The ACC announced their 2015 conference football schedule. And the six dates with Notre Dame seem to take center stage.
Three of the six opponents that face Notre Dame will be coming into their game with the Irish after an off week. That includes a November matchup against Boston College in Fenway Park and the Irish’s visit to Clemson, who will have nine days between their visit from Notre Dame and their Thursday night trip to Louisville. Wake Forest also gets an extra week to prepare for their visit to South Bend.
Only Virginia plays the Irish back-to-back with a Power Five opponent, opening the season at UCLA before welcoming Notre Dame to Charlottesville. Orange Bowl champion Georgia Tech hosts Tulane before coming to South Bend. And new head coach Pat Narduzzi hosts North Carolina on a Thursday night before taking his first shot at the Irish as the man in charge of the Pitt program.
Notre Dame’s scheduling alliance with the ACC began in 2014, with the Irish playing five games against the conference each season as part of the schools membership in the conference in all sports except football. The Irish will face six teams in 2015 after playing just four last year, as part of the first Notre Dame schedule not to feature a Big Ten opponent since 1917.
“This year’s ACC Football schedule once again showcases that collectively our league is arguably playing the toughest nonconference schedule in the country,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “In addition to the nonconference games, we have a tremendously competitive league schedule which provides our teams and fans with great games each week of the season.”