ACC announces 2017 football schedule

[jimsumner]

http://www.theacc.com/page/2017-acc-football-composite-schedule

http://www.theacc.com/news/acc-football-schedule-release-01-24-2017

[CrazyNotCrazie]

http://www.theacc.com/page/2017-acc-football-composite-schedule

http://www.theacc.com/news/acc-football-schedule-release-01-24-2017

Thanks. Duke at West Point on Veteran's Day should be great for those of us here in the northeast! West Point is a beautiful place to watch a game, though by then most of the leaves will be gone and it might be a bit chilly.

[pfrduke]

I'm bummed that the Duke-UNC game is so early in the year. Per the media guide, 2012 is the only time in the last 40 years that it wasn't a November game, and even then it was late October. September 23 is not the ideal date for a matchup with one's main rival.

[Olympic Fan]

Here's the Duke slate:

2017 Duke Football Schedule (2016 Record; Bowl game)

SEPTEMBER

2 – N.C. CENTRAL (9-3; 10-9 loss to Grambling in Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl)

9 – NORTHWESTERN (7-6; 31-24 win over Pittsburgh in New Era Pinstripe Bowl)

16 – BAYLOR (7-6; 31-12 win over Boise State in Motel 6 Cactus Bowl)

23 – at North Carolina (8-5; 25-23 loss to Stanford in Hyundai Sun Bowl)

29 – MIAMI (9-4; 31-14 win over West Virginia in Russell Athletic Bowl)



OCTOBER

7 – at Virginia (2-10)

14 – FLORIDA STATE (10-3; 33-32 win over Michigan in Capital One Orange Bowl)

21 – PITTSBURGH (8-5; 31-24 loss to Pittsburgh in New Era Pinstripe Bowl)

28 – at Virginia Tech (10-4; 35-24 win over Arkansas in Belk Bowl)

NOVEMBER

4 – Open date

11 – at Army West Point (8-5; 38-31 win over North Texas in Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl)

18 – GEORGIA TECH (9-4; 33-18 win over Kentucky in Taxslayer Bowl)

25 – at Wake Forest (7-6; 34-26 win over Temple in Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman)


I like it ... although I wish the open date was a couple of weeks earlier. Seven home games again.

Now that I think about it, maybe the open date comes at a good time, setting us up for a strong finish. If we can get to the open date at 5-4 or 4-5, we'll be in good shape to go bowling again.

I would say -- two brutal games (Baylor and FSU), but a year ago, I thought the two toughest opponents on the schedule were at Notre Dame and UNC -- and we won them both. FSU is going to be the preseason favorite in the ACC. Baylor is reloading fast (their recent recruiting is unbelievable). On the other hand, the Coastal Division is in a shambles -- Duke and Virginia are the only two teams with returning QBs.

I love our chances against NCCU and Army. We need to beat Virginia and Wake Forest this season. Northwestern is a bugaboo -- they keep finding ways to beat us. The rest -- UNC, VPI, Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt -- all tough, but winnable games.

[jimsumner]

Anybody else notice that Friday night game against Miami? Boo, ACC. I do not like the idea of college games on Friday night. Let the high schools have Fridays.

That said, if one is inclined to travel to see Duke play, this is a goldmine. Seven home games, road games at UNC, Wake Forest, UVA and VT. Only one game outside North Carolina/Virginia and that's the trip to West Point.

[OZ]

Anybody else notice that Friday night game against Miami? Boo, ACC. I do not like the idea of college games on Friday night. Let the high schools have Fridays.

That said, if one is inclined to travel to see Duke play, this is a goldmine. Seven home games, road games at UNC, Wake Forest, UVA and VT. Only one game outside North Carolina/Virginia and that's the trip to West Point.

Makes for a short week after UNC. Winnable, but a tough six days.

[jimsumner]

Makes for a short week after UNC. Winnable, but a tough six days.

Miami also plays the previous Saturday, albeit a weaker opponent. Then again, they're the team having to travel.

