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On Wednesday, both Maryland and Virginia announced scheduling deals that help fill the slot left on the 2013 schedule by the ACC's decision to stick with an eight game conference schedule. Maryland announced a home-and-home series with Florida International that brings the Golden Panthers to College Park in 2013 with the return trip to Miami in 2016. Virginia inked a scheduling deal with BYU for a home-and-home during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
PROVO, Utah (Nov. 7, 2012) - Brigham Young University and the University of Virginia today announced the schools have agreed to a home-and-home football series for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
The Cougars and Cavaliers will meet at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va., on August 31, 2013, with the second game being played at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Sept. 20, 2014.
While Boston College didn't have any room on the 2014 schedule, the fact that Virginia, not Boston College, was able to ink a deal with BYU for next season is disappointing. That's the type of game I would have loved to have seen Bates ink, based on BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's publicly stated interest in a possible BC series and given the fact that 2013 is likely to be a rebuilding year anyway. BC-BYU is the type of high profile game the Eagles' will need next season to put butts in seats and generate some sort of buzz around what will likely be another 'meh' season.
Maryland and Virginia join Virginia Tech as the only ACC programs that have found a 12th opponents for the 2013 season. Here is what the ACC's current 2013 non-conference schedule looks like:
| Program | Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 | Opponent 3 | Opponent 4 (I-AA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | Army | @ USC | Stony Brook | |
| Clemson | Georgia Bulldogs | @ South Carolina | S.C. State | The Citadel |
| Duke | Navy | @ Memphis | N.C. Central | |
| Florida State | Nevada | @ Florida | Wofford | |
| Georgia Tech | Georgia Bulldogs | @ BYU | Elon | |
| Maryland | West Virginia | Florida International | @ Connecticut | Old Dominion (C-USA) |
| Miami | Florida | @ South Florida | Florida Atlantic | |
| N.C. State | Central Michigan | East Carolina | Richmond | |
| North Carolina | @ South Carolina | East Carolina | Old Dominion (C-USA) | |
| Pittsburgh | Notre Dame | @ Navy | Villanova | |
| Syracuse | Penn State | @ Northwestern | Tulane | |
| Virginia | BYU | @ Penn State | Ball State | VMI |
| Virginia Tech | Alabama | @ East Carolina | Marshall | Western Carolina |
| Wake Forest | @ Army | @ Vanderbilt |
Six ACC programs will likely be looking to schedule a Division I-A program given that they already have one on the 2013 slate -- Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Pittsburgh. Wake Forest needs two more opponents to fill out the 2013 schedule -- preferably home games as the Deacons are currently scheduled to go to both Army and Vanderbilt in non-conference play. Miami, North Carolina and Syracuse will be looking for a I-AA opponent most likely, depending on how Old Dominion is classified (2013 is the program's first season in Division I-A as the Monarchs fully transition to Conference USA by 2015).
So where does that leave Boston College? Not with a whole bunch of Division I-A options left.
There are only 17 programs left that could add a game in 2013. Only six of those 17 programs are from power conferences -- Memphis and Temple from the Big East, Arizona and California from the PAC-12 and Alabama and Missouri from the SEC. There are no teams from the Big 12 or Big Ten left with openings.
The rest: Marshall, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, UTEP, Idaho, New Mexico State (x4), Central Michigan, Middle Tennessee or Texas State (x2). Not a lot of quality options left on the board. The last available option is the aforementioned BYU Cougars, which, should the program want to play 13 games next season can by virtue of the NCAA's Hawaii exemption.
Or, in spreadsheet format (yellow = available slot, orange = slot unavailable to BC, gray = N/A).
The only programs left I would want BC to schedule next season are Temple, California, BYU or Central Michigan. I think it would be a mistake if the Eagles double dip into the ranks of Division I-AA. The other option that has been thrown around recently is moving one of BC's games with UMass forward to 2013, which ... ugh.
Thanks to FBschedules.com.