Notre Dame football is officially a member of the ACC (for 2020 at least)

Notre Dame football will be a huge part of ACC football in 2020 season.

Notre Dame football will play a 10-game ACC football schedule during the 2020 NCAA season.

In the age of the coronavirus, we were expected the Power 5 conferences to do whatever was in their best interest to keep playing college football, as well as do their best to control the spread of the virus. While the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced weeks ago they were going conference-only, the ACC will go conference-only with 10 games, as well as a plus-one with a caveat.

As expected Notre Dame was grouped into the ACC’s plans this year, as the Fighting Irish are full-time members in every other sport of note in the ACC. Notre Dame plays six ACC games anyway as a quasi-football member, while maintaining national independence, as well as that sweet television contract with NBC every other college football program is most jealous of.

Here is everything you must know about Notre Dame playing in the ACC.

For this one season, Notre Dame will be treated as a full-time member of the ACC football landscape. Because they’ll be the 15th team playing in the ACC this year, divisions have been abolished this fall, as everyone will play 10 conference games (five home, five away), as well as one non-conference game that must be played in the home state of the program in question.

Here is who Notre Dame will play this season as full-time members of the ACC for 2020.

• Home games: Clemson Tigers, Duke Blue Devils, Florida State Seminoles, Louisville Cardinals, Syracuse Orange
• Road games: Boston College Eagles, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, North Carolina Tar Heels, Pittsburgh Panthers, Wake Forest Demon Deacons

These 10 games, as well as the one non-conference game that must be played in the team in question’s home state, will be played from Sept. 7 to Dec. 5. The top two teams in ACC play, based on winning percentage will get to play for the ACC Championship Game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, either on Dec. 12 or Dec. 19. Notre Dame can win the ACC.

If Notre Dame were to win the ACC or come in second place to the Clemson Tigers, the Irish would be eligible to represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl, assuming they don’t qualify for the College Football Playoff. The other big thing of note is the NBC television contract Notre Dame has will see its revenue split amongst all 15 teams playing in the ACC this year. That’s tough luck for the Irish.

Looking at Notre Dame’s 10-game ACC schedule, the Irish are lucky to still have Clemson at home, as well as an on-the-rise Louisville Cardinals team coming to South Bend. However, a road date with the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill could be tough. Overall, Notre Dame can probably go 9-1 or 8-2 in ACC play and play presumably Clemson for the ACC Championship this year.

Notre Dame being full-blown members of the ACC this year may not be a bad thing after all.

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