Duke football to face in-state foes annually under new ACC schedule model beginning 2023

Goodbye, Atlantic and Coastal divisions.

The ACC announced Tuesday its new football scheduling model which will begin in 2023. The model uses a “3-5-5” structure such that each team plays three primary opponents annually and will cycle through the other 10 teams with home-away matchups over a four-year span from 2023-26.

Duke’s primary opponents will be its three in-state foes: North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

The change ends the 17-year run where the conference was split into the Atlantic and Coastal divisions now that the NCAA has loosened restrictions on how a conference can determine the participants in its championship game. The ACC championship will now feature the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages.

The move will affect the Coastal division’s notable parity over the last nine seasons, in which each of the division’s seven teams reached the ACC championship game. Additionally, the change will mean more consistent opportunities to play each other team, whereas Duke has only played N.C. State once in the last eight seasons.