The Confidential

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11 Jan 2013

ACC Releases College Football Schedule for 2013.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, set to expand to 14 teams for 2013, has released the football schedule for this fall.

First, the divisions.  The ACC insists on eschewing the geographical split, instead opting for this setup:

Atlantic Division Coastal Division
Boston College Virginia Tech
Clemson Georgia Tech
Florida State Miami
Maryland Virginia
NC State North Carolina
Syracuse Pitt
Wake Forest Duke

Obviously, each team plays every team within its division.  Then, in order to get to 8 total games, each team has a primary crossover and a rotating crossover.  The team’s primary crossovers are listed in the above chart, with Boston College being paired with Virginia Tech, etc.  Syracuse and Pitt will be primary crossovers.

The secondary, rotating  crossovers are not as straightforward.  For 2013, the secondary crossover pairs are: Boston College-North Carolina; Clemson-Virginia; Florida State-Pittsburgh; Maryland-Virginia Tech; NC State-Duke; Syracuse-Georgia Tech; and Wake Forest-Miami.

Pittsburgh begins ACC conference play with home games against Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida State.  It will travel to Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Duke, and Virginia Tech.  Syracuse begins conference play by hosting Boston College, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Pitt.  Syracuse will travel to Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and North Carolina State.

In notable games, Florida State will travel to Clemson in 2013.  Florida State will host Miami.  Miami will travel to North Carolina.  North Carolina will travel to Georgia Tech.  Georgia Tech will travel to Clemson.  With the ability to host both Florida State and Georgia Tech, Clemson has to be considered the early favorite.  The return of Tajh Boyd helps that too.

The Confidential does not know about you… but football cannot come around again soon enough!!!

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference News, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Dec 2012

ACC Goes Bowling: Duke vs. Cincinnati in the Belk Bowl

The bowl season began yesterday with a few battles flying well below the radar.  Moving beyond that mixed metaphor, however, it is time to begin analyzing the various bowl matchups featuring present and future members of the ACC.  Today’s featured matchup is the Belk Bowl, which will feature Duke and Cincinnati.  The game will be played at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 27.

How they got here (courtesy of http://www.jhowell.net/cf/scores/Sked2012.htm) :

Duke (ACC)
9/1 Sat vs. Florida International W 46 26
9/8 Sat @ Stanford L 13 50
9/15 Sat vs. North Carolina Central W 54 17
9/22 Sat vs. Memphis W 38 14
9/29 Sat @ *Wake Forest W 34 27
10/6 Sat vs. *Virginia W 42 17
10/13 Sat @ *Virginia Tech L 20 41
10/20 Sat vs. *North Carolina W 33 30
10/27 Sat @ *Florida State L 7 48
11/3 Sat vs. *Clemson L 20 56
11/17 Sat @ *Georgia Tech L 24 42
11/24 Sat vs. *Miami (Florida) L 45 52
12/27 Thu vs. Cincinnati @ Charlotte, NC Belk Bowl

6-6

 376 420

Cincinnati (Big East)
9/6 Thu vs. *Pittsburgh W 34 10
9/15 Sat vs. Delaware State W 23 7
9/29 Sat vs. Virginia Tech W 27 24 @ Landover, MD
10/6 Sat vs. Miami (Ohio) W 52 14
10/13 Sat vs. Fordham W 49 17
10/20 Sat @ Toledo L 23 29
10/26 Fri @ *Louisville L 31 34
11/3 Sat vs. *Syracuse W 35 24
11/10 Sat @ *Temple W 34 10
11/17 Sat vs. *Rutgers L 3 10
11/23 Fri vs. *South Florida W 27 10
12/1 Sat @ *Connecticut W 34 17
12/27 Thu vs. Duke @ Charlotte, NC Belk Bowl

9-3

 372 206

Key Stats:

