UNC has released a quick guide for football fans dealing with game day logistics. The primary news is parking related - with the Bell Tower and Boshamer lots closed, the Nash (by the water tower) and Mason Farm lots have been converted to Rams Club parking. Manning is still the recommended tailgating spot, and as always, there are shuttles from various points around town.

More for my own edification than anything else, how the standings will look at midseason:

Yeah, it's not what I would have thought going in either. Look for a lot of excited articles on the ACC's chances in October that will be horribly, horribly wrong come November.

October 4th

Self-evident: Western Kentucky at Virginia Tech, Maryland at Virginia, Duke at Georgia Tech

Boston College at N.C. State: Tom O'Brien gets to see his old employers for the first time without super-QB Matt Ryan. But Ryan didn't actually do all that well in O'Brien's first reunion - it was the running game (and State's five interceptions) that steamrolled the Wolfpack 37-17. And yet, I have more faith in State than I do the Eagles. I may be coming down with something.

Florida State at Miami: FSU was Miami's sole win in the latter half of the season, and it took two touchdowns in the last 1:15 to pull it off. FSU is improving, Miami is running out of players not on suspension, and there's no way the Seminoles are going to let this happen again.

Connecticut at North Carolina: The conventional wisdom is that the Heels will be overlooking this game, coming off of the road game against Miami and heading into the Notre Dame game. I don't really get this. The teams that overlook games are the ones with a season-long perspective - you know, the ones that are winning. (See Clemson, the inevitable fall of) UNC will most likely be .500 going into this game, and UConn is a good team. I didn't think so when I saw them play Pitt, but they were the anti-UNC, winning most of the close games and elbowing their way to a 9-4 record. Look for them to regress to the mean this season, and hopefully for Carolina to give them a bit of a push in that direction.

October 11th

Self-evident: Gardner-Webb at Georgia Tech

Clemson at Wake Forest: The only in-conference game of the week, and the only two Atlantic Division teams taking the field. I'm sure this means something, I just don't know what.

Wake's recent success has oddly come at the expense of Clemson - how happy do you think IPTAY is to see Wake above them in the standings - without the Deacons having actually beaten Clemson. Yep, bowl-bound Wake couldn't get past the Tigers, but the 4-7 2003 squad could destroy them 45-17. This is the beginning of the long, hard stretchfor Clemson, with Wake being followed by GaTech, BC and FSU. They're bound to lose on of them, but this won't be it.

UCF at Miami: By this point, George O'Leary has to be really confused by all these strange teams with ACC patches on their jersies. UCF will be the same team that faced Boston College two weeks ago; Miami will be a slightly worse opponent. But what self-respecting team is going to lose to an upstart Conference USA team from the same state? It's just ludicrous.

Notre Dame at North Carolina: I believe I've been confronted with this scenario before. And, well...

I did graduate (honest!) and now I have a chance to correct my early blogging mistake. There's just one thing - I still think UNC is going to win. Notre Dame's season without Brady Quinn the offensive line that protected Brady Quinn was less than spectacular (Hey, I do know something.) The offense won't be as bad this season, but it will still be one of the few teams the UNC will face where their defense will be the experienced side of the ball. And history's on the Heels' side. They beat the Irish in Chapel Hill once, and ND's only won like sixteen times. I don't know why the Irish are even making the trip.

East Carolina at Virginia: I've waffled on East Carolina so far this preview, swinging from thinking of them as a team that could take Virginia Tech to the wire to considering them outclassed by N.C. State. And yes, those are pretty divergent thoughts, although a young Hokie team in the opening week is a much different animal than another young team a month in. But here I'll split the middle - East Carolina is simply a better team than Virginia.

September 20th

Self-evident: South Carolina St. at Clemson, Eastern Michigan at Maryland.

UCF at Boston College: I was all set to call this George O'Leary's triumphant return to the ACC, until I remembered that was actually last year, when UCF opened the season by knocking off N.C. State on the way to a Conference USA championship and a ten-win season. So instead, it's just George O'Leary playing an ACC school he never shared a conference with. And bringing along a new cast of characters, especially at QB and RB. So will BC, but BC's got a better base to start from.

Wake Forest at Florida State: The Seminoles have lost two straight to Wake, a thought that was inconceivable as recently as, well, two years ago. And this is basically the same Wake team, minus some holes on the offensive line, facing an FSU team that will have only seen D1-AA opponents up to this point. And yet, I'm leaning towards Wake not being able to make it three in a row. Jimbo Fisher isn't going to singe-handedly save the program, but he'll improve on the last two offensive performances.

East Carolina at N.C. State: ECU couldn't beat the Wolfpack at home last year. I don't think they'll be able to do so on the road. I mean really, what sort of self-respecting ACC school could possibly lose at home to the Pirates?

Mississippi St. at Georgia Tech: I'm full-bore on the Georgia Tech bandwagon for the duration of the preseason. But I'm also high on what Sylvester Croom's doing at MSU. And it's typically a safe pick to go for the SEC against the ACC. 

Miami at Texas A&M: I was shocked that Miami beat the Aggies last year at home. That shock didn't last, as it was the Hurricanes last impressive home win, followed by a sloppy win over Duke and three losses to Georgia Tech, N.C. State, and Virginia. Texas A&M only lost once in College Station last year, and they forced out their coach. Miami may be following the Aggies in that regard after another season or two.

Virginia Tech at North Carolina: Man, I want to pick UNC for this game. Both teams will be coming off tough opponents - don't laugh, GaTech is going to be a force, even though I keep picking them to lose - and UNC will have an extra couple of days rest. And an experienced recieving corps. And hopefully not a quarterback-by-committee. But I just can't pick the Heels. They should win, they can win, but until they do win, the smart money's on the Hokies.

September 27th

Self-evident: Rhode Island at Boston College, Navy at Wake Forest.

Maryland at Clemson: If living in the heart of the Terrapin fan base has taught me anything, it's that there is no Terrapin fan base. I know nothing about this team, save the headline on the local free paper proclaiming that Friedgen has a plan for this season. Which is nice, I suppose. Clemson should handle them easily, except Clemson never handles the teams they should handle easily without a bit of trouble.

Colorado at Florida State: FSU won't be as good as most people think, and Colorado looks like they'll improve on last season's 6-7 record. But there's still a large enough gap that the Seminoles should put away a team that gave up 47, 55, and 51 points in games last season.

South Florida at N.C. State: For two straight years now I've watched USF and Matt Grothe light up UNC for 37 points a game. Wolfpack fans are hoping State won't be as bad as the Heels were the last to years - and that's definitely an achievable goal - but USF should still be able to handle them.

Virginia at Duke: If there's a conference game the Blue Devils have a chance at winning, this is most likely it. The Cavaliers lost a lot of players to graduation, the pros, and Jamie Sewell not really grasping the whole "student" part of "student-athlete." They can still beat the Blue Devils, though, especially without their leading rusher.

North Carolina at Miami: Miami's lost three straight conference games at home. UNC hasn't won outside the state since the Mesolithic Era. Something has to give, and frankly, Butch Davis has a better track record in Miami than Randy Shannon.

Virginia Tech at Nebraska: This should be an easy win for the Hokies. Nebraska's coming off of a sky-is-falling season - only one win better than UNC - and a new coach can't work miracles in only four games. The only thing is... no, there is no only thing. Virginia Tech brings a little pride to the ACC.

Details here. Best of luck to Alex, as long as he's not playing against Carolina. Have fun frustrating UCLA.