Duke Releases 2009 Schedule

Non-conference games against Army and Kansas, an early November game at North Carolina and the ACC opener at home against Virginia Tech highlight Duke's 2009 schedule, released by the ACC Thursday. Eight of Duke's 12 opponents went to bowl games, two finished the year in the top 25 and one won the Division I-AA national title.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for the slate was the timing of the game against the Tar Heels. Instead of playing on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the two teams will square off in Chapel Hill Nov. 7, when students are still in session. It is the earliest game between the Tobacco Road rivals since 1942, when Duke joined the ACC.

The game was moved up for two reasons, and both schools had been exploring moving the traditional date for some time, said Art Chase, Duke's sports information director. First, both schools wanted their students to be on campus, instead of scattered across the country for Thanksgiving, to give the rivalry an atmosphere more like that of the hardwood, and second, it could give the teams better exposure on television if their rivalry game is not on the same weekend as almost every other rivalry game in the sport.

The ACC was not able to accommodate Duke's request to have an open date or away game over Fall Break, and instead, there will be fewer students in Wallace Wade Stadium Oct. 3 against Virginia Tech, which travels better than almost any other ACC team. Still, the league was able to give Duke a home game for Parents and Family Weekend, which it didn't have last season, and an open date in the middle of the season, as opposed to playing seven games to close the year. Wake Forest, for one, wasn't so lucky: The Demon Deacons play 11 straight games before their first bye week, and then play Duke to close the season. It's the only team the Blue Devils will play that will be coming off an opening.

The game at North Carolina is the first of four in November, a month that also includes home games against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest and a trip to Miami.

The team's ACC schedule starts at home against the Hokies Oct. 3, followed by a game in Raleigh against N.C. State. After a bye week—Duke's only idle weekend of the season—the Blue Devils play host to Maryland on Parents and Family Weekend before trekking to Charlottesville to play Virginia.

Unlike this season, the month of September is devoted solely to non-conference teams, beginning with Richmond, the reigning national champs, Sept. 5. After that, Duke travels on consecutive weekends to Army and Kansas. Then, it's Homecoming weekend against N.C. Central, the Durham schools' first-ever meeting on the gridiron.

26--N.C. CENTRAL (Homecoming)

October

3--VIRGINIA TECH

10--at N.C. State

17--Open

24--MARYLAND (Parents' Weekend)

31--at Virginia

November

7--at North Carolina

14--GEORGIA TECH

21--at Miami

28--WAKE FOREST