ACC to Add Extra 'Nonconference' Game in 2017; Against an ACC Opponent?

The ACC has taken the route of the SEC and maintained its eight-game conference schedule; only they could begin playing an extra nonconference game against the ACC.

Multiple ACC officials, school coaches and athletic directors told ESPN they will not schedule nine games against their own conference, like the Pac-12 does. Instead, they will play a nonconference game starting in 2017 against an opponent from one of the five power conferences.

The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC make up the "power conferences" because their games are more widely televised and earn more money. Most notably, Stanford's head football coach David Shaw criticized the SEC for not scheduling a ninth conference game.

It is widely accepted that nonconference games are somewhat of a break for power conference teams, especially for the SEC, the most competitive football conference. The ACC vs. ACC "nonconference" games will actually focus on interdivisional matchups between teams from the Atlantic and Coastal divisions.

"Everything's on the table," Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross told ESPN.

For example, NC State and Duke used to play every year but stopped in 2004 when the conference expanded. Now in separate ACC division, the two schools, located 35 miles from each other, would get another chance to play once again under the schedule model in 2017.

"I think all the coaches felt like playing each other more, if there was a model for that, we'd be open to it," NC State coach Dave Doeren said. "They are going to allow us to use that plus-one game in the conference as a nonconference game so that will be interesting to see where it goes. When we don't have to play Notre Dame, playing Duke or Virginia or somebody from the Coastal that we don't play will be a discussion we want to have."

Scheduling nonconference games with power conferences is not exactly easy, especially when state rivalries exist between schools like Florida, of the SEC, and Florida State, of the ACC.

"The most difficult thing in this league, it seems like on this topic, is how often our young people can play teams from the other division," Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock told ESPN. "And if you're not playing for 8-10 years, that's a little tough. But it's a darn strong 15-team league. That's one of the things you get with it."