The ACC announced its football matchups for conference play in the 2013 season Friday. Duke will face Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State and Pittsburgh at home and will travel to square off with North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest next season.
Six of the Blue Devils' eight conference opponents won at least six games in 2012. The eight teams combined for an overall record of 51-50. After facing a treacherous conference schedule in 2012, Duke will likely be relieved to see the omission of both Florida State and Clemson, the ACC Atlantic Division's top two finishers last season, whom the Blue Devils faced in back-to-back weeks in 2012. The 2013 conference slate appears much less strenuous than the schedule Duke played in 2012, when its opponents boasted a combined 65-40 record the previous season.
With the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC next season, the conference will expand to two divisions of seven teams each, with Pittsburgh joining the Blue Devils in the Coastal Division and Syracuse playing in the Atlantic Division. With eight conference games per season, Duke will play the other six teams in the Coastal Division, which are Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech, on an annual basis. Each ACC team has been matched up with one primary crossover opponent from the other division that they will face every year—for the Blue Devils that will be in-state rival Wake Forest—and one rotating crossover game, which for Duke will be N.C. State this season.
The ACC's new scheduling format will result in several repeat site matchups in 2013. For Duke, this will mean another home game against Miami and road tilts with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The Blue Devils currently have three non-conference games slated for next season, squaring off with Memphis on the road Sept. 7, taking on Navy at home Oct. 12 and another matchup with N.C. Central for which a date is to be determined. Dates and times for conference games are set to be released by the ACC in February.
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