The Atlantic Coast Conference released the 2008 Football Schedule on Friday and the Wolfpack’s slate is included below.
There are no big surprises out there, but there is one extremely interesting subplot. Check out this entry from a couple of weeks ago after Boston College’s football schedule was inappropriately leaked to the press and we said the following:
…the brass at the conference office cannot be happy about the fact that Boston College has leaked their 2008 schedule to the public before the conference’s announcement. We found this link at Boston.com this morning that details the Eagles’ 2008 schedule.
Looks like the ACC is going to play-up the Tom O’Brien angle as much as they can as the conference has scheduled NC State to host Boston College on the last weekend of the year (two days after Thanksgiving). So much for the Chuck Amato-Maryland hatefest. Say hello to BC!
SFN has learned from some Greensboro friends that, as we stated at the time, the ACC was none too happy with the folks in Chestnut Hill when the Eagles’ schedule found its way into the public domain. We were wondering why the ACC’s schedule was not released last week as was the original plan, so when we saw the schedule that was released a week late it didn’t take long to realize what happened. Note the differences between the schedule that ran in the Boston press and the final schedule and you will note a few ‘tweaks’…including NC State’s final game that is now BC’s traditional final game rival, Miami.
The Eagles end the season with a brutal run that begins on October 15th and doesn’t end until their last game of the year at home against Maryland.
That’s right – a home game in Boston in late November two days after Thanksgiving. What do you think expected attendance will be for that one with the students gone? 10,000? How do you think this will help BC’s chances to get to a bowl if they are on the bubble? How do you think Tom O’Brien and NC State will be able to leverage the comparison of support of sold out final game and their attendance on the recruiting trail?
2008 NC State Football Schedule
Aug. 28 at South Carolina (ESPN – Thurs)
Sept. 6 William & Mary
Sept. 13 at Clemson
Sept. 20 East Carolina
Sept. 27 South Florida
Oct. 4 Boston College
Oct. 16 Florida State (ESPN – Thurs)
Oct. 25 at Maryland
Nov. 8 at Duke
Nov. 15 Wake Forest
Nov. 22 at North Carolina
Nov. 29 Miami
* Caulton Tudor has his take on the schedules up on ACCNow. The comments include links to pdf files for the composite schedule and team-by-team breakdowns.
* If State can find a way to generally break-even through mid-October then the the Pack has a legitimate opportunity to make a run late in the season and help our bowl changes with uncle “momentum’. At Maryland; At Duke; Wake; AT Carolina; and Miami is a manageable late season schedule that could play in our favor.
* State has seven home games in 2008, and effectively eight when you include Duke. Its been five years since the Wolfpack had the opportunity to earn (what used to be) sure wins against the Blue Devils while our friends in Chapel Hill have been feasting on the Navy Blue. As Pack Pride said, “The Wolfpack and the Blue Devils played every season for 80 years (from 1924-2003 with a one-year break in 1944) before ACC expansion.”
* We’ve said it a million times and we will say it a million more – there is NOTHING other than a lack of innovation and foresight stopping NC State and Duke from playing NON-CONFERENCE games in the years that we aren’t scheduled to play ACC games. Why in the world is NC State rewarding an institution that routinely takes players that cannot academically qualify to play in the ACC to the detriment of one of our conference bretheren who NEEDS our people to fill up their stands as often as they can get it?
* This schedule offers a TON of excitement to Wolfpackers and serves to already get me jazzed for 2009 when State will host South Carolina, East Carolina, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Maryland and North Carolina in Carter-Finley in Coach O’Brien’s third season.
* The ACC has some interesting games out of conference games this year including the season opener between Clemson and Alabama in the Georgia Dome. Additionally, Miami and Florida renew their rivalry while Wake plays Ole Miss; Miami gets Texas A&M again, Virginia Tech tackles Nebraska, Maryland plays Cal and Notre Dame returns last year’s game with UNC-CH.
