ACC Reportedly Considering Schedule Options for Football

According to multiple media reports, the ACC is working on a schedule for the 2020 season that could look very different from the one released earlier this year.

The ACC has league meetings next week, during which they’re expected to approve the new model. Among the factors they’ll decide are:

Non-conference: Unlike the Big Ten and Pac-12, who already announced conference-only plans, the ACC and SEC want to keep rivalry games such as Georgia-Georgia Tech, FSU-Florida and Clemson-South Carolina. Two options are a 10+1 model, with each ACC team playing a 10-game conference schedule and one non-conference game. Pete Thamel of Yahoo! tweeted that the ACC is currently considering multiple models, but a 10+1 is the favorite. 8+1 or 9+1 depending on…

Length and start date: It’s believed that the start of the season will be pushed back some amount. According to Thamel, the season could start for the ACC on Sept. 12, 19 or 26.

Sources: The ACC is discussing scheduling models, with 10 league games and a "plus one" outside the conference as the favorite. The ACC start date is still being debated between September 12, 19 and 26.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 24, 2020

Notre Dame: ACC commissioner John Swofford has indicated that the league would like to help football independent Notre Dame fill out a schedule. Obviously, teams without a natural rivalry game could add the Irish as their non-conference foe to accomplish that. Alternatively, the Irish could play a 10+1 schedule in the conference, an idea being floated by some outlets.

Obviously, each team’s non-conference schedule would be scrambled in whatever plan is chosen, with at least three of the four non-conference games getting cut loose. The conference slate could also go by the wayside, however. David Teel reported that the league would likely scrap the divisional model and go to a more regional conference schedule.

Neither 10 + 1 nor 8 + 1 #ACC model would likely include traditional division schedules. Think regional.
— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) July 24, 2020

What would that mean for Duke?

The Blue Devils are already playing most of the ACC teams closest to them. It’s likely that the following games would stay on their schedule:

Home vs. Wake Forest

At NC State

Home vs. UNC

At Georgia Tech

Home vs. Virginia

Home vs. Virginia Tech

The remaining two scheduled games are at Miami and at Pitt. While there are teams closer to Duke than Miami, that’s not true from the Canes’ point of view. They may need to keep the Duke game on the schedule.

Pitt would likely be replaced by a trip to Clemson.

Duke is scheduled to play at Notre Dame. If the Irish are, indeed, going to play a conference schedule, that would leave one more home ACC game that needs to be added. Perhaps Louisville.

If the Irish don’t count as a conference game, Duke might add a trip to Florida State as the tenth ACC game. In that case, Notre Dame would remain as the +1 non-conference game.

If the Irish are considered an ACC team this year, Duke would likely try to keep one of the two in-state teams currently on its non-conference schedule: Elon or Charlotte.

With a schedule that already includes Notre Dame, Clemson and possibly FSU, Duke might look to keep FBS Elon, who is attempting to play a schedule this season, even though it’s league has called things off.

With several ACC and SEC teams playing in their traditional rivalry games, and UNC and Auburn expected to play in the Chick fil-A Kickoff, it's possible that the commissioners of the two leagues will encourage the rest of their teams to also use an ACC-SEC matchup to fill out its non-conference game on the schedule.

In that scenario, Duke would likely look to add Vanderbilt, another small private school with a strong academic reputation that is located close to North Carolina. Of course, the Commodores are also a natural opponent for Wake Forest.

Assuming the Deacs get Vandy, Duke would likely get matched up with Tennessee, a school for which Coach Cutcliffe has roots.

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