Early spotlight games for Wolfpack, Tar Heels

North Carolina and N.C. State will both get an early turn in the 2013 college football season in the national spotlight.

In November, the Wolfpack, Tar Heels and Duke will all get a shot at each other on the field.

The ACC released the dates of the football schedule on Monday, it previously released the opponents. UNC will open the season at South Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 29 on ESPN. The Tar Heels, who went 8-4 in Larry Fedora's first season in 2012, will also host another Thursday night game on ESPN.

The Wolfpack, in coach Dave Doeren's first season, will play eight home games, including the first four of the season. The Pack gets preseason ACC favorite Clemson in an early (Sept. 19) Thursday night showcase game on ESPN.

UNC, which has only hosted one Thursday night game at Kenan Stadium (a 30-27 loss to Florida State in 2009), will face Miami on ESPN on Thursday, Oct. 17.

The Wolfpack and Blue Devils both open the season at home on Aug. 31. State faces Louisiana Tech, which will be the debut of former East Carolina coach Skip Holtz with the Bulldogs, and the Blue Devils host Durham neighbor N.C. Central.

Both UNC and N.C. State will get a visit from ECU this season.

The Triangle teams will all meet on the field for the first time since the 2009 season. UNC travels to N.C. State on Nov. 2, the Pack goes to Duke the next Saturday and Duke finishes the regular season at UNC on Nov. 30.

Duke, 6-7 a year ago, beat UNC last season and the Tar Heels beat N.C. State. This will be only the third time since the ACC expanded before the 2004 season that Duke and N.C. State will play in football.

N.C. State is in transition after a 7-6 finish in 2012. Doeren, who led Northern Illinois to a 12-win season and the Orange Bowl, was hired to replace Tom O'Brien in December.

The Wolfpack also needs to replace Mike Glennon, who's expected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the NFL draft. The Pack's new quarterback won't have to go on the road until Oct. 5 (at Wake Forest) and will only have to leave the state twice — at FSU on Oct. 26 and at Boston College on Nov. 16.

Duke is trying to put together back-to-back bowl trips for the first time in school history. The Blue Devils avoid Clemson and Florida State (as does UNC) in the ACC and has a chance to sweep its nonconference games (N.C. Central, at Memphis, Troy and Navy).

The Blue Devils close the season with consecutive in-state road trips at Wake Forest on Nov. 23 and then at UNC.

The ACC is expanding to 14 teams in 2013. N.C. State hosts Syracuse, which will be in the Atlantic Division, on Oct. 12. Pittsburgh, which is in the Coastal Division, goes to Duke on Sept. 21 and UNC visits the Panthers on Nov. 16.

This will be Maryland's final season in the ACC, before jumping to the Big Ten. The Terrapins last ACC football game will be in Raleigh on Nov. 30 against N.C. State.

The 2013 ACC football schedules:

N.C. State
Aug. 31 Louisiana Tech
Sept. 7 Richmond
Sept. 14 open
Sept. 19 Clemson (ESPN)
Sept. 28 Central Michigan
Oct. 5 at Wake Forest
Oct. 12 Syracuse
Oct. 19 open
Oct. 26 at Florida State
Nov. 2 UNC
Nov. 9 at Duke
Nov. 16 at Boston College
Nov. 23 East Carolina
Nov. 30 Maryland

UNC
Aug. 29 at South Carolina (ESPN)
Sept. 7 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 14 open
Sept. 21 at Georgia Tech
Sept. 28 ECU
Oct. 5 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 12 open
Oct. 17 Miami (ESPN)
Oct. 26 Boston College
Nov. 2 at N.C. State
Nov. 9 Virginia
Nov. 16 at Pittsburgh
Nov. 23 Old Dominion
Nov. 30 Duke

Duke
Aug. 31 N.C. Central
Sept. 7 at Memphis
Sept. 14 Georgia Tech
Sept. 21 Pittsburgh
Sept. 28 Troy
Oct. 5 open
Oct. 12 Navy
Oct. 19 at Virginia
Oct. 26 at Virginia Tech
Nov. 2 open
Nov. 9 N.C. State
Nov. 16 Miami
Nov. 23 at Wake Forest
Nov. 30 at UNC

