CLEMSON FOOTBALL

It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Clemson will play at Pitt for the first time in 2021.

It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule


by - Senior Writer -

I’ve been having a lot of fun (it is downtime for football, after all) looking at the possibilities for Clemson’s 2021 football schedule and it has led me to the same conclusion some folks around the country have, and that’s that the ACC should move to a 10-game conference schedule or at the very least consider a nine-game schedule.

The league added Notre Dame as a member in football for the 2020 season and then put out an 11-game schedule that included one out of conference game and 10 conference games. That made each week just a little more fun, even though the competition wasn’t always the best -- and is something the league has to seriously consider going forward.

The league is supposed to announce the 2021 schedule Thursday, and we’ve already written a couple of stories about what it might look like. If the schedule stays like it is, and it is expected to continue with eight conference games and four out of conference games. One of those out of conference games is in Charlotte against Georgia, leaving the Tigers with just six home games in 2021.

That home slate is less than thrilling.

If the league makes Boston College travel to Clemson for a third consecutive year, then the home games will be against SC State, UConn, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Boston College. If the league decides to send Clemson to Boston College this season, the schedule might feature Louisville or NC State coming to Death Valley. In all honesty, the best game out of that bunch might be Jeff Hafley’s Boston College until we find out what Mike Norvell has in Tallahassee. But none of those games really move the excitement meter and none of them have the potential for a College GameDay showdown, which is a shame.

Under the current eight-game format, athletic director Dan Radakovich and head coach Dabo Swinney know that one of those four OOC games will be South Carolina each season. Radakovich has done a fantastic job of scheduling one other prime OOC game each year, including Georgia this season. There have been home-and-home series with the Bulldogs, with Auburn, with Texas A&M, and the league has added Notre Dame to the schedule as part of their ACC out-of-conference rotation.

Then there is the usual home against an in-state FCS foe like SC State, Wofford, or Furman. Those games are big for those programs – the payday helps pay much of their expenses for the season – and fosters good will in the state. What they don’t do is fill stadiums or generate excitement. That leaves a final game against a Kent State or an Appalachian State or a Troy or a UConn. Again, none of those move the meter, and as good as the Tigers’ OOC scheduling has been and it’s among the best in the nation (unlike Alabama and others), there’s a couple of games there that are merely wins that are bought and paid for.

The good news with a 10-game conference schedule is that games against Central Michigan and Kent State and others go away and you replace that with a conference foe you might not otherwise see – Clemson hasn’t played at Pitt since the Panthers joined the ACC, hasn’t played at Virginia since 2013, and hasn’t played at Duke since 2012. That’s a long time in between trips to see conference foes. In other words, Clemson has played at Auburn more times (twice) than it has at Duke since the start of the 2010 season.

The bad news is that you have to replace either the in-state foe or the other marquee out of conference game. To me, it would be easier from a Clemson standpoint to replace the in-state game with someone like a Georgia or another program of that ilk. Maybe that is where the nine-game conference schedule comes in – you can still play the in-state FCS foe, play one marquee OOC matchup and still play South Carolina.

A lot of conferences have resisted the nine-game model because they feel like it hurts their chances at the College Football Playoff by adding another potential loss. But when the Playoff expands – and it will – my guess is the conference winner will get an automatic berth into the playoff, making that point moot.

It’s all fun to talk about, but for now we have the eight-game conference schedule and we’re stuck with it, warts and all. At least that UConn game – scheduled for Nov. 13th in Death Valley – should have pretty weather. Bring on the Huskies.

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Subject (Replies: 52) Author
spacer TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
TigerNet News®
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deroberts
spacer The downtown area near the stadium is nice...
BigCUFan®
spacer Re: The downtown area near the stadium is nice...
deroberts
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
westerntigerfan
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
lhaselden
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
74TIGER
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
TexasTiger80
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
gbhwa®
spacer DH has obviously given this more thought than the ACC...
BigCUFan®
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Surveyingtiger
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
CASCU2012
spacer I am actually happy that we play Auburn more than we play
Buffalo Creek Tiger
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Tigers321
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Tigers321
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
westerntigerfan
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Valley Boy
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
JustMyOpinion®
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Tigers321
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westerntigerfan
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
outlaw1081
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
thundatiger
spacer These other teams in the conference need to get some better
El Tigre 1
spacer Re: These other teams in the conference need to get some better
westerntigerfan
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Calhoun2
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
carolinachef
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
carolinachef
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
carolinachef
spacer No Way 10 ACC Games is better!
thundatiger
spacer Yep. This here.***
wildblulou®
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
grrowl
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
Valley Boy
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
grrowl
spacer Okay, David, I will bite and have some fun too . . . .
njones63
spacer A minimum schedule guideline of ALL P5 CONFERENCES.......
pheebo
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thaymond29
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
HillBillyTiger
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
HillBillyTiger
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2000®
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
allorangeallthetime52®
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
smillsap1
spacer No way, Jose. Eight ACC games max plus SCar,
wildblulou®
spacer Re: No way, Jose. Eight ACC games max plus SCar,
Clemgalalways®
spacer Re: No way, Jose. Eight ACC games max plus SCar,
townsepw
spacer Re: No way, Jose. Eight ACC games max plus SCar,
townsepw
spacer Re: No way, Jose. Eight ACC games max plus SCar,
townsepw
spacer Re: No way, Jose. Eight ACC games max plus SCar,
townsepw
spacer Maybe if we played a team or two with a pulse in the
CM Shack®
spacer So who else in the ACC would be a marquee matchup?
nkickha
spacer Re: TNET: How about this dream schedule with current 8 games
gibmac®
spacer Re: TNET: How about this dream schedule with current 8 games
Dlc83
spacer Re: TNET: It's time for the ACC to expand its conference schedule
leftie
spacer If I were in charge...
HowardsBoy®