A ’13 ACC football schedule breakdown: Atlantic Division
One more day of schedule stuff before I move on. I’ve gotten in touch with a few of the Hokies who participated at the combine, just to follow up on how they thought they did. I’ll be posting that on the blog over the next few days.
But first, here’s a look at the schedules for Atlantic Division teams. If you missed my Coastal breakdown, you can see it here.
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Boston College
-- Schedule: vs. Vill (Aug. 31), vs. WF (Sept. 6), at USC (Sept. 14), vs. FSU (Sept. 28), vs. Army (Oct. 5), at Clem (Oct. 12), at UNC (Oct. 26), vs. VT (Nov. 2), at NM St. (Nov. 9), vs. NCST (Nov. 16), at Md (Nov. 23), at Syr (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 7 (USC, FSU, Clem, UNC, VT, NCST, Syr)
– Must-see: at Syracuse, Nov. 30. It’s not the biggest game on the schedule, but the former Big East foes have only played each other once since 2005. Now they’ll meet ever year. And this one’s the regular season finale.
– Trap game: vs. Army, Oct. 5. Sandwiched in a tough stretch of games, this is not gimme. In fact, the Black Knights beat the Eagles 34-31 last year in West Point.
– Easy peasy: Nothing really comes easy for BC on this schedule. If it’s anything, it’d be the opening two games at home, starting with Villanova and then Wake Forest the following Friday.
– Brutal stretch: From Sept. 14 to Oct. 12, the Eagles play Southern California, Florida State and Clemson. After a bye, they play at North Carolina and vs. Virginia Tech. The scheduling gods did new coach Steve Addazio no favors.
Clemson
-- Schedule: vs. UGa (Aug. 31), vs. SCST (Sept. 7), at NCST (Sept. 19), vs. WF (Sept. 28), at Syr (Oct. 5), vs. BC (Oct. 12), vs. FSU (Oct. 19), at Md (Oct. 26), at UVa (Nov. 2), vs. GT (Nov. 14), vs. Citadel (Nov. 23), at SC (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 6 (UGa, NCST, Syr, FSU, GT, SC)
– Must-see: vs. Georgia, Aug. 31. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the FSU game means more. But a lot of eyes will be on this non-conference opener against the Bulldogs. A win could thrust the Tigers into the national race from the get-go. A loss would devastate those national title aspirations.
– Trap game: It’s tough to find one. Both of its Thursday night games are after bye weeks. All of its big games are preceded by homes games against teams that aren’t very good. I’ll go with BC on Oct. 12 before the FSU game, but even that’s not very threatening.
– Easy peasy: After the N.C. State road Thursday night game, the Tigers have Wake Forest at home, Syracuse on the road (with a new coach) and Boston College at home. That should be three wins right there.
– Brutal stretch: Things are pretty well spread out, but the finish isn’t easy. Georgia Tech has given Clemson trouble before. The Tigers get a break against The Citadel before closing with an always-tough game at South Carolina.
Florida State
-- Schedule: at Pitt (Sept. 2), vs. Nev (Sept. 14), vs. Beth-Cook (Sept. 21), at BC (Sept. 28), vs. Md (Oct. 5), at Clem (Oct. 19), vs. NCST (Oct. 26), vs. Mia (Nov. 2), at WF (Nov. 9), vs. Syr (Nov. 16), vs. Idaho (Nov. 23), at Fla (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 7 (Pitt, Nev, Clem, NCST, Mia, Syr, Fla)
– Must-see: at Clemson, Oct. 19. The Atlantic Division title probably rests on this game. The ‘Noles had the benefit of getting Clemson at home last year. This time they have to go into Death Valley, where they haven’t won since 2001.
– Trap game: at Wake Forest, Nov. 9. The Demon Deacons were the pebble in their shoe for the longest time. This year, FSU plays them after a stretch that includes Clemson, N.C. State and Miami. Beware a letdown.
– Easy peasy: Pittsburgh and Nevada are decent foes to start, but then FSU gets Bethune-Cookman, Boston College and Maryland before a bye week. The ‘Noles should skate through those games.
– Brutal stretch: As mentioned before, from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2, FSU plays at its toughest Atlantic competition Clemson, then returns home to play annual nemesis N.C. State and state-rival Miami. The season should be defined those games.
Maryland
-- Schedule: vs. FIU (Aug. 31), vs. ODU (Sept. 7), at UConn (Sept. 14), vs. WVU in Baltimore (Sept. 21), at FSU (Oct. 5), vs. UVa (Oct. 12), at WF (Oct. 19), vs. Clem (Oct. 26), vs. Syr (Nov. 9), at VT (Nov. 16), vs. BC (Nov. 23), at NCST (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 6 (WVU, FSU, Clem, Syr, VT, NCST)
– Must-see: vs. West Virginia, Sept. 21. This is a neutral site game against the Mountaineers in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, although Maryland is much closer. If the Terps can pull this upset, it could send them into ACC play on a high note.
