Roundtable: How Should ACC Schedule the 2020 Season?

The ACC will make a decision on its scheduling this month, so the AllClemson staff tackled the issue of what the league should do in 2020.

The ACC is getting close to figuring out what the 2020 schedule is going to look like. 

League commissioner John Swofford said last week he expects to make an official announcement by the end of this month. While the Big Ten and Pac-12 have already decided to eliminate all non-conference games, the ACC, Big 12 and SEC are trying to find a way to preserve some of their matchups. 

In the meantime, there's talk of the ACC going to an unusual pod system that would involve Notre Dame and home-and-home games against just four other teams. The AllClemson staff takes a look at some options the conference could implement in what's looking like a disjointed fall season:

Christopher Hall: While the geographical pods make conference games only more logical, not sure how many people really want to see Clemson take on an inferior N.C. State or Wake Forest twice in a season. I would be more in favor of keeping the current conference slate "as is" with two options for a non-conference game and/or rivalry contest to keep the traditional ACC-SEC rivalry games at the end of the season in play. This would keep Clemson-ND on the table and help give the five other ACC teams set already set to play the Irish in 2020 with one less date to fill on a 10-game schedule. 

Jason Priester: Playing more than 10 games at this point appears to be off the table, so the ACC needs to get a little creative, and Notre Dame has to be a part of the plan. Create three groups of five teams based on geographic location, and have the teams play each other twice, giving each eight conference games. This gives you some flexibility to play a ninth conference game against a team from a different group, and even a tenth game if possible, with that hopefully being the annual rivalry game with South Carolina. Whatever they decide, the Clemson and Notre Dame game needs to be played if there is a season. 

Travis Boland: The ACC should announce that they will only play 7-on-7 tournaments this season. Each team can bring their best offensive and defensive skill players and face off each week at a designated school. Take a page from the NBA and bubble each athlete when they get to town. Each week, every team would compete in a randomized tournament and the winner of the week would be given a trophy. You could keep handing off the trophy each week, and the team with the most wins at the end of the season will be named champion. This plan cuts down on the number of players that could be exposed and allows different players to compete in different weeks. 

Brad Senkiw: First and foremost, the ACC needs to bag the division format for a season. It's going to be very important to build as much flexibility into the schedule as possible, similar to what high schools are facing. What happens if Clemson can't make a trip to Georgia Tech because of local health protocols in Atlanta? Can they find another place to play? It might even mean playing a different opponent. If Boston College decides in September it can't play, maybe Clemson takes on North Carolina instead. Getting rid of divisions means potentially no true ACC champion, but football is football in 2020.

Zach Lentz: I guess we are assuming there will be a 2020 season, which is looking more and more unlikely with each passing week. But to the question of, if there is a season, what the ACC needs to do, they need to ensure that they protect the players and coaches first and foremost. They can do so by limiting travel, hotels and extra possible exposure. Let Clemson play NC State, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Duke and Georgia Tech and forget about the marquee game at Notre Dame. All of those games can be traveled to in a bus. I know many people will wonder if Clemson can make the playoff with a schedule that looked like my proposal, but if the CFP committee does not understand that in the current climate of college football that Clemson is a guaranteed playoff-caliber team, then I say forget it this year. This year means more than a playoff appearance.