PASSING YARDS

Cincinnati:  231.0 pg, 63rd Overall
Duke: 277.6 pg, 32nd Overall

RUSHING YARDS

Cincinnati: 199.8 pg, 32nd Overall
Duke: 119.0 pg, 107th Overall

POINTS FOR

Cincinnati: 31.0 pg, 48th Overall
Duke: 31.3 pg, 45th Overall

POINTS AGAINST

Cincinnati: 17.2 pg, 12th Overall

Duke: 35.0, 104th Overall
Analysis:
While the Confidential always likes to be a “homer” if possible.  So perhaps the analysis here is slanted by that.
Duke has played a much tougher schedule, but they lost many of the games against good opponents.  Often, by a lot.  Duke beat one bowl team, North Carolina.  Cincinnati beat three, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech.
But one factor favoring Duke in this game is that Cincy has lost its coach, Butch Jones.  We have seen Cincinnati (and many other teams) come out flat when playing a bowl game under such circumstances.  On the other hand, West Virginia rode Bill Stewart to a Fiesta Bowl victory and the removal of his interim head coach tag.  So even that one negative aspect is more of a question mark than certainty.
Another factor favoring Duke is the proximity to the location.  Duke fans should be relishing this opportunity to see the Blue Devils in this game.  They will have home field advantage.  Too much emotion on Duke’s side for this one.
Prediction:  Duke 28, Cincinnati 27.
Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
29 Nov 2012

ACC Football Predictions for December 1, 2012

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  Anyway, last week the Confidential went 8-2, improvidently trusting Clemson and Florida State, improving the overall record to a respectable 86-32.  Pretty interesting game tonight, as the ACC’s Louisville battles the Big Ten’s Rutgers in a battle for the Big East Championship.  On to the week 14 predictions:

Pittsburgh (5-6) @ South Florida (3-9), 7:00 p.m.  The Panthers are desperate for a win to get bowl eligible.  The Bulls are over-matched, but playing on Senior Night for an embattled head coach.  This probably should go one of two ways, with the emotion for South Florida either being very high or very low.  So the Confidential with out-think itself by predicting the emotion to be merely medium.  If so, Pitt wins.  Prediction: Pittsburgh 31, South Florida 13.

ACC Championship Game

#13 Florida State (10-2) v Georgia Tech (6-6), 8:00 p.m.  The ACC having a 7-6 Georgia Tech in the BCS is only good to the extent that it means a bigger payout.  In all other respects, it would be an embarrassment.  Of course, if Georgia Tech loses, they would seek a waiver to play in a bowl game, despite being 6-7.  In the end, they could end up 6-8.  And that’s your ACC Championship Game entrant for the Coastal Division everyone!  Florida State, however, lost disappointingly to Florida.  A few coaches are either leaving or interviewing for head coach positions elsewhere.  Promotions are nice, but distracting.  Closer than expected here.  Prediction: Florida State 35, Georgia Tech 24.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , ,
22 Nov 2012
2 Comments

ACC Football Predictions for Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  Not sure whether there should be analysis of Louisville or UConn…. ha ha ha.  Anyway, last week the Confidential went 6-2, improving the overall record to a respectable 78-30.  On to the week 13 predictions:

Friday, November 23, 2012

Syracuse (6-5) @ Temple (4-6), 11:00 a.m.   You’ll have to stop your Black Friday shopping a bit early to catch this one.  Syracuse showed that its football is definitely on the upswing with a win on the road against Missouri, who was itself desperate for a win.  The Orange are banged up and this is Temple’s final game of the season.  An upset would not be shocking, but the Confidential will lean toward the ‘Cuse keeping the momentum going.  Prediction: Syracuse 33, Temple 21.

Saturday November 24, 2012

Georgia Tech (6-5) @ #3 Georgia (10-1), 12:00 p.m.  Maybe rivalry week allows teams to throw out the records.  But it is hard to really feel like Georgia Tech can win this game.  They have been playing a bit better lately.  Still, this one has a chance to get ugly.  Prediction: Georgia 30, Georgia Tech 17.

Virginia (4-7) @ Virginia Tech (5-6), 12:00 p.m.  As much as the Hokies have struggled all year, they are one win away from a bowl.  Virginia is an enigma still–no idea which version of the team will show up from week-to-week.  The Hokies have home field advantage, which has to be worth something.  Prediction: Virginia Tech 21, Virginia 17.

#21 Rutgers (9-1) @ Pittsburgh (4-6), 12:00 p.m.  This has been a great week for Rutgers and a 10th win would just be the icing on the cake.  Pitt must win to have a chance at a bowl.  No matter what happens, Rutgers gets to play Louisville for the BCS bowl berth next week, so perhaps the Scarlet Knights will come out flat.  Upset special here.  Prediction: Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 20.