– Trap game: vs. Old Dominion, Sept. 7. Sure, why not? The Monarchs should be amped for their first game against an ACC team. Plus, the Terps barely beat William & Mary last year (7-6), so a close game wouldn’t be unprecedented.
– Easy peasy: That said, the easiest part of the schedule is still the start. Maryland opens with Florida International, Old Dominion and Connecticut. There isn’t a more winnable stretch of games than that.
– Brutal stretch: It’s a brief stretch, but a tough one. The Terps play West Virginia in the neutral site game, have their bye and then travel to Florida State on Oct. 5. They’ll probably be big underdogs in both of those games.
N.C. State
-- Schedule: vs. La. Tech (Aug. 31), vs. Rich (Sept. 7), vs. Clem (Sept. 19), vs. CMU (Sept. 28), at WF (Oct. 5) vs. Syr (Oct. 12), at FSU (Oct. 26), vs. UNC (Nov. 2), at Duke (Nov. 9), at BC (Nov. 16), vs. ECU (Nov. 23) vs. Md (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 8 (La. Tech, Clem, CMU, Syr, FSU, UNC, Duke, ECU)
– Must-see: vs. Clemson, Sept. 19. It’s a Thursday night game and it’s at home. As the Wolfpack showed last year against FSU, Carter-Finley Stadium is a tough place to play at night. Coming off a bye, N.C. State will surely be up for this one.
– Trap game: at Duke, Nov. 9. The Wolfpack plays two big games in a row, going to Florida State and hosting North Carolina. Then it travels to play Duke. That’s a step down in emotion. We’ll see if it leads to a drop in play.
– Easy peasy: That’s still part of the easiest stretch of the season. To finish the year, N.C. State plays at Duke, at Boston College, vs. East Carolina and vs. Maryland. Only two of those teams went to bowl games last season.
– Brutal stretch: It’s brief, but back-to-back games against Florida State and North Carolina will be tough. The ‘Noles will be looking for revenge, and the Heels broke through in the series for the first time in a while last year.
Syracuse
-- Schedule: vs. PSU in East Rutherford, N.J. (Aug. 31), at NW (Sept. 7), vs. Wag (Sept. 14), vs. Tulane (Sept. 21), vs. Clem (Oct. 5), at NCST (Oct. 12), at GT (Oct. 19), vs. WF (Nov. 2), at Md (Nov. 9), at FSU (Nov. 16), vs. Pitt (Nov. 23), vs. BC (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 7 (PSU, NW, Clem, NCST, GT, FSU, Pitt)
– Must-see: vs. Penn State, Aug. 31. This is a nice way to open the season, playing the Nittany Lions at Met Life Stadium in The Meadowlands. Penn State proved last year it won’t be a pushover, despite massive NCAA sanctions. This is a big game for new coach Scott Shafer.
– Trap game: at Maryland, Nov. 9. With a Florida State showdown looming the following week, it’s possible the Orange could look past their trip to College Park.
– Easy peasy: Things don’t start easy, with games vs. Penn State and at Northwestern, but the Orange gets a break with Wagner and Tulane before closing out September with a bye week.
– Brutal stretch: ACC play starts out tough. Syracuse hosts Clemson before traveling to N.C. State and Georgia Tech in consecutive weeks. An 0-3 start to league play is a possibility.
Wake Forest
-- Schedule: vs. Pres (Aug. 29), at BC (Sept. 6), vs. ULM (Sept. 14), at Army (Sept. 21), at Clem (Sept. 28), vs. NCST (Oct. 5), vs. Md (Oct. 19), at Mia (Oct. 26), at Syr (Nov. 2), vs. FSU (Nov. 9), vs. Duke (Nov. 23), at Vandy (Nov. 30)
– Opponents that met bowl eligibility standard in ’12: 8 (ULM, Clem, NCST, Mia, Syr, FSU, Duke, Vandy)
– Must-see: vs. Florida State, Nov. 9. Wake played Florida State as tough as anyone in the conference for a few years. The ‘Noles soundly beat the Deacons 52-0 last year in Tallahassee, though, and has won three of the last four meetings. Wake will try to reverse the trend.
– Trap game: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Sept. 14. This doesn’t look like a fearsome matchup, but the Warhawks toppled Arkansas last year and nearly did the same to Auburn and Baylor. Quarterback Kolton Browning is back running the show in his senior season.
– Easy peasy: It’d have to be the beginning of the year. Wake opens with Presbyterian on a Thursday, then plays at a Boston College team breaking in a new coach the following Friday. There’s a good chance that’s a 2-0 start.