And playing on Friday does give both teams an extra days rest before the next game.

Another concern is that Duke's open date is pretty late in the season. Coaches prefer to have the open day around mid-season, the better to rest and rehab nagging injuries while still having enough season left to benefit from that rest and rehab.

[brevity]

Another concern is that Duke's open date is pretty late in the season. Coaches prefer to have the open day around mid-season, the better to rest and rehab nagging injuries while still having enough season left to benefit from that rest and rehab.

If Duke Football's 2017-2018 season starts in early September and ends in early January, then that early November open date IS mid-season.

[Olympic Fan]

Makes for a short week after UNC. Winnable, but a tough six days.

And Miami also gets the short week, although they get Toledo the week before.

That said, I think getting UNC early helps -- they are going to be breaking in a whole new offense and getting them early ought to help.

I was looking at the ACC schedule overall. The first couple of weeks could have a big impact on the national perception of the ACC. As you know, the ACC was the clearcut best conference in college football last season, but the commentators (meaning ESPN) didn't recognize it until after the league's dominant bowl run.

A lot of turnover in the ACC this season, but we get these P5 games early:

Saturday, Sept 2
FSU-Alabama in the new Atlanta stadium
Louisville-Purdue in Indianapolis
Cal at UNC
NC State-South Carolina in Charlotte
VPI-West Virginia in Landover, Md.

Monday, Sept. 4
Tennessee-Georgia Tech in the new Atlanta Stadiumm

Saturday, Sept. 9
Auburn at Clemson
Northwestern at Duke
Pitt at Penn State
Indiana at Virginia

That's four games against the SEC and four against the Big Ten ... one against both the Pac 12 and Big 12.

It won't be definitive, but if the ACC wins its share, it could change the narrative this season. The FSU-Alabama matchup between the ACC and SEC favorites on a neutral field could have a huge impact on conference perceptions.

[jimsumner]

If Duke Football's 2017-2018 season starts in early September and ends in early January, then that early November open date IS mid-season.

I love the optimism. But everyone gets time off before a bowl game, so there's really no advantage here.

I'd rather have the open date earlier in the season, say after game seven.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Here's the Duke slate:

2017 Duke Football Schedule (2016 Record; Bowl game)

SEPTEMBER

2 – N.C. CENTRAL (9-3; 10-9 loss to Grambling in Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl)

9 – NORTHWESTERN (7-6; 31-24 win over Pittsburgh in New Era Pinstripe Bowl)

16 – BAYLOR (7-6; 31-12 win over Boise State in Motel 6 Cactus Bowl)

23 – at North Carolina (8-5; 25-23 loss to Stanford in Hyundai Sun Bowl)

29 – MIAMI (9-4; 31-14 win over West Virginia in Russell Athletic Bowl)



OCTOBER

7 – at Virginia (2-10)

14 – FLORIDA STATE (10-3; 33-32 win over Michigan in Capital One Orange Bowl)

21 – PITTSBURGH (8-5; 31-24 loss to Pittsburgh in New Era Pinstripe Bowl)

28 – at Virginia Tech (10-4; 35-24 win over Arkansas in Belk Bowl)

NOVEMBER

4 – Open date

11 – at Army West Point (8-5; 38-31 win over North Texas in Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl)

18 – GEORGIA TECH (9-4; 33-18 win over Kentucky in Taxslayer Bowl)

25 – at Wake Forest (7-6; 34-26 win over Temple in Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman)


I like it ... although I wish the open date was a couple of weeks earlier. Seven home games again.

Now that I think about it, maybe the open date comes at a good time, setting us up for a strong finish. If we can get to the open date at 5-4 or 4-5, we'll be in good shape to go bowling again.

I would say -- two brutal games (Baylor and FSU), but a year ago, I thought the two toughest opponents on the schedule were at Notre Dame and UNC -- and we won them both. FSU is going to be the preseason favorite in the ACC. Baylor is reloading fast (their recent recruiting is unbelievable). On the other hand, the Coastal Division is in a shambles -- Duke and Virginia are the only two teams with returning QBs.