Miami (6-5) @ Duke (6-5), 12:30 p.m.  The Blue Devils have been coasting.  Miami has been another hard team to figure out.  With the Hurricanes pulling the plug on the post-season, it will be interesting to see whether they show up.  If Al Golden can get them motivated, Miami should win.  For Duke, this game presents the opportunity to regain some much needed momentum.  Prediction: Miami 31 , Duke 28.

Maryland (4-7) @ North Carolina (7-4), 3:00 p.m.  The only thing more surprising than Maryland leaving the ACC is the lack of anyone really caring.  Somewhat odd, really.  The Terps should have rivalries after all these years, but seemingly do not.  For Randy Edsall, a win here would be a great way to celebrate the offseason.  For the Tar Heels, bowl ineligibility means that this is their last chance to play football for several months.  Prediction: North Carolina 30, Maryland 10.

Boston College (2-9) @ North Carolina State (6-5), 3:00 p.m.  Well, another version of the Tom O’Brien Bowl.  Give credit to Boston College, they have played tough two weeks in a row.  A coaching change is inevitable, but the team has not quit at all.  An upset to send the coaching staff off would be a great way to finish the season.  The Wolfpack could really use another win though.  If they can’t beat BC…. well, do you really deserve a bowl?  Prediction: North Carolina State 24, Boston College 20.

Vanderbilt (7-4) @ Wake Forest (5-6), 3:30 p.m.  The Demon Deacons are desperate for a win to get bowl eligible.  Vanderbilt has its bowl game locked up.  Another reason for Vandy to be comfortable is that they are coming off the high of beating Tennessee.  Badly.  At the same time, Wake Forest has been as unimpressive as possible in getting to 5 wins.  It’s just hard to envision Wake pulling this one out.  Prediction: Vanderbilt 24, Wake Forest 17.

#6 Florida (10-1) @ #10 Florida State (10-1), 3:30 p.m.  The game of the week–two top 10 teams battling to see who gets to 10-1.  Florida has now been impressive in his recent cupcake wins.  Florida State has been only slightly better.  Neither team is peaking right now.  If the Seminoles want to be considered “back,” this is a game that they have to win.  In a pure homerism pick, the Confidential thinks it will happen.  Prediction: Florida State 28, Florida 21.

#13 South Carolina (9-2) @ #12 Clemson (10-1), 7:00 p.m.  The ACC regular season finale ends with a bang, as Clemson looks to avenge its disappointing loss to the Gamecocks last year.  This Clemson team has been scoring at will of late.  Unfortunately, last week the Tigers allowed North Carolina State to pretty much do the same thing.  South Carolina has to be licking its chops.  Homerism prevails again here.  Prediction: Clemson 35, South Carolina 24.

Idle: None

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
15 Nov 2012

ACC Football Predictions for Week 12

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  The Confidential struggled to a 4-4 record, making the overall record to a less-respectable 72-28.  On to the week 12 predictions:

Thursday November 15, 2012

North Carolina (6-4) @ Virginia (4-6), 7:30 p.m.  Don’t look now, but Virginia is surging toward a possible bowl game.  After beating bowl-eligible North Carolina State and potentially bowl-eligible Miami, it remains a possibility.  North Carolina just gave up 68 points to Georgia Tech.  Football, not basketball.  Unreal.  The defense will be better this week.  Still, the home team has more to play for.  Prediction: Virginia 31, North Carolina 28.

Saturday November 3, 2012

#10 Florida State (9-1) at Maryland (4-6), 12:00 p.m.  Maryland is a feel-good story this year.  But they are playing with a 5th string QB.  Florida State simply cannot lose this game and be taken seriously as “back.”  Sure, the temptation will be to look ahead to the huge rivalry game with equally impressive Florida.  But these are the games that elite teams win in the first half.  Prediction: Florida State 38, Maryland 6.

Virginia Tech (4-6) @ Boston College (2-8), 12:30 p.m.  As much as Virginia Tech has struggled this year, they still have a chance at a bowl game.  It would be cool if Virginia Tech and Virginia are both 5-6 heading into the rivalry game.  It’s hard to see Boston College stopping the Hokies from being in that position. Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Boston College 10.

