Testy road schedule in ACC play for Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech will have a particularly challenging road schedule in ACC play in the 2018-19 season. Of the Yellow Jackets’ nine away games in conference play, eight are against teams that made the NCAA Tournament this past season. That’s the most in the ACC, according to a tweet from Tech voice Andy Demetra. This past season, Tech played five such teams and lost all five games.
The ACC released the home and road opponents in league play for all 15 teams Tuesday. Tech will have four opponents in home-and-home series: Permanent partners Clemson and Notre Dame, as well as Florida State and Virginia Tech. Tech will also play home games against Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. The road games will be against Duke, Miami, N.C. State, Syracuse and Virginia.
Of the road games, all but Notre Dame made the field of 68 in March, and the Irish likely would have earned a berth if not for injuries to stars Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell.
Of the Yellow Jackets’ nine opponents they’ll face at McCamish, five (Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina and Virginia Tech) made the NCAA Tournament. That’s tied for fewest in the league.
Dates and times for ACC games have been released in September for the past three years.
The rigorous road slate adds a thick layer of difficulty for Tech, which is 2-16 on the road in league games in coach Josh Pastner’s tenure.
This will be the last of seven seasons that the ACC will play 18-game league schedules. The conference will expand to a 20-game schedule for the 2019-20 season.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
