, Pitt, NC State, Florida State
2027 Away: Louisville, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Stanford
2028 Home: Louisville, Wake Forest, Virginia, Miami
2028 Away: Boston College, Pitt, Duke, Clemson
2029 Home: Boston College, Pitt, Virginia Tech, SMU
2029 Away: Cal, Florida State, Virginia, Louisville
2030 Home: Georgia Tech, Louisville, Florida State, Stanford
2030 Away: Boston College, Pitt, Wake Forest, SMU
2024 Home: Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU
2024 Away: Clemson, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2025 Home: Florida State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2025 Away: Cal, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina
2026 Home: Cal Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse
2026 Away: Florida State, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2027 Home: NC State, Pitt, SMU, Virginia Tech
2027 Away: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina
2028 Home: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina
2028 Away: Duke, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
2029 Home: Florida State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2029 Away: Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, North Carolina
2030 Home: Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Stanford
2030 Away: Cal, Florida State, Louisville, Virginia Tech
2024 Home: Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia
2024 Away: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Syracuse
2025 Home: Cal, Louisville, Miami, Wake Forest
2025 Away: Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia
2026 Home: Georgia Tech, NC State, Pitt, Virginia
2026 Away: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Miami
2027 Home: Clemson, Miami, Stanford, Syracuse
2027 Away: Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Virginia
2028 Home: Florida State, Louisville, SMU, Virginia
2028 Away: Miami, Pitt, Stanford, Wake Forest
2029 Home: Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Pitt
2029 Away: Georgia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse, Virginia
2030 Home: Cal, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest
2030 Away: Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, Pitt
2024 Home: Cal, Clemson, Duke, Virginia
2024 Away: Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Stanford
2025 Home: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, SMU
2025 Away: Duke, Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech
2026 Home: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Virginia
2026 Away: Cal, Georgia Tech, NC State, SMU
2027 Home: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, SMU
2027 Away: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Louisville
2028 Home: Cal, Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech
2028 Away: North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, Syracuse
2029 Home: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State
2029 Away: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Virginia
2030 Home: Clemson, Duke, Pitt, Syracuse
2030 Away: Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia Tech
They protected every Tobacco Road matchup except UNC-Wake.
I would have protected that as well, so that the Tobacco Road teams could take turns ending the season against each other.
NC State – Wake is protected.
I was talking the Tar Heels VS. the Demon Deacons. NC State is the Wolf Pack.
UNC already had 3 permanent rivalry games that are much higher priority. They weren’t adding a 4th vs a non-rival.
Richard, UNC-Wake is the oldest Tobacco Road rivalry
I also would have protected the three Northeast teams for Miami so that BC and Pitt can alternate ending each season at Cuse or Miami.
Maaaaannnn,
I figured that Cal/Stanford/SMU would be protected rivals to cut down on travel (sort of. I mean, Dallas isn’t just up the road from the Bay Area, but it’s only halfway across the country, and between the Dallas Love Field being close to SMU, and DFW being a major hub, it’s accessible at least?), but the rest of this makes my head hurt trying to analyze it.
Seems like it could be a lot simpler if they were doing a 9-game conference slate and did the 3-6-6 model. (3 permanent rivals, and split the other teams in half each year). Yes, I know that works with 16 teams instead of 15, but Notre Dame helped get them into this mess, so…
But yeah, it’s funny, people have complained for years about how divisions can create an uneven scheduling model, but I envision a ton of situations in both this and the Big 10 model where a better team ends up with a slightly worse record and gets left out of their conference championship game. Also, conferences tie-breakers, without divisions that play in smaller clumps, feel like they’re going to be a nightmare…?
Cal/Stanford/SMU may be an attempt to trade off of the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry in the NFL and by extension the overall California-Texas rivalry.
The problem with the 9-game conference schedule is there is an odd number of teams. An odd number of conference games with an odd number of teams won’t work.
I wonder if the Big Ten doesn’t allow USC to end with ND every other year, if ND will figure into the ACC Thanksgiving week schedule, maybe some sort of rotation with Miami, SMU, and Stanford, hitting recruiting hotbeds of FL, TX, and CA.
It seems like the USC-ND series with the @USC games after Thanksgiving will keep going.
Honestly, it works out well because with the ACC having an odd number of teams, UCLA could always just end their season vs an ACC team (Cal?) those years.
Poor SMU,
Not only do they not get money for a whole bunch of years they get to be annual rivals with Cal and Stanford as well. Sure travel from Dallas to SF is shorter than the rest of the league, but really this is whole lot of travel. I suspect SMU has to do the dishes after every conference meeting as well.
(Another prospective)…….. It’s funny how these conferences retain their name. Big 10 have more than 10 teams, SEC has teams in the mid west and the Atlantic Coast Conference has teams all over the map ( forget the Atlantic coast). Travel expense becomes way our of line by teams going across the country. Traditional rival games become secondary. Yet, they keep their traditional conference names. All this for the sake of money. This also affects all the other sports which make travel for sports such as golf, tennis, swimming to go distances due to football which dictates the whole mess. Notice how these college presidents just followed long with it. And of course the pathetic NCAA chooses just to stand by and watch as all this develops. Eventually, all the schools will come under an umbrella of one major conference and schools will randomly play each other every so often. Future dictates that the greed for more money by the players, coaches, and universities will eventually make the fans no longer appreciate the hypocrisy college football has become.
