ACC proposes 8-game, plus-1 football schedule similar to SEC's

Following the SEC's lead two weeks ago, ACC commissioner John Swofford has recommended that the league stay at eight conference games for football, as long as teams play Notre Dame or another team from the the power five conferences each year.

Swofford announces recommendation to play 8 #ACC games + 1 vs group of 5 or ND, starting in '17. Sending to business session for approval

— ACC Football (@theACCfootball) May 12, 2014

Like the SEC's announcement, this changes very little. Florida State (which plays Florida), Clemson (South Carolina), Louisville (Kentucky) and Georgia Tech (Georgia) are already covered each year. Plus, the league announced that five teams will play Notre Dame each year in a new agreement between the Irish and the conference.

ND's ACC foes: 2014-Home: UNC, UL, Wake; At FSU, SU; 2015-Home: BC, GT; At Clem, Pitt, UVa; 2016-Home: Duke, UM, VT; At: NCSU, SU

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) April 19, 2013

The new rule could also include BYU, Army and Navy.

Asked Swofford about whether BYU would count. He said that didn’t come up, but they’d be discussed along w/ Army and Navy.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) May 12, 2014

This proposal is really for perception more than anything. If it was put in place for 2014, half of the conference's teams would meet the standard from rivalries/Notre Dame alone. In fact, every ACC team but NC State meets the requirement this year.