Composite ACC schedule
Thursday, Aug. 29
UNC at South Carolina, ESPN
Presbyterian at Wake Forest

Friday, Aug. 30
Florida Atlantic at Miami

Saturday, Aug. 31
Villanova at Boston College
Georgia at Clemson
N.C. Central at Duke
Elon at Georgia Tech
Florida International at Maryland
Louisiana Tech at N.C. State
Penn State vs. Syracuse at East Rutherford, N.J.
BYU at Virginia
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech at Atlanta

Monday, Sept. 2
Florida State at Pittsburgh, ESPN, 8 pm

Friday, Sept. 6
Wake Forest at Boston College, ESPN or ESPN2

Saturday, Sept. 7
South Carolina State at Clemson
Duke at Memphis
Old Dominion at Maryland
Florida at Miami
Middle Tennessee at UNC
Richmond at N.C. State
Syracuse at Northwestern
Oregon at Virginia
Western Carolina at Virginia Tech

Saturday, Sept.14
Boston College at USC
Georgia Tech at Duke
Nevada at Florida State
Maryland at Connecticut
New Mexico at Pittsburgh
Wagner at Syracuse
Virginia Tech at East Carolina
Louisiana-Monroe at Wake Forest

Thursday, Sept. 19
Clemson at N.C. State, ESPN

Saturday, Sept. 21
Pittsburgh at Duke
Bethune-Cookman at Florida State
UNC at Georgia Tech
West Virginia vs. Maryland at Baltimore
Savannah State at Miami
Tulane at Syracuse
VMI at Virginia
Marshall at Virginia Tech
Wake Forest at Army

Thursday, Sept. 26
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, ESPN

Saturday, Sept. 28
Florida State at Boston College
Wake Forest at Clemson
Troy at Duke
Miami at South Florida
East Carolina at UNC
Central Michigan at N.C. State
Virginia at Pittsburgh

Saturday, Oct. 5
Army at Boston College
Clemson at Syracuse
Maryland at Florida State
Georgia Tech at Miami
UNC at Virginia Tech
N.C. State at Wake Forest
Ball State at Virginia

Saturday, Oct. 12
Boston College at Clemson
Navy at Duke
Georgia Tech at BYU
Virginia at Maryland
Syracuse at N.C. State
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech

Thursday, Oct. 17
Miami at UNC, ESPN

Saturday, Oct.19
Florida State at Clemson
Duke at Virginia
Syracuse at Georgia Tech
Maryland at Wake Forest
Old Dominion at Pittsburgh

Saturday, Oct. 26
Boston College at UNC
Clemson at Maryland
Duke at Virginia Tech
N.C. State at Florida State
Georgia Tech at Virginia
Wake Forest at Miami
Pittsburgh at Navy

Saturday, Nov. 2
Virginia Tech at Boston College
Clemson at Virginia
Miami at Florida State
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech
UNC at NC State
Wake Forest at Syracuse

Saturday, Nov. 9
Boston College at New Mexico State
N.C. State at Duke
Florida State at Wake Forest
Syracuse at Maryland
Virginia Tech at Miami
Virginia at UNC
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

Thursday, Nov. 14
Georgia Tech at Clemson, ESPN

Saturday, Nov. 16
N.C. State at Boston College
Miami at Duke
Syracuse at Florida State
Maryland at Virginia Tech
UNC at Pittsburgh

Saturday, Nov. 23
Boston College at Maryland
The Citadel at Clemson
Duke at Wake Forest
Idaho at Florida State
Alabama A&M at Georgia Tech
Virginia at Miami
Old Dominion at UNC
East Carolina at N.C. State
Pittsburgh at Syracuse

Friday, Nov. 29
Miami at Pittsburgh

Saturday, Nov. 30
Boston College at Syracuse
Clemson at South Carolina
Duke at UNC
Florida State at Florida
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Maryland at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Virginia
Wake Forest at Vanderbilt

Saturday, Dec. 7
ACC Championship Game, at Charlotte