Notre Dame hosts Duke in its Sept. 12 ACC opener

Notre Dame will open its first-ever season of conference football when Duke visits South Bend, Ind., on Sept. 12 to kick off its Atlantic Coast Conference campaign.

The ACC released its full schedule Thursday, with all 15 conference schools — including the Fighting Irish — playing an 11-game schedule, with 10 league games and one nonconference tilt.

The first game of the season will be played Sept. 10 when Miami hosts UAB.

Notre Dame, which joined the ACC for basketball in 2013-14, put aside its traditional independent status in football due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Irish’s only nonconference game will be against Western Michigan on Sept. 19, meaning Notre Dame and Navy will not face each other for the first time since 1926. The Irish and Midshipmen originally were slated to square off in Dublin, Ireland, but the game later was moved to Annapolis, Md., due to travel concerns. The ACC, however, requires all nonconference games to played in each school’s home state.

Coming off its loss to LSU in last season’s College Football Playoff championship game, Clemson opens the season at Wake Forest on Sept. 12. The Tigers, who cannot play rival South Carolina because of the SEC’s 10-game league schedule, have not yet scheduled a nonconference opponent for their scheduled Sept. 19 home opener.

All 15 ACC schools are competing in one division this fall, instead of the league’s traditional Atlantic and Coastal divisions.

The 2020 ACC Championship Game will be played on Dec. 12 or 19 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Open dates were placed throughout the 13-week span to allow for maximum scheduling flexibility. Each team will play five home games and five road contests in ACC play. –Field Level Media ()