I love our chances against NCCU and Army. We need to beat Virginia and Wake Forest this season. Northwestern is a bugaboo -- they keep finding ways to beat us. The rest -- UNC, VPI, Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt -- all tough, but winnable games.

I haven't followed Army as much recently, but they have historically run a somewhat unique option-style attack so having an off week to prep for that could be helpful, particularly since they seem to be a lot better at it than they were in the recent past when they were not very good. Then we play GA Tech the following week, which actually runs a somewhat similar offense, so it might be advantageous to have them back to back weeks. These are the games we have to win.

[OZ]

Miami also plays the previous Saturday, albeit a weaker opponent. Then again, they're the team having to travel.

And playing on Friday does give both teams an extra days rest before the next game.

Another concern is that Duke's open date is pretty late in the season. Coaches prefer to have the open day around mid-season, the better to rest and rehab nagging injuries while still having enough season left to benefit from that rest and rehab.

I was also thinking of the emotional aspect of these two games... UNC (nothing else needs to be said); and, I suspect, given what happened at home last time, Duke would really like to win this game. It would have been nice to put a little more focus on the Miami game with a weaker opponent preceding it.

[Olympic Fan]

I haven't followed Army as much recently, but they have historically run a somewhat unique option-style attack so having an off week to prep for that could be helpful, particularly since they seem to be a lot better at it than they were in the recent past when they were not very good. Then we play GA Tech the following week, which actually runs a somewhat similar offense, so it might be advantageous to have them back to back weeks. These are the games we have to win.

Good point -- and it brings out something I didn't notice -- Duke has open week/Army/Georgia Tech in a row.

That's three weeks in a row to work on the option. That works great.

Plus, Cut's teams have traditionally done fairly well against option offenses.

[Bob Green]

Anybody else notice that Friday night game against Miami? Boo, ACC.

I absolutely hate Thursday/Friday night games. They are very inconvenient for me and my family. College Football and Saturday go together like cops and doughnut shops, peanut butter and jelly, mashed potatoes and gravy...

[Devils Librarian]

September looks like it will be a tough month. It makes me nervous having four big games in a row (Northwestern, Baylor, @ UNC, Miami). I suppose it will test our mettle early. UNC-CH loses a lot from this past season, but I'm not up on the projected strength of Northwestern, Baylor, or Miami. Anyone have an opinion on how we match up?

[Nugget]

I'm bummed that the Duke-UNC game is so early in the year. Per the media guide, 2012 is the only time in the last 40 years that it wasn't a November game, and even then it was late October. September 23 is not the ideal date for a matchup with one's main rival.

Definitely -- major Boo for the ACC on this one from me. It's just wrong to have major rivalry games like Duke-UNC and Miami-Florida St. so early.

[sagegrouse]

I haven't followed Army as much recently, but they have historically run a somewhat unique option-style attack so having an off week to prep for that could be helpful, particularly since they seem to be a lot better at it than they were in the recent past when they were not very good. Then we play GA Tech the following week, which actually runs a somewhat similar offense, so it might be advantageous to have them back to back weeks. These are the games we have to win.

Let me help break the code. Duke usually schedules a bye-week before Georgia Tech, in order to better prepare for the triple option. Army plays a very similar offense. Therefore, we have a bye-week to prepare for Army and then a bye-week plus Army to prepare for Georgia Tech.

[devildeac]

Let me help break the code. Duke usually schedules a bye-week before Georgia Tech, in order to better prepare for the triple option. Army plays a very similar offense. Therefore, we have a bye-week to prepare for Army and then a bye-week plus Army to prepare for Georgia Tech.

That only works if Cut and the team will listen to Bob Green this year who warned us all last year, "Don't forget about the GT passing game."

