September is a month that could make or break a team’s goals for the season, and that is more evident than ever in the ACC. With some tricky non-conference matchups and league play mixed in — including several Week 1 — things get really interesting in a league Clemson did not win a season ago for the first time since 2014.
Three of the league’s coaches landed on CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd’s hot seat rankings last month. Those were Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins and Syracuse’s Dino Babers. All three have difficult September slates to navigate.
Florida State faces LSU in New Orleans and has a road contest at Louisville, while Georgia Tech opens with Clemson, hosts Ole Miss and has a tough road trip to UCF. Syracuse plays three of its four games in the month against Power Five opponents. How will all of them fare?
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After looking at every Power Five team’s September schedule and ranking the 15 toughest, here is the projected record for each ACC team for the month.
The slate: Sept. 5 vs. Clemson (Atlanta, Monday), Sept. 10 vs.Western Carolina, Sept. 17 vs. Ole Miss, Sept. 24 at UCF
Wins: vs. Western Carolina
Losses: vs. Clemson, vs. Ole Miss, at UCF
Georgia Tech has 247Sports’ sixth-hardest schedule nationally for September. The Yellow Jackets have never won more than three games in a season under Geoff Collins since his arrival from Temple in 2019, and boy does he have his work cut out for him in the first four weeks of the season. At the least, Georgia Tech must compete in September, and Collins and company might have to steal one in order to keep the chatter down regarding his job security.
The slate: Sept. 3 vs. Rutgers, Sept. 10 at Virginia Tech, Sept. 17 vs. Maine, Sept. 24 at Florida State
Wins: vs. Rutgers, at Virginia Tech vs. Maine
Losses: at Florida State
In Year 3 in The Heights, Jeff Hafley aims to take the next step, and has an immediate opportunity to do so. The Eagles’ Week 2 road contest at Virginia Tech is without a doubt a tough environment to play in, but the experience of Hafley and third-year starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec — one of the league’s best — hold the advantage over first-year Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry. Rutgers and Maine are more than manageable home games, and despite a loss predicted in the road contest against Florida State, the Eagles could see a vulnerable Seminoles team.
The slate: Sept. 2 vs. Temple (Friday), Sept. 10 at Northwestern, Sept. 17 vs. North Carolina A&T, Sept. 24 at Kansas
Wins: vs. Temple, vs. North Carolina A&T
Losses: at Northwestern, at Kansas
Duke has four non-conference games to start things off. The home games should be wins, and the other two are far from a difficult challenge despite being on the road. For what it is worth, Duke beat both opponents in Durham in 2021. Do not expect Duke to put Northwestern in a 21-0 first-quarter hole like it did last year, and Kansas showed plenty of signs of life a year ago after its trip to Durham. The Jayhawks upset Texas on the road and also took Oklahoma down to the wire in Lawrence. It would be a big positive if Mike Elko was able to take one of those two games away from home in Year 1 as a head coach.
The slate: Sept. 3 vs. Louisville, Sept. 10 at Connecticut, Sept. 17 vs. Purdue, Sept. 23 vs. Virginia (Friday)
Wins: at Connecticut, vs. Virginia
Losses: vs. Louisville, vs. Purdue
Dino Babers is under pressure, as the Orange have not had success since he led a magical 10-3 run in 2018 in his second year on the job. The Orange see one of the conference’s most fascinating players in Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham to open the season, and he has the potential to give them fits. Syracuse welcomes Purdue, who showed last season that it has no problem winning games on the road, as the Boilermakers knocked off No. 2 Iowa. If the Orange are to reach postseason play this season, a 3-1 mark in September is likely needed.
