2017 Season Opening Weekend: ACC Football Schedule
Thursday, August 31
Presbyterian at Wake Forest, ACC Network Extra, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, September 1
Central Connecticut State at Syracuse, ACC Network Extra, 7 p.m.
Boston College at Northern Illinois, CBSSN, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 2
Kent State at #5/5 Clemson, ESPN, Noon
California at North Carolina, ACC Network, 12:20 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman at #18/18 Miami, RSN, 12:30 p.m.
Youngstown State at Pitt, ACC Network Extra, 1 p.m.
NC State vs. South Carolina, ESPN, 3 p.m.
Belk College Kickoff Game, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
William & Mary at Virginia, ACC Network Extra, 3:30 p.m.
NC Central at Duke, ACC Network Extra, 6 p.m.
#16/17 Louisville vs. Purdue, FOX, 7:30 p.m.
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
#3/3 Florida State vs. #1/1 Alabama, ABC, 8 p.m.
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Sunday, September 3
#21/22 Virginia Tech vs. #22/20 West Virginia, ABC, 7:30 p.m.
FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Monday, September 4
#25/24 Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech, ESPN, 8 p.m.
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
ACC Football Schedule Notes
Led by Florida State and Clemson, five Atlantic Coast Conference football teams are ranked in both the preseason Associated Press and Amway Coaches Top 25 polls. The Seminoles are third in both polls, and Clemson is fifth in both. Also included in the rankings are No. 16 (AP)/17 (Amway) Louisville, No. 18/18 Miami and No. 21/22 Virginia Tech.
The ACC is the only conference with two top-five selections in the AP poll and is tied for second with five teams in the poll. This marks the second consecutive season (and second time overall) two ACC teams have been included in the AP preseason top five. Last year, Clemson and Florida State also were ranked in the top five.
No. 3 Florida State will face No. 1 Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 2, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Those are the highest-ranked teams in a season opener since the AP started a preseason poll in 1950. Dubbed the “Greatest Opener of All-Time (GOAT),” the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is the fourth season-opening matchup between two top five opponents.
ACC teams will play more games (22) against Power 5 non-conference teams in 2017 than any of its peer conferences. The ACC will also have a higher percentage (.393) of its non-conference games against Power 5 opponents than any other league.
ACC teams will play more games against non-conference teams (9) that were ranked in this year’s AP Top 25 than any other peer conference.
Including the 11 ACC teams that went to bowl games, no ACC team will face fewer than seven opponents that went to bowls last season. ACC teams will play 26 games against non-conference opponents that went to bowl games in 2016, the second-highest total among peer conferences.
The 2017 schedules for three ACC schools – Syracuse (seventh, .613), Georgia Tech (eighth, .609) and Duke (ninth, .606) – rank among the top 10 nationally in opponents’ winning percentage.
ACC teams’ FBS non-conference opponents had the second-highest winning percentage (.526) in 2016 of any of the Power 5 conferences.
The ACC will begin the 2017 season tying its record (14) for most games on a single weekend, which was set in 2015 when all 14 schools played non-conference opponents.
Last year, the ACC tied its record for most non-conference victories on an opening weekend by posting a 10-2 record. That is also the best winning percentage on an opening weekend with eight or more non-conference games. The ACC had 10 non-conference wins in 2010 and 2015.
The ACC set a league record in 2014 for most non-conference wins on any weekend, posting a perfect 11-0 mark in week two. That was also the most wins in an undefeated weekend in league history.