South Florida (3-6) @ Miami (5-5), 3:00 p.m.  The Bulls have struggled with BJ Daniels.  It is hard to see them getting better now that he is lost for the season.  Meanwhile, Miami remains a complete enigma.  A win would be expected here, a loss would not be the least bit surprising either.  But the absence of Daniels and the Hurricanes being at home justify the prediction here.  Prediction: Miami 31 , South Florida 24.

North Carolina State (6-4) @ #11 Clemson (9-1), 3:30 p.m.  The Wolfpack have already ruined Florida State’s national title aspirations; why not ruin Clemson’s BCS bowl hopes too?  Clemson cannot be looking ahead to its rivalry game against South Carolina either.  Much like the Seminoles, the Tigers have to prove that they are elite by avoiding upsets–like last year.  Clemson is rolling and at home.  Prediction: Clemson 35, North Carolina State 20.

Duke (6-4) @ Georgia Tech (5-5), 3:30 p.m.  Who would have thought that this game would have Championship Game implications?  If Duke wins, they will go to the ACC Championship Game.  If Georgia Tech wins, they are still in the hunt for the same opportunity.  Duke has not been a very good road team this year.  Georgia Tech seems to be turning things around.  Prediction: Georgia Tech 42, Duke 31.

Wake Forest (5-5) @ #3 Notre Dame (10-0), 3:30 p.m.  The Fighting Irish have been coasting to their game with USC.  Frankly, if they do not start playing better, they will lose that game.  Brian Kelly will have to get his team motivated for this home game against the Demon Deacons.  Nothing about Wake Forest’s season suggest that they can win this game.  However, teams seem to rise to the occasion when they travel to South Bend.  Prediction: Notre Dame 24, Wake Forest 16.

Syracuse (5-5) @ Missouri (5-5), 7:30 p.m.  The Orange scheduling is just absurd.  Three of the four OOC games were against bowl-eligible FBS teams.  The fourth was against an FCS team, Stony Brook, that is 9-2.  And now they play at Missouri, who is desperate for the win to get to bowl-eligibility.  The Tigers are healthy now too.  Syracuse has struggled on the road and has a more-winnable game looming against Temple next week.  The Confidential is pulling for the Orange, but skeptical.  Prediction: Missouri 28, Syracuse 24.

Idle: Pittsburgh.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 Nov 2012

ACC Basketball Rankings: Week 1

While there is plenty of football left to be played, basketball is now started.  Here are the Confidential’s ACC basketball rankings in Week 1:

  1. Syracuse (1-0).  With a win over ranked San Diego State, in San Diego, the Orange rightfully claim this spot.  For now.
  2. North Carolina State (1-0).  The Wolfpack destroyed Miami (Ohio), retaining the #2 position easily.
  3. Duke (1-0).  Duke beat a cupcake, but the polls had North Carolina leapfrog them.  Too soon for that.
  4. North Carolina (2-0).  Although North Carolina beat two cupcakes to Duke’s one, plenty of season left for a true justification to swap the two teams.
  5. Notre Dame (1-0).  The Fighting Irish struggled to beat Evansville.  But they won.
  6. Pittsburgh (2-0).  The Panthers are off to a good start.  Last year started strong too, until it imploded.
  7. Virginia Tech (2-0).  The Hokies are off to a 2-0 start, including a nice win over Rhode Island.  
  8. Miami (1-0).  Miami started the season with a struggle to beat Stetson.  Baby steps.
  9. Boston College (1-0).  This team had so much difficulty last year–every win is worthy of note. 
  10. Wake Forest (1-0).  The Demon Deacons are young, but undefeated!
  11. Georgia Tech (1-0). The Yellow Jacket’s season started nicely with a win over Tulane.
  12. Clemson (1-0).  The Tigers really took care of Presbyterian to start off the season.  Up next is Furman.
  13. Maryland (1-1).  The Terps played very well against Kentucky.  Look for this team to start rising up the rankings.
  14. Virginia (1-1).  No shame in losing to George Mason.  The defense is as good as ever.
  15. Florida State (1-1).  You cannot lose at home to South Alabama and expect to be ranked ahead of any teams.  Sorry Seminoles.

