I'm going to build on a thread that PG started which deals with the possibility of a division-less Football scheduling format for ACC teams. What has just happened that will probably trigger such a new format is the expected likely vote by the NCAA next week to allow teams to play a Conference Championship game without having Divisions. Now, first off, this does not give way or suggest that Notre Dame will play more games in the ACC or fully join in FB. That is really not in the cards. So what's apparently gained momentum is that the SEC and B1G as well as the ACC being all willing to have a free rein over just how they restructure.
Several websites are speculating just how and when the ACC will redo scheduling. ACC Commissioner Phillips has stated just 2 days ago a willingness by most all of the ACC member schools to go divisionless with a format of 3 Fixed Opponents and 5 Rotating Opponents. He and others believe the ACC will vote on the restructure pretty soon .. after the NCAA votes and well before the 2023 season begins.
I am assuming the ACC will go to a 3-5 format.
3 Fixed
5 Rotating/flipping every other season
As most of us know, this will finally allow for much more frequent play of formerly cross-division opponents. Formerly Cross-Division teams won't have to wait 6 or 7 seasons to play another opposite division team. Right now ACC teams play 6 of the 7 teams in the opposite division on a Home/Away basis one cycle every 12 seasons. With the new division-less format, every single ACC opponent will get played either every year or every other year.
Of course, with good comes bad. If a team is not matched in the new format with 3 fixed partners that please it, then there may be a small bit of dissatisfaction. That's the bad. The good is being guaranteed to match up against any and all at least as frequently as every other season. It's a small loss for a huge benefit.
For Louisville, the ACC powers that be will determine our 3 fixed opponents. It's not likely that Louisville gets a big vote in this football re-jigger. I have been reading a lot about this for many years. The most current view is that Louisville's 3 permanent partners will end up being Virginia Tech, Pitt and Syracuse. I don't have a problem with this. Again, Louisville is not going to get much weighted voting to pick better permanent FB matchups. While we would love to see at least one of Miami, Clemson or Florida State in our permanent set, that probably isn't going to happen. The ACC and ESPN and Tobacco Road will determine how this works out.
So bear with me and assume VT, Pitt and Syracuse are our permanent opponents (and thank the ACC gods that BC and Wake are not among them).
Now, where that leaves us is in the interesting exercise of dividing the other 10 teams into two sets of 5, in a way that is acceptable to the ACC gods. I don't think anyone here would want to play Clemson and FSU in the same season and then skip a season before playing them both again. But you never know what the ACC gods will decide.
So>>>
The flippable teams would be (in my scenario):
Boston College
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Wake Forest
Duke
Virginia
Clemson
Florida State
How would you divide the 10 rotating teams into two groups of 5 that alternated every year?
Several websites are speculating just how and when the ACC will redo scheduling. ACC Commissioner Phillips has stated just 2 days ago a willingness by most all of the ACC member schools to go divisionless with a format of 3 Fixed Opponents and 5 Rotating Opponents. He and others believe the ACC will vote on the restructure pretty soon .. after the NCAA votes and well before the 2023 season begins.
I am assuming the ACC will go to a 3-5 format.
3 Fixed
5 Rotating/flipping every other season
As most of us know, this will finally allow for much more frequent play of formerly cross-division opponents. Formerly Cross-Division teams won't have to wait 6 or 7 seasons to play another opposite division team. Right now ACC teams play 6 of the 7 teams in the opposite division on a Home/Away basis one cycle every 12 seasons. With the new division-less format, every single ACC opponent will get played either every year or every other year.
Of course, with good comes bad. If a team is not matched in the new format with 3 fixed partners that please it, then there may be a small bit of dissatisfaction. That's the bad. The good is being guaranteed to match up against any and all at least as frequently as every other season. It's a small loss for a huge benefit.
For Louisville, the ACC powers that be will determine our 3 fixed opponents. It's not likely that Louisville gets a big vote in this football re-jigger. I have been reading a lot about this for many years. The most current view is that Louisville's 3 permanent partners will end up being Virginia Tech, Pitt and Syracuse. I don't have a problem with this. Again, Louisville is not going to get much weighted voting to pick better permanent FB matchups. While we would love to see at least one of Miami, Clemson or Florida State in our permanent set, that probably isn't going to happen. The ACC and ESPN and Tobacco Road will determine how this works out.
So bear with me and assume VT, Pitt and Syracuse are our permanent opponents (and thank the ACC gods that BC and Wake are not among them).
Now, where that leaves us is in the interesting exercise of dividing the other 10 teams into two sets of 5, in a way that is acceptable to the ACC gods. I don't think anyone here would want to play Clemson and FSU in the same season and then skip a season before playing them both again. But you never know what the ACC gods will decide.
So>>>
The flippable teams would be (in my scenario):
Boston College
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Wake Forest
Duke
Virginia
Clemson
Florida State
How would you divide the 10 rotating teams into two groups of 5 that alternated every year?
(My First Hint: Louisville won't get treated well by the ACC in the matching of alternating teams)
(My Second Hint: I personally would try to equalize the strength and weakness of each of the 2 sets of 5 alternating teams)
(My Third Hint: Notre Dame and Kentucky will still be on the schedules for the foreseeable future. So bear that in mind. The ACC is not likely going to take that fact into consideration when making this revision)
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