Here is a breakdown of each ACC team's OOC games.
Boston College
- Aug. 30 at Kent State (Cleveland)
- Sep. 20 UCF
- Sep. 27 Rhode Island
- Nov. 8 Notre Dame
Kent State and Rhode Island should both be locks as wins. UCF should also be a win, but it will be early in the season and they might be able to test BC. Notre Dame should be improved from last year, but still not a dominant team—I look for BC to win.
Prediction: 4-0, 3-1 possible, if they lose 2 or more this will be a long season
Clemson
- Aug. 30 Alabama (Georgia Dome)
- Sep. 6 The Citadel
- Sep. 20 SC State
- Nov. 29 South Carolina
Alabama will be a very tough game. If Clemson wants to stay in the National Title talks, they need to win here, and they should—but this will be close. The Citadel and SC State are locks. South Carolina is a tough matchup, but pending another Clemson letdown, I expect them to come out on top.
Prediction: 3-1, 4-0 is very possible also, 2-2 could happen but that would be a disaster
Duke
- Aug. 30 James Madison
- Sep. 6 Northwestern
- Sep. 13 Navy
- Oct. 25 at Vanderbilt
Duke has an easy schedule for out of conference, but will that even matter? I think Duke comes out and wins versus James Madison and Northwestern (who they beat last year).
Navy has been decent, but they will have a new coach. Duke should have taken them last year, so I look for another Duke win...did I say another Duke win? Yes I did. I think Vanderbilt should beat Duke, but Duke will have a chance in this game.
Prediction: 3-1, 2-2 is probably next more likely followed by 4-0
Florida State
- Sep. 6 Western Carolina
- Sep. 13 UT Chattanooga
- Sep. 27 Colorado (Jacksonville)
- Nov. 29 Florida
Florida State will start out with two easy wins, but then they move on to more challenging games. Minus another big letdown of a season, I expect FSU to beat Colorado, but I have to be honest and say I don't see them beating Florida.
Prediction: 3-1, much less likely 4-0 if somehow Florida is horrible and FSU is better than ever
Georgia Tech
- Aug. 28 Jacksonville State
- Sep. 20 Mississippi State
- Oct. 11 Gardner-Webb
- Nov. 29 at Georgia
Jacksonville State and Gardner-Webb are wins, but how will the new head coach lead this team? If things are clicking early and the talent lives up to its potential, Mississippi State could be a good game, but I would side with the Bulldogs winning. Georgia will be too powerful this season for GT to beat.
Prediction: 3-1, I don't really see any other outcomes
Maryland
- Aug. 30 Delaware
- Sep. 6 at Middle Tennessee State
- Sep. 13 California
- Sep. 20 Eastern Michigan
Delaware could show up, but even if they do, they should be vastly overmatched against the Terps. Middle Tennessee State could be a trap game that turns out a lot closer then expected, but the Terps should win. Eastern Michigan is another win.
California provides the only real challenge on the schedule. Cal will come in with new WRs and some other unproven players to play in a tough game at Maryland, and I look for the Terps to win.
Prediction: 4-0, 3-1 is possible with a loss to Cal, and 2-2 would be a big stretch but Cal and MTSU maybe show up big time
Miami
- Aug. 28 Charleston Southern (Thu.)
- Sep. 6 at Florida
- Sep. 20 at Texas A&M
- Oct. 11 UCF
Miami has a tough OOC schedule. Charleston Southern should set up as a gimme. UCF is no gimme, but they lack the talent to hang with Miami. Florida is a better team and should beat the Hurricanes. Texas A&M should be closer than Florida but should still beat Miami.
Prediction: 2-2, 3-1 is possible with loss to Florida, I don't see only 1 win or 4 wins
North Carolina
- Aug. 30 McNeese State
- Sep. 11 at Rutgers (Thu.)
- Oct. 4 Connecticut
- Oct. 11 Notre Dame
McNeese State is a win, but the rest could be tough. Rutgers won't be as good as they were at times last season, but they are no cakewalk. Connecticut has gotten better each season and will provide a tough game, but one that UNC can win. Notre Dame is the same as described earlier.
