Last year, the ACC didn’t have 1 conference game that appeared on ABC at the 3:30 or 7:30 time slot. Sure, there were primetime games against SEC opponents. There were primetime games on ESPN and noon games on ABC, which is still good, but let’s face it, ABC in primetime on Saturday is getting the biggest ratings.
Last year, a #11 Texas A&M vs unranked South Carolina was selected over a top 20 matchuup between SMU vs Pittsburgh, which ended up on the ACC network. Other than that, there weren’t a lot of ACC conference matchups that you would put over the top 2 SEC games of that week.
That raises the question: Will the ACC ever get a conference game on ABC at 3:30 or 7:30?
We know the first 3 weeks don’t have an ACC conference at those times.
What candidates could we have later in the year?
October 4, 2025
Clemson at UNC and Miami at Florida State are candidates.
You probably can’t have more than 1 loss going into any of those game matchups to have a shot
October 18, 2025
SMU at Clemson has a chance, if SMU can repeat of last year. Both teams need to have 1 loss or less.
November 8, 2025
Florida State at Clemson has obviously been the ACC’s biggest game in most years. If they both come into the game ranked, it would be interesting how ESPN would treat that game.
November 22, 2025
Miami at Virginia Tech would be a great matchup and intriguing selection if the Hokies could somehow turn into a top 25 team, which doesn’t seem likely this year, but you never know.
Of course, any top 25 ACC conference game is a candidate for ABC, but would ESPN actually move a precious SEC game off of primetime ABC? I highly doubt it, but at least the ACC can make it a conversation by winning games and having attractive matchups.
Don’t make the decision easy.
