The ACC has officially released its new 3-5-5 football scheduling model, and I think it’s one of the ACC’s best moves in years.
In 2023, the ACC will adopt a 3-5-5 football scheduling model and all 14 schools will compete in one division.
Teams will play 3 primary opponents annually + face the other 10 teams twice during the 4-year cycle, once at home and once on the road.
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— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) June 28, 2022
I have a few gripes and I’ll get to those later, but let’s talk about how good this is.
Even if you are disappointed with your primary rivals, you still play everybody else twice in four years home and away.
How bad could that possibly be?
This makes the league more unified. No more waiting several years to play in opposing stadiums. If you are in a league you should be playing more often.
The top 2 ACC teams playing each other in the ACC Championship will create nearly annual top 15 matchups.
This creates a wider variety of games which is good for TV, good for fans, good for recruiting, and good for everybody.
I like that this is a short-term (2023-2026) which allows for future flexibility of the ACC’s scheduling. Too often the ACC has been locked into long-term agreements, and if the playoff format or expansion warrants a change the ACC can do it.
Geography did play a role in the scheduling, and that’s a big step forward.
Are they any gripes?
A few minor ones….
I would have preferred to see the NC State vs Wake Forest game remain intact after meeting every year since 1910. I would have swapped out for NC State the Duke game.
Virginia Tech not getting paired with Florida State, Clemson or Miami (specifically Miami), or Louisville seems like a miss. Louisville vs Virginia has always seemed like such a forced rivalry game, and I think Louisville vs Virginia Tech was a more natural fit. Miami and Virginia Tech have a history that pre-dates both programs being in the ACC.
That said Virginia Tech is still getting multiple trips down to Georgia and Florida in a four-year period.
Some fans in the state of North Carolina wanted to see the permanent rotation of North Carolina schools. Yea – no thanks.
While it would nice for fans in that state, there would be little interest outside of the state. This isn’t Duke/UNC basketball. It doesn’t help recruiting either. These schools will play often enough in the new model.
Georgia Tech fans think they got the short end of the scheduling stick. Georgia Tech was getting Florida State or Clemson as a permanent rival. There’s nothing you can do there.
When it comes to Louisville and Wake Forest – get better. Right now Georgia Tech football is in such bad shape there’s no scheduling scenario where Georgia Tech would be favored in 2 out of the 3 games. Louisville and Wake Forest shouldn’t be programs beyond Georgia Tech reach.
In the end, the gripes are small and the benefits far outweigh any negatives. This is great for the conference.
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