The slate: Sept. 1 vs. VMI (Thursday), Sept. 10 at Vanderbilt, Sept. 17 vs. Liberty, Sept. 24 vs. Clemson
Wins: VMI, at Vanderbilt, vs. Liberty
Losses: vs. Clemson
Wake Forest experienced its best season in over a decade last fall, going 11-3 and winning the ACC Atlantic Division title. Should the Demon Deacons want to take that step, a victory at home over Clemson is priority No. 1, but Liberty has major trap game potential. Liberty is 26-11 in three seasons under Hugh Freeze and has a handful of Power Five victories.Wake Forest goes on the road to the SEC, but Vanderbilt is quite different from other environments in the conference and enter Year 2 of a major rebuild.
The slate: Sept. 3 vs. Richmond, Sept. 10 at Illinois, Sept. 17 vs. Old Dominion, Sept. 23 at Syracuse (Friday)
Wins: vs. Richmond, vs. Old Dominion
Losses: at Illinois, at Syracuse
Virginia could easily win at Illinois, and will probably be favored. This is a big one for Illini head coach Bret Bielema, however, as he begins his second season as head coach. The Cavaliers routed the Illini last year in Charlottesville, but this time will be different. Illinois wins a tight one that goes all the way down to the wire. On a short week and hitting the road, the advantage goes to Syracuse, who likely faces a must-win situation. The Orange are also a bit more battle-tested than Virginia by the time the Cavaliers arrive in Syracuse, which is the deciding factor here. Despite a 2-2 prediction, do not be surprised if Tony Elliott proves it wrong in his first year as a head coach, as quarterback Brennan Armstrong is one of the top players in the conference.
The slate: Sept. 1 vs. West Virginia (Thursday), Sept. 10 vs. Tennessee, Sept. 17 at Western Michigan, Sept. 24 vs. Rhode Island
Wins: vs. West Virginia, at Western Michigan, vs. Rhode Island
Losses: vs. Tennessee
The Panthers received a shock when 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison entered the transfer portal late in the spring and landed at USC. He was a big reason why many felt good about transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis — ironically from USC — getting back to his 2020 form with the Trojans in his quest to replace 2022 first-round NFL Draft pick Kenny Pickett. Getting by in home games against West Virginia — the return of the Backyard Brawl — and Tennessee to start the season would be enormous, but the Vols are out to avenge last season’s loss to Pitt in Knoxville. Ultimately, the high-powered offense that features quarterback Hendon Hooker in his second season could be too much. The Panthers will want to make sure they regroup, as they also head on the road to face Western Michigan — a team who stunned them at home a season ago.
The slate: Sept. 3 at Syracuse, Sept. 9 at UCF (Friday), Sept. 16 vs. Florida State (Friday), Sept. 24 vs. USF
Wins: at Syracuse, vs. Florida State, vs. USF
Losses: at UCF
Louisville has perhaps the most fascinating schedule in the ACC for the month in a pivotal year for Scott Satterfield. Between opening on the road in conference play and going for a Friday night showdown in the Bounce House and welcoming Florida State, who also sees its coach enter a crucial season. The Cardinals defeated UCF in a thriller in Louisville a season ago, but the Knights are eager to come out on top this season. While 4-0 would be great, a 3-1 mark in September would make a lot of fans feel good about where Louisville is headed.
The slate: Sept. 2 at Old Dominion (Friday), Sept. 10 vs. Boston College, Sept. 17 vs. Wofford, Sept. 22 vs. West Virginia (Thursday)
Wins: at Old Dominion, vs. Wofford, vs. West Virginia
Losses: vs. Boston College
While there are no giant hurdles on the schedule for Pry, there are some challenges. He sees old friend Ricky Rahne for his first-career game, as the two spent seven seasons together working under James Franklin at Vanderbilt (2013) and Penn State (2014-19). Both certainly know a lot about each other. The Monarchs started out 2021 at 1-5, but ripped off five-straight wins to reach postseason play before falling to Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. A 3-1 mark with a win over Old Dominion and splitting contests that feature two above-average quarterbacks between Jurkovec and West Virginia’s JT Daniels would be strong for Pry in his first month, as he inherits a program that went 6-7 a year ago.
