Duke football learns new ACC opponents after league expansion

The Duke football program learned of its future ACC opponents after expansion. 

The new look ACC will be on the gridiron next fall and the Duke football program learned of its future opponents in the conference on Monday evening after the league announced its update scheduling model through the 2020 season.

There will remain no divisions in the ACC and the top two teams in the conference will play each other in the ACC Championship Game, just like what was installed this season.

Every team in the league will play each other at least twice in this seven year cycle and the new model protects 16 matchups that will be played every season.

Duke’s protected opponents are predictable — North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest — all teams located in the state of North Carolina.

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Mike Elko’s team will get its first look at one of the newest member of the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2024 season as the Blue Devils will host SMU, Florida State, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech while traveling to North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Miami, and Georgia Tech.

Duke makes its first trip to the west coast to play California in 2025 when it will play the Cal Golden Bears as well as Clemson, North Carolina, and Syracuse on the road with North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Georgia Tech coming to Wallace Wade Stadium.

It’s not until the 2026 season when the Blue Devils get a chance to play the Stanford Cardinal as the once dominant PAC-12 program will travel to Durham alongside the Tar Heels, Boston College, and Clemson as the two annual matchups with the Wolfpack and Demon Deacons come on the road next to the Yellow Jackets and Cavaliers.

Duke football schedule getting test of new teams late in schedule model

Duke gets a matchup against Stanford in back-to-back seasons with another trip to California in 2027 and also plays Louisville at home and Pittsburgh on the road for the first time in the new scheduling model.

Matchups at home also include Miami, NC State, and Wake with away games with the Heels and Florida State.

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The Blue Devils will only play current ACC teams in 2028 — Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia at home with Miami, Boston College, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest on the road.

The 2029 season sees Duke playing two of the new programs for the first time in the scheduling model with a home matchup against Stanford and road trip to California, and it will happen in consecutive seasons as the Blue Devils finally meet SMU for the first time since 2024 with a trip to Texas and the Golden Bears coming to Durham.

There’s a long way to good — and potentially more expansion looming with the current state of college athletics — but it seems like the ACC got the new schedule right.