Biggest Takeaways from 2015 ACC Football Schedule Release
The ACC has released its schedule for the 2015-16 college football season.
Prior to Thursday's announcement, opponents and locations had already been set for conference play, but the order of the games was undetermined.
"We have a tremendously competitive league schedule which provides our teams and fans with great games each week of the season," said ACC commissioner John Swofford, per the official release.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Now that we know the who, what, where and when of the ACC schedule, we can analyze the complete picture. The timing of each game dictates more than just travel arrangements for fans; it dictates where potential trap games and letdown scenarios lurk.
Here are four things we learned on Thursday.
The Florida State-NC State Trap Game Is On!
Florida State has an NC State problem, and it has for a long time. The Wolfpack upset a highly ranked Noles team in 1998 and again in 2012. Last year, even though they didn't finish the job, they pushed FSU as hard as they could in a 49-37 home loss.
Next year, FSU gets the Wolfpack at home, which it knew before the schedule release. But it found out Thursday that the NC State game is the week after the road trip to Clemson. That is, the week after the biggest game on FSU's schedule.
"Hosting NC State the week after [Clemson] is a clear trap game," wrote Bud Elliott of Tomahawk Nation.
This is true no matter the outcome of the Seminoles' game in Death Valley. If they win, they are coming off an emotional high and poised for a letdown—a Clemsoning, ironically, if you will. If they lose, they are likely battered from a physical game and dejected.
Either way, a plucky NC State team is the last thing they will want to see. A 6'4" quarterback with a history of running through them is the last player they will want to see. Jacoby Brissett had 359 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against FSU last season.
One of those touchdowns was Jameis Winston-esque:
Without Winston, how does FSU counter?
Can Louisville Survive the First Half?
Louisville knew it had to start the season with Auburn. It knew it had to follow Auburn with Houston. Now it knows it has to follow Houston with Clemson—and to do it on a short week, no less.
Basically, in the span of 18 days, the Cardinals play an offense coached by Gus Malzahn, an offense coached by Tom Herman and an offense coached by Dabo Swinney. Even with Chad Morris gone from Clemson, these are three uptempo offenses you don't want to face. And you especially don't want to face them three straight weeks.
After Clemson, the Cardinals get Samford, but the schedule gets hard again from there. Their next three weeks go: at NC State, bye week, home against Florida State.
It's a brutal first six games for Bobby Petrino's team—one which they'd be happy to survive at 4-2. If they get there, however, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
Check out these final six weeks:
- October 24: vs. Boston College
- October 30: at Wake Forest
- November 7: vs. Syracuse
- November 14: vs. Virginia
- November 21: at Pittsburgh
- November 28: at Kentucky
Louisville plays 11 FBS opponents next season. Its first six (including Boston College) all made bowl games in 2014. Four of its last five didn't. And the only one of that last group that did, Pittsburgh, actually lost its bowl game to a team from the first group, Houston.
The Cardinals have a chance to go 5-1 or 6-0 in the second half next season. How they start will determine where they finish.
Atlantic vs. Coastal Challenge Weeks
Over the past four seasons, the ACC Atlantic has played big brother to the ACC Coastal. Florida State and Clemson have lorded over the conference, and the addition of Louisville to the Atlantic in 2014 made the chasm between the two divisions wider.
But Georgia Tech showed well against Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl and enters next season with high expectations. Miami finished 6-7 but has the talent to beat any ACC team on any given day. They are the favorites to win the Coastal next season, and whoever wins the Coastal will fancy itself a contender to win the ACC.
Which is why two weeks stand out from next year's schedule: October 10 and October 24. In those weeks, the two presumptive favorites from each division will play each other—first at the Atlantic locations and next at the Coastal:
- October 10: Georgia Tech at Clemson
- October 10: Miami at Florida State
- October 24: Clemson at Miami
- October 24: Florida State at Georgia Tech
Florida State sweated out wins against Miami and Georgia Tech last season, beating the Hurricanes on the road and the Yellow Jackets on a neutral field. Still, neither team will cower from the Noles, or from Clemson, when they take the field in 2015.
These are huge weeks for the Coastal at large.
Clemson Hosts Florida State in November—Not October
The past four meetings between Clemson and Florida State have determined the ACC champion. They have also all taken place in October. Talk about a spoiler alert.
Next year, however, we will not learn the ACC champion before Halloween. Clemson hosts FSU November 7, in each team's ninth game of the season. Neither team can use youth or inexperience as an excuse; Week 10 is when teams should be peaking.
Both teams have their bye in Week 4 and will thus be playing their sixth game in six weeks, also. They will be tired but equally tired. Neither team can play the "fatigue" card, either.
Basically, the stage is set for a fair, late-season matchup between the two modern ACC titans. The top of the league is less defined than usual, so this might be the year someone other than the winner of Florida State-Clemson becomes conference champion; but until that day comes, this is still the de facto ACC title game.
Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeigh35
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