Schedule Grading -- ACC

 With no games on tap, and with most of the coaching moves finalized and the recruiting hay being put in the barn, attention for most turns to spring football. Different teams have different start dates, but we know that everyone will end their spring drills feeling good about themselves and proclaiming their team ready to go.

That's all well and good, but a lot of the time schedule dictates how well your team fares.

We're going to take a look at 2018 schedules for the Power 5 conferences, beginning today with the Atlantic Coast Conference. What follows is a grading system, with more weight being given for tough non-conference games (even more so if they are on the road). Teams won't be penalized a ton for missing the top teams in their league because that's set by the conference, not by them. We are mainly looking at the games the schools choose to play. Teams WILL be dinged for playing FCS squads, as they should know better.

BOSTON COLLEGE
NC sked: UMass, Holy Cross, at Purdue, Temple
Conference sked: at Wake Forest, at NC State, Louisville, Miami, at Virginia Tech, Clemson, at Florida State, Syracuse
NC grade: D+; This is mainly because of Purdue. Were the Boilermakers not on it would be a big fat F. Yeah, keeping the other games because of regional favor is great, but won't do much to help the Eagles SOS.
Conference grade: A-; BC fans will have a chance to see some great games, with Louisville, Miami and Clemson coming to Chestnut Hill. Road tilts against NC State and Virginia Tech will be tough.
Overall grade: C+ 

CLEMSON
NC sked: Furman, at Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, South Carolina
Conference sked: at Georgia Tech, Syracuse, at Wake Forest, NC State, at Florida State, Louisville, at Boston College, Duke
NC grade: C+; going on the road to College Station is nice, but probably won't be competitive, and having the season-ending Palmetto Bowl at home means the Tigers have a pretty big advantage, even against an improved Gamecocks squad.
Conference grade: B+; Florida State is the only road test that can be considered at all tricky, and Louisville and NC State at home should be pretty easy. No Miami or Virginia Tech, either.
Overall grade: C

DUKE
NC sked: Army, at Northwestern, at Baylor, North Carolina Central
Conference sked: Virginia Tech, at Georgia Tech, Virginia, at Pittsburgh, at Miami, North Carolina, at Clemson, Wake Forest
NC grade: B+; If only NC Central wasn't a part of this. Duke is ambitious, hosting a good Army team before going on the road to face Northwestern and an improving Baylor squad.
Conference grade: A-; No gimmes here, as the Blue Devils host Virginia Tech and travel to Clemson and Miami. Duke could be a better team in 2018, but the record might not reflect it.
Overall grade: A-

FLORIDA STATE
NC sked: Samford, Northern Illinois, at Notre Dame, Florida
Conference sked: Virginia Tech, at Syracuse, at Louisville, at Miami, Wake Forest, Clemson, at NC State, Boston College
NC grade: A-; It would have been a A or even A+ if the Seminoles avoided Samford. Going to Notre Dame and ending the season with the Gators will show how much progress FSU has made in year one of Willie Taggart.
Conference grade: A-; Welcome to the ACC, Willie. All four of the league's heavy hitters are on the slate, Virginia Tech and Clemson at home and Miami and NC State away. Only Boston College would be considered a layup, and given the Seminoles 2017 troubles even that might be a tester.  
Overall grade: A-     

GEORGIA TECH
NC sked: Alcorn State, at South Florida, Bowling Green, at Georgia
Conference sked: at Pittsburgh, Clemson, at Louisville, Duke, at Virginia Tech, at North Carolina, Miami, Virginia
NC grade: B; Taking on rival Georgia in Athens is no picnic, and traveling to USF could be tricky. But BG is seen as a lower rung MAC squad, and Alcorn State is FCS. Not exactly intimidating.
Conference grade: B+; Getting Clemson and Miami at home should be exciting, and a trip to Virginia Tech could be a landmine. But the rest of the schedule is manageable.
Overall grade: B   

LOUISVILLE
NC sked: vs Alabama, Indiana State, Western Kentucky, Kentucky
Conference sked: at Virginia, Florida State, Georgia Tech, at Boston College, Wake Forest, at Clemson, at Syracuse, NC State
NC grade: B+; You would think that having Alabama on the slate would mean an automatic A, but including Indiana State and an overhauled Western Kentucky knocks it down a bit.
Conference grade: B-; Clemson on the road is scary, but there isn't anything else truly intimidating on the slate. Life after Lamar may not be as bad as some think.
Overall grade: B
  
