Triangle Roundtable: Repercussions of ACC's New Schedule

SI team publishers Brett Friedlander and Shawn Krest were guests on a podcast with Andrew Jones of Tar Heel Illustrated to discuss the ACC's revised "10-plus-1" schedule and what it means to Triangle teams NC State, Duke and North Carolina

The ACC's decision Wednesday to adopt a "10-plus-1" scheduling model for the 2020 football season was a momentous one.

Even though the change is only a one-year response to a nationwide pandemic that has severely altered the landscape of sports all around the globe, there are apects of the new format that could have far-reaching repercussions on the conference.

The most significant is Notre Dame's participation and its eligibility to compete for an ACC championship. In return, the Irish has agreed to share the revenue generated from their television contract with NBA among the 14 full-time conference members.

If things go well, the one-year experiment could hasten Notre Dame's permanent addition to the league sometime in the near future.

Also of note is the scrapping of the ACC's divisional system.

Instead of winners of horribly unbalanced Atlantic and Coastal divisions meeting in Charlotte to determine this year's champion, the two teams with the best records after 10 conference games will advance to the title game in Charlotte.

SI All Wolfpack publisher Brett Friedlander and Blue Devil Country Publisher Shawn Krest were guests on a podcast with Andrew Jones of Tar Heel Illustrated on Wednesday to discuss the new schedule and what it all means for the three Triangle teams.

Here's the full broadcast

For a change, NC State didn't get the short end of the stick from the ACC when it came to a scheduling decision.

Not only will the Wolfpack avoid national championship favorite Clemson in the newly re-worked "10-plus-1" model that was announced on Wednesday in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, coach Dave Doeren's team won't have to play Notre Dame or Louisville, either.

In place of the traditional Atlantic Division rival Tigers and Cardinals, State will now play rebuilding Georgia Tech and, among others, a Virginia team that figures to take a step back after the graduation of star quarterback Bryce Perkins.

The changes don't guarantee anything, of course. The Wolfpack will still have to do its part to take care of business.

But the chances of bouncing back from last year's 4-8 disappointment are clearly more reasonable now than they could have been had the scheduling cards been dealt differently.

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