Clemson will be lone ACC team in '27 with 8 football games in 9-game model amid odd number of teams

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference's transition to a nine-game scheduling model leaves Clemson as the lone team playing eight games next year, a quirk of being the only power conference with an odd number of football-playing members.

The ACC on Wednesday announced its league opponents for 2027. That marks its second season since joining Power Four peers in moving to a nine-game schedule, which came amid debates about the impact of unbalanced scheduling and access to the 12-team College Football Playoff.

This year features 12 of 17 teams playing nine games with the remaining five at eight, operating as a bridge to accommodate nonconference games already on the books. Going forward, 16 of 17 ACC teams will regularly play nine league games.

The ACC’s model is designed to have teams play 10 games against Power Four opponents as a baseline in a so-called 9+1 model, the one being a nonconference matchup. The rotating team playing an eight-game slate would aim for an 8+2 model to meet that 10-game target.

Notre Dame, a football independent but a member of all other league sports, typically plays four to six football games per year against ACC schools. Those games would fit into the nonconference column in the 9+1 or 8+2 scheduling models.

That represents one of the nonconference slots for the Tigers in 2027, the other being instate rival South Carolina from the Southeastern Conference.

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