UNC had a good season last year, and a lot of people are expecting big things. Many projections have them finishing around second or third, and a few have VT struggling and the Tar Heels winning the division. To do so they will need to show up in these games. The best case is 4-0, but more likely is probably 3-1 or 2-2.
Prediction: 3-1, 2-2 is probably next most likely followed by 4-0
North Carolina State
- Aug. 28 at South Carolina (Thu.)
- Sep. 6 William & Mary
- Sep. 20 East Carolina
- Sep. 27 South Florida
How good will NC State be? Will they turn it around even more this season? They better hope so to win these OOC games. Nothing too horrible and hard. William & Mary is a win: The second-oldest and all-academic school won't be winning.
East Carolina should be a win, but they can put together decent teams who are capable of pulling an upset. South Carolina and South Florida should both be losses. They are both just too much better than NCSU right now.
Prediction: 2-2, with a lot of luck 3-1, and if they don't improve but actually go down 1-3
Virginia
- Aug. 30 Southern California
- Sep. 6 Richmond
- Sep. 13 at Connecticut
- Oct. 11 East Carolina
UVA should drop off from last season's performance. USC is a loss no matter how you break it down, minus some insane luck. Richmond is a win, and a game at UConn will be very tough. UVA could win, and I would say right now it is a toss-up. The game versus East Carolina should be a win for UVA, but it could be a challenge.
Prediction: 2-2, but 3-1 is just about as likely
Virginia Tech
- Aug. 30 East Carolina (Charlotte)
- Sep. 6 Furman
- Sep. 27 at Nebraska
- Oct. 4 Western Kentucky
VT has a relatively easy OOC schedule. East Carolina once again plays an ACC team and should lose once again. Furman and Western Kentucky are locks. Nebraska may be able to provide a tough game, and being on the road may affect VT, but in the end I believe VT is still a better team.
Prediction: 4-0, 3-1 is possible but much less likely
Wake Forest
- Aug. 28 at Baylor
- Sep. 6 Mississippi
- Sep. 27 Navy
- Nov. 29 Vanderbilt
Wake doesn't have cupcakes, but these teams are at the bottom of major conferences. Baylor and Mississippi will struggle again, and the better team, Wake Forest, wins. Navy is the same as mentioned before, and Wake should win. Vanderbilt should provide a challenge, but Wake should just be better.
Prediction: 4-0, 3-1 I guess could happen but would be a let down
comments (5) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
i like the bc assessment, 2-2 with that slate and they are in trouble, but their defense should be real good this year and i see 3-1 as the worst case scenario. ucf would scare me more if they had the tb back from last year, and they lost a lot on that side of the ball. notre dame will be interesting because it's late in the year and we will have a good idea of what kind of team they are by then.
2 months ago
I like your assessment on FSU. But being an FSU fan, I hope we can pull one out against florida. We certainly have the potential, and we are also very angry over the dismal season last year.
2 months ago
No other thought on GT v. UGA than "they're just too powerful?"...What, are they not using humans anymore? Their "championship" team has been crowned prematurely in my opinion, and the talk for a while has been that Paul Johnson is dead-set on beating them. I hear he's good at surprising big teams - and in-game if he has to. Tech might lose yet another in their long drought, but a simple "hot knife through butter" comment is giving far too little thought to the matter. November may not take their bragging rights away, but it may make them bleed for them. We'll see.
from 2 months ago
I like Paul Johnson but I just think like most new coaches, and especially in this case, it will take some time.
Sure, GT could beat them but the odds are not really there. I would love to see it happen but I don't think it will
2 months ago
I think Virginia Tech has the talent to go 4-0 but Im not so sure that it will happen. Im a little worried about the ECU game just because they return a lot of talent and they're catching them right at the beginning of the year with a lot of new players on the field. However, with that being said I still think Tech should be able to win but I dont think its going to be by more than a touchdown or two.
Anyway good article man, keep up the good work!
write a new comment