– Brutal stretch: The final five games aren’t easy by any means, starting with trips to Miami and Syracuse, then coming home to host Florida State. After a bye, the Deacons close vs. Duke and at a suddenly very tough Vanderbilt. Do well in that stretch and Wake could be going to a bowl again.
February 28, 2013 - 11:16 AM
Why do the major football conferences giggle when they hear the ACC mentioned?
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FSU’s “brutal stretch” consists of a road game at Clemson and home games against NC State and Miami.
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Granted, Clemson on the road is a challenging game.
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NC State was 7-6 last year, 1-2 against ranked opponents, 1-4 against Div. 1-A teams with winning records and #64 in the final Sagarin ratings.
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Miami was 7-5 last year (probably 7-6 had they played a bowl game), 0-3 against ranked opponents, 2-4 against Div 1-A teams with winning records and #49 in the final Sagarin ratings.
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All too often such passes for the “brutal stretch” of an ACC schedule. Now you know the answer to the question.
Jim Weaver needs out of the Virginia Tech athletic department.
Stephan Curry scored 54 points last night. That is the most points in an NBA game this season. He scored 38 on Tuesday night.
He was not offered a scholarship at Virginia Tech. That says a lot about the coaching at Virginia Tech.
Does Virginia Tech even have a former player in the NBA now?
Prayers for Lillian Tann, Marcus Davis and the entire family.
Frank:
Stephen had no D-1 Scholarship offers. He was a late bloomer. But I’m with you…he’s Dell’s kid for Pete’s sake! He should have been given a chance on pedigree alone. If he would have come, he probably would have gotten us over the hump and into the dance. His brother would probably have followed him too.
What happened to Marcus Davis??
#3 & #5, I addressed this on McFarling’s blog earlier. Not sure why you guys want to ignore that blog and discuss Hokie basketball on a Hokie football blog, but anyway – Seth Greenberg was the ONLY coach in the ACC that recruited Steph Curry. The ONLY one. Think there might have been a reason Coach K & Roy Williams, excellent judges of talent, didn’t even recruit Curry? Ask yourself that question, now that you’ve got the benefit of hindsight.
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Seth Greenberg recruited Curry. Had Curry chosen decided to attend VaTech, he would have been a freshman guard behind juniors Jamon Gordon & Zabian Dowdell. You can conveniently pretend Curry, a virtually unrecruited freshman would have beaten out Dowdell or Gordon, except you’d be ignoring the truth.
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The truth is that Gordon & Dowdell were both named 1st team All ACC defensive team in both their junior and senior seasons. Between them, they were also listed on the All ACC 1st team, 2nd team, & honorable mention in those two seasons. So that’s 3 All ACC awards out of a possible 4 mentions. They were regarded as one of the best backcourt duos in the entire ACC. Remember, the same ACC where Seth Greenberg was the ONLY coach to recruit Steph Curry.
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So, when using only hindsight that conveniently ignores the truth, you can always find a phony reason to criticize. Even if it is wrong. Oh, as far as Seth Curry? Even after his brother blew up on the national scene, something NO expert predicted? Seth Curry also was not recruited by ANY coach in the ACC, except one – Seth Greenberg. Now you know the truth. Try to not ignore it when discussing the Curry brothers and VaTech in the future.
great, i found the hokie blog again: everyone remember how alabama stomped notre dame in the nc game a few months ago ? i bet your’e wondering too how bad the tide will do the samething to vt this fall ?
beamerball, hokie nation etc, is over; you’ve became irrelevant. the string of 10 win seasons gave you some national attention and now that attention has moved on. all you have is an empty nc trophy case and some “coastal division champioships” to go with it.
VT’s defense will not allow Bama to do to VT what they did to ND. VT may not win, but our defense will show up. VT wouldn’t be in the situation they are in if the AD would have stepped up and forced changes on the coaching staff a few years ago. Both football and basketball programs (men and women) have been neglected for far too long. That is showing with their records this season. # 8, Also, we have some ACC championships as well. And trust me that is not going to happen at UVA. No matter how many thouroughbred players the 7on 7 coaches can brainwash into going to hooville UVA will still be irrelevant in football. HOO is jealous of VT football ? # 8 is dat’s HOO!
AC: UVA football teams were co-conference champions in 1989 & 1995 (you should know this stuff); and no one is jealous of a 6-6 regular season team of a program in decline.
@ #10 – You mean except for a 4-8 team in decline who hasn’t beaten the 6-6 team in about a decade?
Garry – please quit embarrassing yourself.
Crooked Road #7, in your haste to defend Seth Greenberg you have distorted a few facts in your post.
Greenberg did not recruit or offer Steph Curry a scholarship. During a visit from Dell Curry he offered Steph a chance to walk on to the team. That’s all. Go back and check on that.
