The ACC and the Virginia football team released the revised 2020 schedule Thursday morning. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the conference previously decided on a 10+1 model that would allow for 10 league games and one non-conference game this season. Thursday’s announcement provided the assigned dates for the new schedule.
The Cavaliers, who previously were scheduled to open the season on Monday, Sept. 7 in Atlanta against Georgia, will now start their season on Friday, Sept. 11 against VMI. The Keydets were on the original schedule for Sept. 12 and and this allows UVA to still keep six home games on the revised schedule. Connecticut, another non-con opponent from the original schedule, already has cancelled its season.
The full 2020 schedule with dates for Virginia looks like this (an image with all the ACC’s assigned dates is provided as well):
- Sept. 11 vs. VMI (Friday)
- Sept. 19 at Virginia Tech
- Sept. 26 OPEN
- Oct. 3 at Clemson
- Oct. 10 vs. NC State
- Oct. 17 at Wake Forest
- Oct. 24 at Miami
- Oct. 31 vs. North Carolina
- Nov. 7 vs. Louisville
- Nov. 14 vs. Duke
- Nov. 21 OPEN
- Nov. 28 at Florida State
- Dec. 5 vs. Boston College
Here’s a quick breakdown for some of the interesting parts of Virginia’s new schedule.
- The battle for the Commonwealth Cup with Virginia Tech is set for the second weekend of the slate. This marks the first time since 2005 that the game will not be played on the final weekend of the regular season. UVA will have an extra day to prepare because VT opens with NC State on Saturday, Sept. 12. The Cavaliers snapped a 15-game skid against the Hokies last fall.
- The Hoos have four road games among the first six contests on the schedule, though the first of their two open dates help offset that a little bit. They travel to Blacksburg, Clemson, Wake Forest, and Miami in those first seven weeks.
- With no divisions this year in the ACC, Virginia does not see usual Coastal opponents Georgia Tech or Pittsburgh. It’s the first time since 1982 that the Hoos won’t play the Yellow Jackets in the regular season. The Cavaliers picked up NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest, and Boston College from the usual Atlantic Division this season. They face those four teams in two batches of two with NCSU and Wake back to back in October and FSU And BC back to back to end the season.
- The Halloween game with North Carolina is fitting perhaps because Scott Stadium had been sort of like a house of horrors for Mack Brown during his first go round in Chapel Hill. Brown’s teams went 0-5 in Charlottesville back then with losses of 50-17, 14-9, 17-10, 34-10, and 20-17. In that last one, the Hoos shocked the then No. 6 Tar Heels with a late rally.
- No team in ACC history has ever played at Clemson, at Miami, and at Florida State in the same year. Miami joined the league in 2004 and numerous teams played the trio in the same season from 2004 to 2012 before the second round of expansion. After that, only Atlantic teams that picked up Miami as a Coastal Division crossover opponent could face all three in the regular season. Playing all three in the same regular season has happened 27 total times, including Louisville last season. (UVA played all three last season as well thanks to the ACC Championship Game meeting with Clemson.)
