2016 ACC football schedule: Clemson-Florida State set for Oct. 29
By Chip Patterson | Staff Writer
January 26, 2016 3:10 pm ET
Dabo Swinney is ready for 2016, are you? (USATSI)
The ACC office released the full 2016 football schedule on Tuesday, sending hoards of fans to their calendars to block out the most important weekends of the fall. For us surveying the national scene, there is one important date to locate on the helmet grid.
Clemson will travel to Tallahassee, Florida, on Oct. 29 to play Florida State in what should be one of the most highly anticipated ACC games of the year. The Tigers, fresh off their runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff, return Deshaun Watson, Wayne Gallman and handfuls of players from the 2015 team. Florida State has its own Heisman hopeful in Dalvin Cook, and a sense of vengence after seeing someone else win the ACC title for the first time since 2011.
The winner earns the edge in the ACC Atlantic and, likely, the College Football Playoff race. But that's not the only game announced Tuesday worth circling on your calendar. A few others to note.
Opening Weekend: We knew these games in advance but it's worth revisiting; Clemson at Auburn, Florida State vs. Ole Miss (Orlando), North Carolina vs. Georgia (Atlanta) and Georgia Tech-Boston College in Dublin, Ireland.
Clemson at Georgia Tech (Sept. 22): These two teams know each other well as annual cross-division rivals and have been known to play each other tight regardless of the expectations. Clemson hopes to avoid the same ATL-based upset that stung FSU in 2015.
North Carolina at Florida State (Oct. 1): Larry Fedora's Tar Heels were downgraded by the selection committee because of their schedule. In 2016, UNC trades South Carolina for Georgia in its neutral site opener and Wake Forest for Florida State as its rotating Atlantic Division foe. If they want respect from the committee with two FCS games on the schedule, they can earn it in Tallahassee.
Florida State at Miami (Oct. 8): There will tremendous hype around Mark Richt, former Florida State quarterback and offensive coordinator, facing the Seminoles. Miami has played FSU tough in recent years but hasn't won a game in the rivalry since 2009.
Miami at Virginia Tech (Oct. 20): Both Miami and Virginia Tech made coaching changes in the offseason with hopes to claim (or reclaim, for VT) ACC Coastal Division dominance. The all-important head-to-head tiebreaker could be determined in the first meeting between Mark Richt and Justin Fuente.
Clemson at Florida State (Oct. 29): The game of the year in the ACC.
Click here to the view the full team-by-team breakdown of the 2016 ACC schedule, courtesy of the ACC office.
By Chip Patterson | Staff Writer
January 26, 2016 3:10 pm ET
Dabo Swinney is ready for 2016, are you? (USATSI)
The ACC office released the full 2016 football schedule on Tuesday, sending hoards of fans to their calendars to block out the most important weekends of the fall. For us surveying the national scene, there is one important date to locate on the helmet grid.
Clemson will travel to Tallahassee, Florida, on Oct. 29 to play Florida State in what should be one of the most highly anticipated ACC games of the year. The Tigers, fresh off their runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff, return Deshaun Watson, Wayne Gallman and handfuls of players from the 2015 team. Florida State has its own Heisman hopeful in Dalvin Cook, and a sense of vengence after seeing someone else win the ACC title for the first time since 2011.
The winner earns the edge in the ACC Atlantic and, likely, the College Football Playoff race. But that's not the only game announced Tuesday worth circling on your calendar. A few others to note.
Opening Weekend: We knew these games in advance but it's worth revisiting; Clemson at Auburn, Florida State vs. Ole Miss (Orlando), North Carolina vs. Georgia (Atlanta) and Georgia Tech-Boston College in Dublin, Ireland.
Clemson at Georgia Tech (Sept. 22): These two teams know each other well as annual cross-division rivals and have been known to play each other tight regardless of the expectations. Clemson hopes to avoid the same ATL-based upset that stung FSU in 2015.
North Carolina at Florida State (Oct. 1): Larry Fedora's Tar Heels were downgraded by the selection committee because of their schedule. In 2016, UNC trades South Carolina for Georgia in its neutral site opener and Wake Forest for Florida State as its rotating Atlantic Division foe. If they want respect from the committee with two FCS games on the schedule, they can earn it in Tallahassee.
Florida State at Miami (Oct. 8): There will tremendous hype around Mark Richt, former Florida State quarterback and offensive coordinator, facing the Seminoles. Miami has played FSU tough in recent years but hasn't won a game in the rivalry since 2009.
Miami at Virginia Tech (Oct. 20): Both Miami and Virginia Tech made coaching changes in the offseason with hopes to claim (or reclaim, for VT) ACC Coastal Division dominance. The all-important head-to-head tiebreaker could be determined in the first meeting between Mark Richt and Justin Fuente.
Clemson at Florida State (Oct. 29): The game of the year in the ACC.
Click here to the view the full team-by-team breakdown of the 2016 ACC schedule, courtesy of the ACC office.