The slate: Sept. 3 at East Carolina, Sept. 10 vs. Charleston Southern, Sept. 17 vs. Texas Tech Sept. 24 vs. Connecticut
NC State upset Clemson at home a season ago, and has a strong chance to be 4-0 when it travels to Death Valley come Oct. 1. It will not want to look past the threat of East Carolina, though. The Pirates considerably improved in Year 3 under Mike Houston and took South Carolina down to the wire in Greenville last September. Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium seats 50,000, so it is big for a Group of Five program. Expect there to be a good amount of Wolfpack faithful there, but Dave Doeren, Devin Leary and company might have to escape here.
The slate: Sept. 3 vs. Bethune-Cookman, Sept. 10 vs. Southern Mississippi, Sept. 17 at Texas A&M, Sept. 24 vs. Middle Tennessee
Wins: vs. Bethune-Cookman, vs. Southern Mississippi, vs. Middle Tennessee
Losses: at Texas A&M
The Hurricanes have two easy ones against Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. before a massive road test at Texas A&M. While a loss in College Station is the prediction, expect Mario Cristobal and company to be right there, in large part due to the advantage at the quarterback position with Tyler Van Dyke. If Miami is able to prove people wrong and knock off the Aggies — watch out.
The slate: Aug. 27 vs. Florida A&M, Sept. 3 at Appalachian State, Sept. 10 at Georgia State, Sept. 24 vs. Notre Dame
Wins: vs. Florida A&M, at Georgia State
Losses: at Appalachian State, vs. Notre Dame
North Carolina’s road contest at Appalachian State is arguably the biggest home game in Mountaineers history. Hosting an in-state ACC program will have Kidd Brewer Stadium rocking. The game has already sold out, and the Tar Heels — led by either Jalcolby Criswell or Drake Maye in their first season as a starting quarterback — face a unique challenge in playing in a venue that holds just 30,000 people. It is a big season for Mack Brown, as UNC disappointed in a big way in 2021 by going 6-7 in Sam Howell’s final campaign. Notre Dame is the one everyone has circled, and the Fighting Irish have gotten the best of the Tar Heels each of the last two years. Oddly enough, UNC has another road game against a Group of Five opponent coming at Georgia State between Appalachian State and the Fighting Irish. Brown likely needs 3-1 — or 4-0 — to convince fans he has the results on the recruiting trail fully transferred over to the gridiron.
The slate: Aug. 27 vs. Duquesne, Sept. 4 vs. LSU (New Orleans), Sept. 16 at Louisville (Friday), Sept. 24 vs. Boston College
Wins: vs. Duquesne, vs. Boston College
Losses: vs. LSU, at Louisville
Florida State is battle tested early on. After a Week 0 home game against Duquesne, the Seminoles face LSU in New Orleans, head to Louisville and host Boston College. Duquesne should be a cakewalk, but the Noles walk into what is basically a true road environment against the Tigers. Losses against LSU and Louisville could raise questions about Norvell’s future. Between Cunningham and Jurkovec, the Noles see two of the conference’s best quarterbacks in back-to-back weeks. An extra day of preparation for Boston College should work in FSU’s favor.
The slate: Sept. 5 vs. Georgia Tech (Atlanta, Monday), Sept. 10 vs. Furman, Sept. 17 vs. Louisiana Tech, Sept. 24 at Wake Forest
Clemson’s only real test of September comes at Wake Forest. The Tigers got the best of the Demon Deacons last fall in Death Valley. D.J. Uiagalelei will have to be good for Clemson in this one. Last fall, he was 11-of-19 for 208 yards, throwing a touchdown and an interception in the matchup. Kobe Pace ran wild, carrying 24 times for 191 yards and one touchdown. A performance like that would certainly help. Dabo Swinney and company’s first game is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, just miles from Georgia Tech’s campus, but expect there to be more Tigers fans in attendance.
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