Brian: Since the upcoming football season seems that far away, we are left only to talk about next year's schedule. The official BC schedule (along with the rest of the ACC's schedule) should be released at some point after the Super Bowl. This is what we know so far:
- September 4 - Weber State
- September 11 - Kent State
- October 2 - Notre Dame
- November 27 - at Syracuse (tentative)
In addition to those four non-conference games, the Eagles get Maryland, Clemson, Virginia and Virginia Tech at home, and Wake Forest, NC State, Duke and Florida State on the road in ACC play. It is rumored that the date of the Boston College at Florida State game will be November 20 (Week 12) right before Thanksgiving. Like the idea? Will this be a de facto ACC Atlantic Championship game this season?
Jeff: I like playing Florida State late in the season. From my perspective as a BC fan, I would ideally like to play either Clemson or FSU in our third-to-last game of the regular season followed by a Coastal Division opponent (not named Virginia Tech) and then a non-conference opponent like Syracuse. This way, the game against FSU or Clemson would likely have large ACC Atlantic Champion implications. Then if BC wins, fans could start planning trips to Charlotte 2-3 weeks in advance. Playing a game against FSU or Clemson at Alumni Stadium in November also gives the Eagles a little advantage playing a game in cold weather that the Seminoles or Tigers will not be used to.
Brian: In other non-BC scheduling news, Testudo Times’ Ben Broman is reporting that Maryland and Notre Dame are nearing an agreement to play at FedEx Field in 2011. While not a done deal, it sounds fairly plausible that this could get done given Notre Dame's affinity for playing in neutral site locations and NFL stadiums. This would mark the second time in as many years that FedEx Field will be hosting a big time college football game, the first being a Boise State-Virginia Tech matchup tentatively scheduled for Labor Day weekend this coming season.
How disappointed are you in Notre Dame scheduling another ACC opponent a year after the Boston College-Notre Dame series runs its course?
Jeff: I am not disappointed with this contract, assuming it gets done, since it is going to be at a neutral field. BC probably would still have a series going with ND if Gene were willing to play our "home" games in the series at Gillette Stadium or Giants Stadium. Gene, however, has held firm that his is not interested in that type of contract and will only agree to BC's games being played every other year at Alumni Stadium.