And consider this, Steph averaged 25 points a game during his career at Davidson and poured in 40 against Gonzaga and 30 against Georgetown in carrying Davidson on his back to the elite 8.
Yet you imply that maybe Steph couldnt contribute to VT’s team due to Dowdell and Gordon. That’s laughable.
These comments and many others by you prove that your knowlege of athletics is minimal at best. But it would be nice if you would be accurate with your facts.
the truth is difficult for you ?
Honestly, I didn’t know that UVA were co ACC champions. ’95 was the year my first child was born and he is a senior in high school now. Besides, VT wasn’t a part of the ACC then. I do know that VT beat UVA in football in ’95. All of that boasting for nothing. Also, co champions just doesn’t have the same ring to it as outright champions like VT has accomplished. So I say ha to your feeble attempt to make UVA relevant in football. Currently, they are not. And honestly they never have been. I can say that I cheer for UVA when they are playing other teams. I don’t watch them, or seek them out. I also don’t seek out their blogs to post nasty comments. When you come on a VT blog , post nasty statements , you boo Hoo are asking for it. And as for that empty trophy case , we may not have that nc trophy, but we do have a shiny commonwealth cup in there where it has made it’s home for nine years now. And counting….
right, I know, “co-champions” has the same sound effect as vt boasting about their “coastal division championships”. I really don’t think I’ve been nasty at all on here, just statements of the facts. if the topic is vt, then im just making my opinions known. commonwealth cup? , are they really keeping it in the nc trophy case ??? (please post some pics, I have got to see that)
danny, you’re wrong again, like usual. I see you also want to talk Hokie basketball on the Hokie football blog. That’s pretty typical for you, always focused wrongly.
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Seth Greenberg did recruit Steph Curry, something that NO other ACC coach did. You are wrong in falsely claiming he did not. Either wrong out of ignorance or willfully wrong. Still, you are wrong about what happened seven & eight years ago. Greenberg made the following offer to Curry – walk on your freshman year, and you’ll get a scholarship for the next three seasons. See, danny, when you try to play a semantic game, you just end up getting exposed as being ignorant. Ignorant meaning unknowledgeable.
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Something else you’re wrong about is that I implied Curry could not contribute. He could certainly have contributed, but it certainly would not have been at the level he was made the central focus of the team at Davidson. He wouldn’t have averaged 20 points a game as a freshman at VT. He would have had to beat out TWO All ACC players to get that many minutes. Even someone as limited in their thought as… well… even you, danny, could understand that. You’ll just always sashay away from acknowledging it.
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I could continue to show your lack of understanding, but again, this is the football blog. Don’t be afraid to visit the basketball blog occasionally. If you’ve got some other gripes about Greenberg from 7-8 years ago that you want to whine about, take them to Berman’s blog. Goodness knows, it could use the clicks and comments. Even from you.
Crooked Road, here is a quote I got from an ESPN article on the situation
” Greenberg and VT had no real interest in Stephen Curry. He did meet with him out of courtesy to his father but the session must have been awkward. Undoubtedly, he breathed a sigh of relief when Curry decided not to attend as a walk on.”
Crooked Road is that what you call recruiting? I believe you post things the way you want them to be and the facts get thrown out the window. That’s just wrong Crooked Road. Sorry, can’t respect that.
And then you say Curry would have had to beat out two All-ACC players to play? You mean Curry could not have been on the court at the same time as those two players? I thought we were allowed to put five on the floor at one time Crooked Road? Ever heard of a three guard offense? Probably not.
What’s ironic is this-if Greenberg was still at VT you would be badgering him same as you do Beamer, Weaver, etc. Since he’s not, you decide to take up for him. Kind of weird to say the least. But that’s par for the course for you indeed.
danny, feel free to provide a link to the article you quoted. The article where the writer surmises without sounding like he discussed the interaction between Greenberg & the Currys with either party. The writer seems to ignore the multiple visits made by VT coaches to watch Curry play in HS.
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I suppose you’ve never heard of unproven reserves needing to earn a spot in the starting lineup, danny. I suppose you wouldn’t understand that Deron Washington played the 3-spot on that team, and you’re pretending that Greenberg could easily set the star junior who provided so much spark in every facet of the game for the hope of a thin shooting guard who played no defense so the Curry name could be on the court. See, danny, you have no concept of reality, you just want to snipe after years of ignoring the facts. No, several years of hindsight can make it easy to pretend the reality that existed then never happened. I also suppose you have an explanation for the reason that not a single other ACC coach ever recruited Steph Curry, much less had ‘awkward’ meetings with him. Any thoughts on that, danny? No, I knew you’d avoid those facts.
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I’ll be waiting on the link to read the context behind the writer’s opinion piece. I’ll also be chuckling at you while you push aside the mountain of reality for your hopes of continuing your fantasy. Stay blinded, danny. It’s what you do best.