The ACC added some intrigue this week to an inevitable move toward a shorter fall soccer season.
The much-discussed incorporation of Notre Dame as an honorary member of the conference became official on Wednesday, and new games came with it as the league adopted a 10 plus 1 programming format (10 conference games and one non-game conference). ) Notre Dame not only added four additional games to its already heavy schedule in ACC games, but the conference eliminated divisions for a season.
With Notre Dame, a legitimate contender in the top 10, in the fold you can rule out all preseason screenings at the ACC. Notre Dame was already slated to host Clemson, but now, as a temporary member of the ACC, could the fighting Irish bother the Tigers and win the conference crown?
At the very least, the ACC received a much-needed boost with the addition of Notre Dame, as the ACC tries to shake off the label of a weak Clemson-dominated conference in the past half decade. However, the road will not be easy for Notre Dame, as they added Boston College, Florida State, North Carolina and Pittsburgh to their agenda.
Will Clemson rule the ACC again? Will we see Notre Dame and the Tigers face off twice with a rematch in the ACC Championship?
We asked seven national experts at 247Sports to forecast the order of completion at the conference, along with their surprise teams. We tabulate their votes and arrive at the final predictions. See the individual ballots and the final survey below.
