Because we are all thinking about football right now.
Here is a glance at the schedules for all ACC teams. UNC's looks like this:
[table id=83 /]
Notes:
- UNC opens the season with I-AA James Madison who might not be as easy a game as one would hope versus the lower division. JMU beat Virginia Tech last season but right now I could not tell you the first thing about what they are bringing back.
- The Heels open with three straight home games which is a nice since UNC will have a QB making the first starts of his collegiate career in Bryn Renner. Three games is a good stretch for him to get his feet wet.
- UNC plays 2 of 3 Atlantic Division teams on the road. The Heels travel to Clemson for the first time since the infamous 52 to whatever beatdown that spelled the beginning of the end for the last guy. UNC will travel to Raleigh and hopefully be able to solve the Wolfpack now that Russell Wilson is out of the picture. UNC will host Wake Forest which means the Atlantic Division portion of the schedule is not overly daunting.
- In the Coastal Division, UNC hosts UVa, Miami and Duke. The Heels travel to Georgia Tech and plays in Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on a Thursday night. I don't care for that given how well the Hokies play on Thursday night and yes, I know full well UNC won there in 2009 on a Thursday night.
- On the non-conference slate the Kobiyashi Maru test will be conducted in Greenville this season. The other three non-conference games come at home versus JMU, Rutgers and Louisville. Once again the Heels will try and stake a partial claim to the Big East title.
- One point of concern is UNC will play ten games before seeing their bye week. That could make staying healthy or at the very least fresh a difficult task. Last season UNC got the bye after the first game and played the rest of the season without a break. The attrition by season's end on the injury front was fairly brutal.
- At this point I have no idea what any of these teams bring back or whether this constitutes a difficult schedule or not. On UNC's end, a great deal will depend on Renner being as good as advertised and finding some help for Ryan Houston in the backfield. Overall, the NCAA issues last season permitted Butch Davis to play a variety of players, especially on defense and get them some experience. That should bode well for 2011.