Golf will be hardly affected as teams don’t play a conference schedule and just go to tournaments playing tens of other schools. Swimming seems to only have a handful of invitationals/meets a year (here’s UMich’s schedule): https://mgoblue.com/sports/womens-swimming-and-diving/schedule). Track too. It seems that a bunch of the non-revenue sports don’t play anything like a real conference schedule so wouldn’t be much affected. For the sports that do play real conference slates (like basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball/softball), UCLA has calculated and it’s 2-5 long trips per sport for them if a conference isn’t stupid and does what the Pac already does now and has 2 teams travel over a long weekend to play 2 other teams. That ends up being an extra 10-25 hours more travel per year.
Confrernce USA has the only name without a specific geography or number attached, yet all its teams are below the Mason Dixon line.
After looking at articles in local and national publications regarding the new ACC scheduling, yesterday and this morning, fbschedules is the only entity who lists every team’s opponent’s H/A for each of the 7 years.
Thanks fbschedules.
You’re welcome!
Georgia Tech and Louisville,
You are worthy of a protected rival and feel for the fact you do not have one. The fact that other schools felt more need to rival other schools than shows that you are not as mean, misbehaved or winning as much as those other teams. Keep you head up and after 7 years some team will hate you enough to be a Rival in the ACC. However you will be playing Georgia and Kentucky more than any school in your conference.
Apparently, Georgia Tech and Louisville ADs both agreed that they did not need any games protected (no protected rival, per ESPN article. Make of it what you may.
I personally don’t feel trying to invent an artificial rivalry makes sense. While you could pair GTech up with Clemson and FSU, nobody in the ACC considers Louisville a rival. Just the way it is.
Was thinking about this…
I wonder if all these conference shifts will make it so that even more of the OOC games are regional? I mean, many OOC slates include 1 or 2 regional opponents already (depending on whether a team gets 3 or 4 OOC games) but with more travel distance added to the conference slates, and with more schools who used to be nearby conference opponents not being in the same conference, you may even be able to find more of the marquee matchups (which a school used to schedule from across the country) are now that regional former conference rival you used to play a bunch?
Obviously there’s the whole “bad blood” thing… officials from the school that feels betrayed or abandoned saying “screw those greedy traitors!!” and the school that’s moving on saying something dismissive back, and them both saying they’ll never play again. But… it’ll be interesting to see if time cools that off a bit, and if travel cost eventually outweighs bitterness. I mean, almost all of these decisions boil down to money in one way or another, right?
Thinking of this with regards to a lot of different teams. It seems like the former Pac 12 members would be likely candidates to consider still playing each other. Nebraska has already done this a bit with OU and Colorado. Missouri did it with KSU. West Virginia likes to schedule their former rivals for historic purposes, but it probably helps that Pitt, Penn State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, etc, also help mitigate travel costs since they’re close.
And I know someone here was talking about “poor SMU…” but if they are feeling the strain with their “our rich alumni will pay so the ACC is basically getting us for free for a long time” realignment strategy, there are enough OOC schools in Texas (since EVERY other school in Texas is an OOC team now) at every level of competition from cupcake to marquee matchup to historic rivalry renewed, (not to mention Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico, if they’re really hard pressed) that they should be able to fill all 4 OOC games with either home games or with someone relatively nearby… if that’s what they decide they want to do. (Not sure it is though…? Just noticing the new post on this page about a newly scheduled series with BYU, so they may not think they need to be worried about travel distance…? At least for one of their 4 OOC games.) If they decide they want to, they could fill 4 games with…
1) home/home with historic power 4 Texas school
2) home/home with newby power 4 Texas school
3) 2-for-1 with a Texas school from AAC, CUSA, SunBelt (or just a 1-off home game, but if they were trying to save due ti travel costs, 2-for-1 would likely help)
4) home game with Texas FCS team
… since that’s already a pretty big pool to choose from. But with their mutual ending of the annual TCU game, and with their first announced OOC game since the ACC move being a home/home with BYU, I’m not sure they think they need to do that (yet).
But other schools probably will look to stay closer to home for OCC opponents I’d think…?
Teams that are located far from the center of their conference are already doing that.
Look at the future OOC schedules for PSU, UMD, RU, and WVU.
I would make three changes to the ACC’s 16 protected annual matchups as indicated below.
Clemson-Georgia Tech to replace Clemson-Florida State
Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech to replace Miami-Virginia Tech
North Carolina-Wake Forest to replace North Carolina-Virginia
We would continue to have an annual conference game since 1983, the Battle of the Techs since 2004, and the four North Carolina schools playing each other annually. This makes more sense IMO.
UNC-UVa is a historic rivalry game.
Note also that you are replacing games that would attract more TV viewers with games that would attract fewer TV viewers in every case, which I really doubt the ACC (and ESPN) wants.
I confess, Richard. I shall replace Clemson-Georgia Tech with North Carolina-Virginia as a compromise. The ACC got 14 of the 16 annual rivalries right in this case.
Both the Battle of the Techs (GT-VT) and the UNC-Wake rivalry stay put as part of this deal. You are welcome! :)
This just goes to show, once again, that the Mid-American Conference (although not the most elite in terms of talent at a national level) is what you want from a collegiate conference. Regional schools that have stuck together and play at the D1 level with every week feeling like they are facing a “rival”.
Isn’t that what we all want from our favorite conferences?
Well, the MAC has it.