So there it is.  Agree?  Disagree?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
08 Nov 2012

ACC Football Predictions for Week 11

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  The Confidential rebounded with a 6-1 record, improving the overall record to a respectable 68-24.  On to the week 11 predictions:

Thursday November 8, 2012

#10 Florida State (8-1) @ Virginia Tech (4-5), 7:30 p.m.  Last week, the Confidential held out hope that Virginia Tech would put it together.  Now?  The Hokies are under .500, with just three games left in the season.  Even if they lose this game, though, winnable games against Boston College and Virginia might allow Va Tech to back into a bowl.  If Florida State loses THIS game, not sure what else can be said about failing to live up to expectations.  The Kings of college football beat 4-5 teams.  Prediction: Florida State 37, Virginia Tech 17.

Friday November 9, 2012

Pittsburgh (4-5) @ UConn (3-6), 8:00 p.m.  Pitt has rallied nicely from that terrible 0-2 start to have a chance at a bowl game.  The schedule is favorable, with road games against the two worst teams in the Big East, UConn and USF.  Gotta get this win.  For UConn, it is unclear whether they will win again under Coach Paul Pasqualoni.  Teams have dominated UConn’s offense in the second half of games.  Pitt’s defense can do the same.  Prediction: Pitt 24, UConn 10.

Saturday November 3, 2012

#9 Louisville (9-0) at Syracuse (4-5), 12:00 p.m.  Want to know the last time Syracuse won a noon game?  1987 maybe.  The Orange simply cannot play well at the noon hour for some reason.  Meanwhile, Louisville presents a matchup that Syracuse will have trouble stopping–a mobile QB and good running backs.  Not that Syracuse cannot win.  It is just not likely enough to be worthy of a prediction.  Prediction: Louisville 34, Syracuse 15.

Miami (5-4) @ Virginia (3-6), 12:00 p.m.  Miami is a tough team to predict.  Just when you give up, they win.  When you buy in, they lose.  Meanwhile, Virginia was left for dead and destroyed North Carolina State.  Virginia has to win out to go to a bowl game. A very tough one to predict.  Prediction: Miami 22, Virginia 14.

Georgia Tech (4-5) @ North Carolina (6-3), 12:30 p.m.  To qualify for a bowl, Georgia will have to beat two of Duke, North Carolina, and Georgia.  Given that Georgia is a top 8 team, this week’s game is a must win.  Meanwhile, North Carolina has nothing to play for except pride.  The Confidential trusts the home team in this game.  Prediction: North Carolina 28, Georgia Tech 24.

Wake Forest (5-4) @ North Carolina State (5-4), 3:00 p.m.  This game is a North Carolina battle for a bowl.  With Notre Dame and Vanderbilt looming, the Demon Deacons need this one.  North Carolina State still has a game against Boston College.  A little less desperate.  The Wolfpack rebound this week.  Prediction: North Carolina State 28, Wake Forest 20.

Maryland (4-5) @ #13 Clemson (8-1), 3:30 p.m.  The Confidential is proud of the job that Maryland has done this year.  And the QB situation is surreal.  But Maryland just does not look capable of playing with Clemson.  If this is close, shame on the Tigers. Prediction:  Clemson 45, Maryland 10.

#4 Notre Dame (9-0) @ Boston College (2-7), 8:00 p.m.  Once upon a time, a terrible Syracuse team coached by Greg Robinson. who was fired earlier in the week and allowed to coach out the season, walked into Notre Dame and upset the Fighting Irish.  Boston College has not put its coaching staff in the same position.  Most importantly, it is Brian Kelly coaching Notre Dame, not Charlie Weis.  It should be ugly. Not close.  Best case scenario is looking ahead too much to Southern Cal.  Prediction: Notre Dame 28, Boston College 9.

Idle: Duke.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
06 Nov 2012

Preseason ACC Basketball Rankings!

While there is plenty of football left to be played, basketball is ready to get started.  With that, here are the Confidential’s preseason ACC basketball rankings:

  1. Syracuse.  With apologies to North Carolina State, Duke, and North Carolina, Jim Boeheim has another great team.  And his best coaching jobs are when he has a young team that will listen to his advice.
  2. North Carolina State.  The Confidential is buying the hype.  If Florida State can win the ACC, why not the Wolfpack?  Looking forward to that early season tilt against Michigan too.
  3. Duke.  With the football team headed to a bowl game, fans have a reason to not pay full attention to the hoop squad.  But Dick Vitale will be smiling… Duke is loaded again.
  4. North Carolina.  Not many teams in college hoops have more talent than the Tar Heels.  #4 could be #1 if it all goes well.
  5. Florida State.  The Seminoles are looking to build off last season’s great finish.  These are good times to be a Florida State fan.
  6. Notre Dame.  If we are including Syracuse and Pitt, no reason not to include the Fighting Irish.  Mr. Brey has himself a decent squad again this year too.
  7. Miami.  Like Florida State, Miami is starting to take advantage of its ACC membership on the hardcourt.  Recruiting to Miami cannot be that hard, can it?
  8. Pittsburgh.  Last year has to be an anomaly, right?  Jamie Dixon is too good a coach to have two straight seasons without the Big Dance.
  9. Virginia.  Virginia’s unusual defensive schemes give offenses fits.  As the talent ramps up, this team will give many teams fits.
  10. Maryland.  The Terps have some talent and they certainly have a talented coaching staff.  Time to start winning more games.
  11. Virginia Tech.  The Hokies have a new coach, which could mean that they take a step back or a step forward from this projection.
  12. Georgia Tech. Things have to be better for the Yellow Jackets this year.  A new home arena should help juice the program up a bit.
  13. Clemson.  The Tigers are young.  But they have the depth to make some games very interesting this year.
  14. Boston College.  This team had to deal with youth last year.  This year will be a stepping stone to good things in 2013-2014.
  15. Wake Forest.  The Demon Deacons are very very young.  Going to be a long season, most likely.

So there it is.  Soon enough we’ll all find out whether the Confidential was on target.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Predictions, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 Sep 2012

ACC To Determine Notre Dame’s 5 Football Opponents

The announcement of the ACC partnership with Notre Dame was accompanied by news that Notre Dame would play 5 opponents per year, as well as every team every there years.  ACC commissioner John Swofford explained recently that the ACC, rather than Notre Dame, will have the decision as to which 5 opponents Notre Dame plays every year:

Q: How will you allocate the five Notre Dame football games to your conference members?

A: It’s up to the ACC to do that. Notre Dame will accept whatever five games the ACC gives them on any given year. Conceptually what we intend to do is rotate through the entire membership — 14 schools for those five games. We do have some teams that currently have contracts with Notre Dame and we need to take a look at that. We would like to accomplish this without disrupting those particular games that are currently under contract. But once we reach a clean point the idea is to rotate the games through the membership. So that every school knows they will get Notre Dame once every three years either in their home stadium or at Notre Dame.

This, of course, is notably different from the Notre Dame “promise” to schedule 3 games a year against Big East teams.  What has been negotiated is Notre Dame limiting itself to 7 games it can schedule and leaving the rest up to the ACC.

While nobody should be under the illusion that the ACC will make these scheduling decisions in total disregard for Notre Dame’s interests, the bottom line is that the deal between the ACC and Notre Dame is quite an acquiescence by Notre Dame.  After all, Notre Dame could have requested the right to determine its opponents each year.  In any event, this allows the ACC to schedule every team, every three years… plus allow one team to play Notre Dame twice in that period.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts the already-existing contracts between Notre Dame and ACC schools.  Even Swofford has no idea how that will work out yet.  Stay tuned.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , , ,
18 Sep 2012
1 Comment

Orange Bowl Details Still Being Finalized

As reported last week, the Orange Bowl is looking to set itself up with an ACC team on one side and Notre Dame/SEC/Big 10 on the other.  ESPN is now reporting that a deal is close–details are being discussed as to how to make the determination of opponent.  This is important to the ACC, which owns the TV rights to the game.  Locking up the valuable ND/SEC/B1g trio will be huge for marketing purposes.

The interesting thing is that Notre Dame’s arrangement means that they could be on either side of the game.  If, for example, Florida State is a playoff team, the Orange Bowl could select the ACC runner-up–say a 10-3 Virginia Tech team to play a 10-2 Notre Dame team.  Or, if Virginia Tech played the Orange Bowl the year before, perhaps it would select 10-2 Notre Dame to be the ACC team and have the Irish play a team like Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Auburn, South Carolina, etc.  The flexibility of the Orange Bowl will give it additional marketability.  To be sure, Virginia Tech getting bumped in that example will be controversial.  But the financial rewards for the conference as a whole will be significant.

What is clear is that the Orange Bowl will NOT be an ACC vs. Big East game.  And, for that, the Confidential is pleased.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference News, Football, Orange Bowl and tagged , , , , , ,

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