Breaking Down NC State's Revised 2020 Football Schedule

Notes and observations on NC State's revised football schedule, which is now set to begin -- coronavirus permitting -- on September 12 at Virginia Tech

The ACC announced the dates for its revised 2020 "10-plus-1" football schedule on Thursday.

Here are some observations on how things broke for coach Dave Doeren and his NC State Wolfpack:

• As was the case with the original schedule, State will still open the season on the road against a difficult ACC opponent. Now, instead of Louisville, it's Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack will take on the Hokies at Lane Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12. Its a game that will be every bit as challenging, if not more so than the original opener in Louisville. But if there's anything going in the Wolfpack's favor in Blacksburg, it's that Tech's homefield advantage will likely be minimized with few or no fans in the stands and with the Hokies' star cornerback Caleb Farley having opted out of the season over COVID-19 concerns.
• At the other end of the schedule, the now traditional season-ending rivalry matchup against North Carolina has been replaced by a game against Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack will now travel to Chapel Hill to play the Tar Heels on Oct. 24.
• In addition to the game against UNC, State will play Wake Forest in its home opener on Sept. 19 and Duke on October. It will be the Blue Devils' first appearance at Carter-Finley Stadium since 2009. It's also the first time the Wolfpack will play all three of its in-state conference rivals in the same season since 2013.
• State won't have to go an entire month without playing at home as it did in 2019, but it will still have an extended stretch away from Carter-Finley Stadium. After playing the Deacons on Sept. 19, the Wolfpack won't be back home again until its Oct. 17 date against Duke. In between, it will have an open date on Sept. 26, followed by consecutive road games at Pittsburgh on Oct. 3 and Virginia on Oct. 10.
• On the flip side, State will only have to leave the friendly confines of Raleigh once over the final six weeks of the season. After playing at UNC on Oct. 24, the Wolfpack has an open date, followed by a Friday night game against Miami on Nov. 6, home games against Florida State and Liberty on Oct. 14-21 and a road contest at Syracuse on Nov. 28 before returning home to finish against Georgia Tech on Dec. 5.
• Two of the Wolfpack's 11 opponents are ranked in the preseason USAToday coaches poll. UNC checks in at No. 19, Virginia Tech starts the year at No. 24.
• The choice of Liberty as State's "plus-one" is a logical one. The Flames were already on the schedule, willing to play on the road and close enough so that travel won't be an issue. They're also a team the Wolfpack stands a reasonable chance of beating -- an important consideration for a team coming off a 4-8 season.
•  There are a couple of negatives to playing Liberty, however. For one thing, the university made headlines last spring when it reopened its doors without requiring students and staff to undergo testing for COVID-19 -- raising questions about how the university is currently handling its response to the virus. Then there's the issue of race. Liberty was again in the headlines for the wrong reason last week when several black athletes from different sports -- including the football team -- announced their intention to transfer because of "the racial insensitivities shown within the leadership and culture” of the university and its staff.
•  It should be noted, of course, that the schedule and all that goes with it is still very much hypothetical at this point. Depending on the trends of the coronavirus pandemic, there's still a very real possibility that some or none of these games will ever be played. It is also still unknown whether fans will be allowed to attend the games -- and if so, how many. North Carolina is still under Phase 2 of Gov. Roy Cooper's reopening plan. Among the restrictions that Cooper has extended until at least Sept. 11 is one limiting public gatherings to 25 people or less. 

Reworked because of the coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the sports world since mid-March, the revised 2020 schedule features games against 10 ACC opponents, all of which will count in the conference standings, as well as a "plus one" nonconference matchups.

The league's two-division system has been scrapped for this season. Teams with the two best winning percentages will advance to the ACC Championship game on either Dec. 12 or 19 in Charlotte. Notre Dame, which will play a full league schedule, is eligible for the title.

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