MIAMI, FLA.
NC sked: vs LSU, Savannah State, at Toledo, Florida International
Conference sked: North Carolina, Florida State, at Virginia, at Boston College, Duke, at Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh
NC grade: C+; The opening showdown with LSU should be tasty, and facing former coach Butch Davis and FIU will generate storylines. But the rest of it is pretty blah. Savannah State? Really?  
Conference grade: C-; The only really dicey contest is in Blacksburg, and while FSU at home could be interesting, the Seminoles will likely still be adjusting to Willie Taggart. 
Overall grade: C

NORTH CAROLINA
NC sked: at California, at East Carolina, UCF, Western Carolina
Conference sked: Pittsburgh, at Miami, Virginia Tech, at Syracuse, at Virginia, Georgia Tech, at Duke, NC State
NC grade: B+; Like Duke, the appearance of an FCS school keeps this from being an A. Hosting UCF will be intriguing, and going on the road to face Cal and ECU will not be cakewalks.
Conference grade: B; The Tar Heels miss Clemson, but have to travel to Miami, so that is tough. Hosting NC State is always a big thing, and getting Virginia Tech at home could be interesting.
Overall grade: B  

NORTH CAROLINA STATE
NC sked: James Madison, Georgia State, West Virginia, at Marshall
Conference sked: Virginia, Boston College, at Clemson, at Syracuse, Florida State, Wake Forest, at Louisville, at North Carolina
NC grade: B-; Another FCS team (JMU), though this one is at least top tier. Going to Marshall could be tricky, and the home tilt with West Virginia is one of the marquee matchups of 2018.
Conference grade: B-; Going to Clemson is never a good thing, but the rest of the schedule seems pretty good. Florida State and Wake at home helps, and while going to Louisville could be dicey, the Cards won't be as good as they were last year.  
Overall grade: B-

PITTSBURGH
NC sked: Albany, Penn State, at UCF, at Notre Dame
Conference sked: Georgia Tech, at North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke, at Virginia, Virginia Tech, at Wake Forest, at Miami
NC grade: A-; Yeah, yeah, I know that I've dinged others for FCS teams, and Albany isn't even a good one. But PSU, UCF and Notre Dame could all be top 15 squads, so bravo to Pat Narduzzi for taking them on.
Conference grade: B+; Not a ton of sexy matchups, outside of going to Miami -- think the Canes will remember this year's result in Pittsburgh? Virginia Tech at home should be a challenge, but the rest is pretty uninspiring.
Overall grade: B+

SYRACUSE
NC sked: at Western Michigan, Wagner, UConn, at Notre Dame
Conference sked: Florida State, at Clemson, at Pittsburgh, North Carolina, NC State, at Wake Forest, Louisville, at Boston College
NC grade: B-; Going to South Bend could prove overwhelming, and opening with WMU won't be easy, either. But Wagner and UConn should allow the Orange to go .500 in non-league play.
Conference grade: C+; FSU and Clemson right out of the chute could be a real problem, but after that only NC State is truly intimidating. Don't be surprised if Syracuse flirts with a bowl bid thanks to this slate.
Overall grade: C+   

VIRGINIA
NC sked: Richmond, at Indiana, Ohio, Liberty
Conference sked: Louisville, at NC State, Miami, at Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, at Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech.
NC sked: D+; Not one, but two FCS schools ... shame, shame, shame. Yeah, Richmond isn't bad, but this is one of the poorer schedules out there.
Conference grade: A-; Conversely, the ACC slate is a meat-grinder, with only Clemson being absent. Trips to NC State and Virginia Tech and a home game with Miami will be the difference between going bowling and staying home, so the Cavaliers need to take care of business against the rest of the slate.
Overall grade: C+

VIRGINIA TECH
NC sked: William & Mary, East Carolina, at Old Dominion, Notre Dame
Conference sked: at Florida State, at Duke, at North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Boston College, at Pittsburgh, Miami, Virginia
NC grade: C-; Hosting the Irish will be special for the fans in Blacksburg, but the remaining games should amount to practices.
Conference grade: C-; Four of the last five at home, with only Miami as a challenger, brings this grade down a tad. The opener with Florida State will have hype, but the rest of the slate is pretty boring.     
Overall grade: C- 

WAKE FOREST
NC sked: at Tulane, Towson, Notre Dame, Rice
Conference sked: Boston College, Clemson, at Florida State, at Louisville, Syracuse, at NC State, Pittsburgh, at Duke
NC grade: C-; Notre Dame visiting Winston-Salem will be big, and Tulane will be improved in 2018. Nothing else stands out, though.
Conference sked: B-; Road trips to Tallahassee and Raleigh will be tough, as will Clemson at home. A lot of tossup games here, which the Demon Deacons will need to win if they want to make a third straight bowl appearance.   
Overall grade: C+  

Wednesday: Big 12 schedules