:mad:

[Avvocato]

In the way too early schedule analysis, once again, I think the Northwestern game will be a key game. Unlike some recent seasons, our first month+ has several tough games (the ACC in general is now filled with relatively tough, competitive teams). I think it will be key going into the Baylor game 2-0. You don't want the season to get out of hand early. Let's get some early momentum. We'll have a young but experienced quarterback leading us, which will be nice. I'd like to finally win that Northwestern game. Losing to them is very annoying. Just saying.

[Olympic Fan]

In the way too early schedule analysis, once again, I think the Northwestern game will be a key game. Unlike some recent seasons, our first month+ has several tough games (the ACC in general is now filled with relatively tough, competitive teams). I think it will be key going into the Baylor game 2-0. You don't want the season to get out of hand early. Let's get some early momentum. We'll have a young but experienced quarterback leading us, which will be nice. I'd like to finally win that Northwestern game. Losing to them is very annoying. Just saying.

I can't give a detailed breakdown of what Northwestern returns and what they don't have, but will point out that they had three superb skill players last season

QB Clayton Thorson threw for 3,182 yard and 22 TDs (9 int) returns for his junior year

TB Justin Jackson rushed for 1,524 yards and 15 TDs. He was rumored to be looking to jump to the NFL, but announced that he's returning for his senior year.

WR Austin Carr caught 90 passes for 1,247 yards and 12 TDs. He was a senior this year and will be gone. Big drop to the No. 2 guy -- former Duke recruit Flynn Nagel had 40 catches for 447 yards and 2 TDs.

They also lose their PK Mitchell, but he was just okay, not outstanding.

[msdukie]

Anybody else notice that Friday night game against Miami? Boo, ACC. I do not like the idea of college games on Friday night. Let the high schools have Fridays.

That said, if one is inclined to travel to see Duke play, this is a goldmine. Seven home games, road games at UNC, Wake Forest, UVA and VT. Only one game outside North Carolina/Virginia and that's the trip to West Point.

Furthermore a Friday night game during Kol Nidre during Erev Yom Kippur, the holiest night of the year for the Jewish people.

[OldPhiKap]

Furthermore a Friday night game during Kol Nidre during Erev Yom Kippur, the holiest night of the year for the Jewish people.

I don't roll on Shabbos.

Other than my tarditional bone of disliking the UNC game first instead of last, schedule looks good to me.

[Bob Green]

Lots of thoughts left to process but here are some initial comments:

* Tradition aside, playing Carolina in September is good as the Tar Heels will be replacing a lot of players on offense. It is going to take time for them to figure it out.

* With Northwestern, Baylor and Miami games in September, @Carolina could be our easiest September opponent after the opener against NCCU.

* Bye week prior to back-to-back games against triple option Army and Georgia Tech is good. As OF stated above, Duke normally plays strong against the option.

* Duke will need to win on the road to secure bowl eligibility as the home schedule appears tougher than the road schedule. Winnable games @Carolina, @Virginia, @ Virginia Tech, @ Army, @Wake Forest. I'm not saying we go 5-0 on the road but I am saying our five road opponents are beatable.

Steal a game somewhere to balance out losing one we should have won and a path to 6-6 and bowl eligibility is achievable. Lots of question marks on Duke's two deep roster that need to be answered. How many impact players are among the rising redshirt freshmen and incoming true freshmen?

[Reilly]

... a Friday night game during Kol Nidre during Erev Yom Kippur, the holiest night of the year for the Jewish people.

Fitting that the absolute injustice of the Duke/Miami finish two years ago would cause the rematch to now be considered the holiest night of the year by one the world’s major religions concerned with ethical living.

Or did you mean something else?

[brevity]

Furthermore a Friday night game during Kol Nidre during Erev Yom Kippur, the holiest night of the year for the Jewish people.


Fitting that the absolute injustice of the Duke/Miami finish two years ago would cause the rematch to now be considered the holiest night of the year by one the world’s major religions concerned with ethical living.

Or did you mean something else?

Duke fans may complain, but as it says in the ancient rulebook (http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Temple_of_the_Sun), "Only the penitent man shall lateral pass," and that Miami player showed penitence by putting his knee on the ground.