BC’s 2020 Schedule Changes Drastically With ACC’s 10 + 1 Model

Despite reports that the ACC presidents were expected to delay a decision regarding a football scheduling model for the fall, the conference went ahead and sidestepped the SEC by formally unveiling the rumored 10-plus-one format on Wednesday.

All ACC teams will play 10 conference opponents and one non-conference opponent. That includes Notre Dame, a program that’s been an independent since its inception in 1887. The Irish will be eligible for the ACC Championship and, if necessary, the Orange Bowl. There will be no divisions, and the conference title game will feature the two teams with the highest league winning percentage in Charlotte, N.C.’s Bank of America Stadium on either Dec. 12 or 19.

The ACC football schedule will begin the week of Sept. 7-12, while the league’s fall Olympic Sports can kick off their seasons (with non-conference games being optional) on Sept. 10. This marks the first time in the conference’s history that its football teams will play 10 league opponents.

“Today’s decision was made after months of thoughtful planning by numerous individuals throughout the conference,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in the league’s statement. “The Board’s decision presents a path, if public health guidance allows, to move forward with competition. Our institutions are committed to taking the necessary measures to facilitate the return in a safe and responsible manner. We recognize that we may need to be nimble and make adjustments in the future. We will be as prepared as possible should that need arise.”

While the home and away opponents for each conference team were released on Wednesday, the non-conference matchups will be announced at a later date.

Non-conference opponents will be chosen by the ACC schools themselves and must be played in the home state of each ACC program. For instance, if Navy is to play Notre Dame for the 93rd straight year, the Midshipmen are going to have to make the trek to South Bend. Additionally, all potential non-conference opponents are required to meet the ACC’s medical protocol requirements.

As Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde mentions in his column, the ACC’s 10-plus-one model puts the SEC in an uncomfortable position. The SEC’s ADs, which reportedly agreed upon a conference-only schedule on Wednesday, are now faced with the disturbing reality that the annual ACC-SEC rivalries might be canceled on their doorstep.

Forde opines that, by leaving teams’ non-conference opponents up in the air, the ACC is essentially dumping the fate of the intra-conference rivalry games into the SEC’s hands. In other words, if the SEC opts for a conference-only schedule, it’s likely to be blamed for pausing storied series between programs like Kentucky/Louisville and Florida/Florida State.

ACC teams' 11-game schedule will span 13 weeks, as each program will have two “open dates.” Here’s the team-by-team breakdown of the league’s home/away splits. Teams’ weekly schedules and television network designations will be sent out at a future date.

BC is set to square off against six ACC Coastal opponents and just three teams from the Atlantic. Below is the list of the Eagles’ conference opponents and their 2019 records (Note: BC is hosting the teams in bold).

● Georgia Tech (3-9, 2-6)

● Pittsburgh (8-5, 4-4)

● North Carolina (7-6, 4-4)

● Notre Dame (11-2, 5-0 vs. ACC)

● Louisville (8-5, 5-3)

● Clemson (14-1, 8-0)

● Syracuse (5-7, 2-6)

● Virginia Tech (8-5, 5-3)

● Duke (5-7, 3-5)

● Virginia (9-5, 6-2)

Only five opponents overlap from BC’s original eight-game 2020 ACC schedule: Syracuse, Clemson, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and UNC. BC was supposed to host Syracuse and Clemson but instead will travel to the Carrier Dome and Death Valley for the second straight season. The Eagles have failed to score more than 17 points in each of their past six games at Clemson. In fact, BC was outscored by the Tigers, 212-66, in those meetings. On the other hand, the Eagles have walked all over the Orange in their last two games in the dome.

Of the four ACC teams BC is not scheduled to play in 2020, three are Atlantic Division foes: North Carolina State, Florida State, and Wake Forest. The other is Miami. Since joining the ACC in 2005, the Eagles haven’t had a season where they haven’t faced the trio of N.C. State, FSU, and Wake Forest (BC leads the all-time series against both N.C. State and Wake Forest).

The Eagles have seen all but three of their 2020 ACC opponents in the past three years. The exceptions are Georgia Tech, UNC, and Duke. BC last played those Coastal programs in 2016, 2013, and 2015, respectively. Another important distinction is that Jeff Hafley wasn’t going to take part in a Holy War matchup until 2022, but now the rookie head coach will be thrown into the rivalry right off the bat. Time will tell if transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who’s still awaiting a response from the NCAA about his immediate-eligibility waiver request, will be able to suit up against his old team.

BC had four non-conference games scheduled for this fall before the pandemic. Games against Purdue and Holy Cross were canceled earlier this month, and BC’s road game at Kansas does not fit the 10-plus-one model’s out-of-conference qualifications. The Eagles’ home contest versus Ohio—initially scheduled for Week 2—could work, however, BC could go a different route and play another Group of Five team or perhaps a service academy.

All TV revenue for the 2020 ACC season will be split equally among the conference's 15 members. This is particularly significant because it includes Notre Dame’s home games, which are broadcast by NBC.

As far as BC’s in-person viewing experience is concerned, the athletic department stated on Wednesday that Alumni Stadium’s capacity (44,500 seats) will at the very least be reduced in 2020. It also stipulated that games could be held without fans because of COVID-19. But it left the decision regarding fan attendance to a later date.

“We continue to work closely with campus leaders, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and local, state, and federal public health authorities, in determining our plans to provide the safest environment possible inside Alumni Stadium for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans,” BC Athletic Director Pat Kraft told BCEagles.com.

“We will continue to engage with all parties as we move closer to the season, as safety is the top priority. We will communicate with our ticket holders and fans as soon as we have updates.”

Miami AD Blake James called the ACC’s modified 11-game schedule “aspirational” on Wednesday via Zoom, according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. Auerbach tweeted that multiple ACC ADs share that kind of sentiment.

After all, a lot’s hanging in the balance.

That said, if the 10-plus-one model works, the ACC could wind up with its most intriguing season yet: Notre Dame competing for a league title, cross-division matchups out the wazoo, and a 15-way race to the top of the conference.