The annual rivalry game between Duke and North Carolina on the gridiron usually features fans dressed in layers and sporting warm hats on a crisp November day. Not this year.
The Blue Devils and Tar Heels will face off Sept. 23 in Chapel Hill, the first time the game will ever fall before the month of October. Michael Strickland, the ACC’s senior associate commissioner for football operations who has been responsible for making the conference schedule since 2013, explained that the scheduling quirk was not a conscious decision to give an early spotlight to the Tobacco Road rivalry.