Several surprises accompanied the release of the Atlantic Coast Conference 2012 football schedule Monday.
Georgia Tech will open the season at Virginia Tech on Labor Day night on national television. Duke and North Carolina will play each other in October for the first time since 1938, and a matchup of two possible top-10 teams — Florida State at Virginia Tech — will take place on a Thursday night.
Atlantic Coast Conference teams will play in only four Thursday night affairs (Florida State at Virginia Tech; North Carolina at Virginia; Clemson at Wake Forest; and Virginia Tech at Miami), and two ACC clubs will participate in a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic double dip. North Carolina State will face Tennessee on Friday night, Aug. 31 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, followed by Clemson and Auburn the next night.
Notre Dame is on three ACC slates (Boston College, Miami and Wake Forest). North Carolina plays five intrastate games for the first time since 1940. Clemson opens its ACC schedule at Florida State – the winner of that game has won the past three Atlantic Division titles. NC State plays two FCS teams again. And Wake Forest closes the season with a pair of nonconference games.
Here is a quick look at each team's schedule:
Boston College Eagles
2011 record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 ACC
Nonconference: Maine; at Northwestern; at Army; Notre Dame
ACC home: Miami; Clemson; Maryland; Virginia Tech
ACC road: Florida State; Georgia Tech; Wake Forest; NC State.
Quick hit: Five possible bowl teams on the road plus potentially four very good opponents at home makes this slate quite a test for the Eagles.
Clemson Tigers
2011 record: 10-4, 6-2
Nonconference: vs. Auburn (at Atlanta); Ball State; Furman; South Carolina
ACC home: Georgia Tech; Virginia Tech; Maryland; NC State
ACC road: Florida State; Boston College; Wake Forest; Duke
Quick hit: Opportunity abounds with two highly regarded Southeastern Conference teams and both Florida State and Virginia Tech on the schedule. It's certainly worthy enough to gain national respect for a perfect or one-loss season.
Duke Blue Devils
2011 record: 3-9, 1-7
Nonconference: Florida International; at Stanford; North Carolina Central; Memphis
ACC home: Virginia; North Carolina; Clemson; Miami
ACC road: Wake Forest; Virginia Tech; Florida State; Georgia Tech
Quick hit: Duke lightening up things with Memphis coming in, and playing North Carolina at home earlier in the season might make for a better atmosphere. A healthier Duke team may have a shot at beating the hated Heels.
Florida State Seminoles
2011 record: 9-4, 5-3
Nonconference: Murray State; Savannah State; at South Florida; Florida
ACC home: Wake Forest; Clemson; Boston College; Duke
ACC road: NC State; Miami; Virginia Tech; Maryland
Quick hit: Too bad West Virginia recently opted out, forcing Florida State to schedule Savannah State. That could hurt if the Seminoles make a national push. They, however, do have a fairly tough league schedule on the road.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
2011 record: 8-5, 5-3
Nonconference: Presbyterian; Middle Tennessee State; BYU; at Georgia
ACC home: Virginia; Miami; Boston College; Duke
ACC road: Virginia Tech; Clemson; Maryland; North Carolina
Quick hit: Balanced schedule brings in BYU for an interesting battle. The Yellow Jackets' slate gets a bit softer later in the season, but will they have much left for that stretch?
Maryland Terrapins
2011 record: 2-10, 1-7
Nonconference: William & Mary; at Temple; Connecticut; at West Virginia
ACC home: Wake Forest; NC State; Georgia Tech
ACC road: Virginia; Boston College; Clemson; North Carolina
Quick hit: The trouble meter in College Park is so high right now, and there doesn't appear to be much of a reprieve with the schedule.
Miami Hurricanes
2011 record: 6-6, 3-5
Nonconference: at Kansas State; Bethune-Cookman; vs. Notre Dame (at Chicago); South Florida
ACC home: NC State; North Carolina; Florida State; Virginia Tech
ACC road: Boston College; Georgia Tech; Virginia and Duke
Quick hit: Another ambitious schedule for the Hurricanes, but this is much more manageable than a year ago because the Canes should be improved. The game vs. Notre Dame is quite intriguing.
North Carolina Tar Heels
2011 record: 7-6, 3-5
Nonconference: Elon; at Louisville; East Carolina; Idaho
ACC home: Virginia Tech; NC State; Georgia Tech; Maryland
ACC road: Wake Forest; Miami; Duke; Virginia
Quick hit: This is a sweet schedule if the stars are aligned in Chapel Hill. Louisville will be improved, but the Tar Heels can win that game. Thursday night at Virginia should be interesting.
NC State Wolfpack
2011 record: 8-5, 4-4
Nonconference: vs. Tennessee (at Atlanta); UConn; South Alabama; the Citadel
ACC home: Florida State; Virginia; Wake; Boston College
ACC road: Miami; Maryland; North Carolina; Clemson
Quick hit: Great way to kick off things, but a real downer to play two FCS teams in the same season for the third time in four years. But that Tennessee game will give the Wolfpack an early national platform that the program needs.
Virginia Cavaliers
2011 record: 8-5, 5-3
Nonconference: Richmond; Penn State; at TCU; Louisiana Tech
ACC home: Maryland; Wake Forest; Miami; North Carolina
ACC road: Georgia Tech; Duke; NC State; Virginia Tech
Quick hit: Two monster games versus Penn State and TCU stick out. But having Maryland, Duke and Wake Forest on the league slate gives the Cavaliers a chance to make a push in the ACC.
Virginia Tech Hokies
2011 record: 11-3, 7-1
Nonconference: Austin Peay; at Pittsburgh; Bowling Green; vs. Cincinnati (at Landover, Md.)
ACC home: Georgia Tech; Duke; Florida State; Virginia
ACC road: North Carolina; Clemson; Miami; Boston College
Quick hit: The nonleague slate is dramatically upgraded from a year ago. Plus, having Florida State and Clemson on the schedule will help if the Hokies win 11 or 12 regular season games.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
2011 record: 6-7, 5-3
Nonconference: Liberty; Army; at Notre Dame; Vanderbilt
ACC home: North Carolina; Duke; Clemson; Boston College
ACC road: Florida State; Maryland; Virginia; NC State
Quick hit: Another odd slate put together by Jim Grobe and the Wake Forest administration. Plus, why does the league have Wake Forest closing the season with a pair of non-ACC games?
