Tag: ACC Network

ACC Network back in Durham for Week 13 football game between Duke and Virginia Tech

ACC Network announced on Friday that ACC Huddle would be in Durham on Saturday ahead of Duke’s game against Virginia Tech.

For the second time in a month, ACC Network’s primary football show will be on-site in Durham for the weekend.

The channel announced on Friday that ACC Huddle would set up shop in Durham ahead of the Week 13 matchup between the Duke Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3) and Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5, 3-3).

Duke’s final home game of the season will be the nightcap on ACC Network, kicking off at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Blue Devils already revealed they’ll wear black jerseys and blue helmets, and the grounds crew painted the end zones black. In his first year with the program, head coach Manny Diaz won four of his first five games at Wallace Wade Stadium, and Duke is 15-3 within the friendly confines since the start of 2022.

ACC Huddle also stopped in the Bull City in Week 9 ahead of the Blue Devils’ battle with SMU, and that game resulted in an instant classic. Duke lined up for a game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation, but the Mustangs blocked the kick to force overtime.

The Blue Devils tried for a game-winning 2-point conversion, but Maalik Murphy’s pass sailed just past Eli Pancol’s outstretched hands.

Maalik Murphy rejoins top eight quarterbacks in ACC Network rankings after Week 12

With eight passing touchdowns in his last three games, Duke’s Maalik Murphy rejoined Tom Luginbill’s ranking of the best ACC quarterbacks.

Thanks to three straight impressive performances, Duke quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] keeps working his way toward the top of the conference.

ACC Network’s Tom Luginbill ranked Murphy as the seventh-best ACC quarterback on Wednesday through Week 12.

Murphy started his conference schedule with three straight games underneath 210 passing yards, but he’s thrown for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in his last three games. He helped Duke take SMU to overtime, the closest the Mustangs have come to an ACC loss this season, with three touchdowns in Week 9 before putting together his first 300-yard performance against Miami one week later.

The former Texas Longhorn has thrown 22 touchdowns this season, fourth among ACC quarterbacks and two short of Duke’s single-season school record. He’s also protected the football better since Week 4. Outside of a four-turnover game against Miami, he’s thrown one interception since September 21.

Luginbill predictably put Miami star Cam Ward in the top spot, where the Heisman Trophy candidate has spent much of the season thanks to his 3,494 yards and 32 touchdowns. SMU’s Kevin Jennings, Cade Klubnik of the Clemson Tigers, and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord took the next three spots in order.

Broadcast information revealed for the Week 14 Duke football game at Wake Forest

The ACC revealed the kickoff time and broadcast information for Duke football’s regular-season finale against Wake Forest.

The Duke Blue Devils will play their final regular-season football game of the year on ACC Network, the conference announced on Monday.

Duke travels to Wake Forest in Week 14 for an in-state battle with the Demon Deacons, and the ACC slotted them for a noon kickoff in their Week 14 schedule.

The Demon Deacons lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, a second straight defeat that dropped them to 4-6 for the season. They’ve won just two of their six conference games in 2024, and those victories came against Stanford and NC State, two teams with a combined 4-9 record in ACC play.

Wake Forest has looked especially vulnerable on the defensive side of the ball. The Demon Deacons have given up more than 437 yards per game this season, the 16th-most among FBS teams. For comparison, Duke sits third in the ACC with 341.0 yards per contest.

The Blue Devils could earn bragging rights over the entire state of North Carolina with a win. Duke chased down North Carolina after falling behind by 20 points back in Week 5, and when paired with a Week 11 win over NC State, one more victory would give it a season sweep.

ACC Network coming to Durham for the Week 9 game between Duke and SMU

ESPN announced on Friday that ACC Network would broadcast live from the Duke University campus before Saturday’s game against SMU.

The Duke Blue Devils and SMU Mustangs battle at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday with a combined record of 12-2, a game that should radically change the race to Charlotte for the conference championship game. So, of course, ACC Network plans to give the game its full attention.

ESPN announced on Friday that ACC Huddle, an ACC Network studio show, would be in Durham for its Week 9 coverage.

According to a social media post about the schedule, first-year Duke head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] would appear on the show. Steve Spurrier, one of three former Blue Devils coaches who will be at Saturday’s game, is also on the schedule.

The Blue Devils and Mustangs both introduce some unforeseen variance for the conference pecking order. SMU won 11 games last year, but it did so as a member of the American Athletic Conference, so questions remained about whether head coach Rhett Lashlee could win at the Power Four level. So, naturally, SMU is riding a four-game win streak and scoring more than 40 points per game this season.

Duke won 17 games under former coach Mike Elko in 2022-23, but expectations hovered around six wins in the first year of the Diaz era after losing more than a half-dozen starters to the NFL and the transfer portal. Instead, the defense sits fourth in the FBS in yards allowed per play (4.29) and per pass attempt (4.9).

The announcement said ACC Huddle will go live from the Bull City at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday morning.

Where did ACC Network rank Maalik Murphy among the conference quarterbacks?

ACC Network’s Tom Luginbill counted Maalik Murphy among the conference’s best QBs on Thursday, but how high did he rank the Duke starter?

First-year starting quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] has been incredibly productive through his first four games with the Blue Devils, and Tom Luginbill of ACC Network took notice.

Luginbill ranked the eight best quarterbacks in the conference on Thursday, and he put Murphy eighth on the list after Duke’s 4-0 start.

The Blue Devils clearly want to live and die by Murphy’s arm as he leads the conference with 143 attempts through Week 4. The former Texas Longhorn has thrown multiple touchdown passes in every game this season, including three in each of his last three starts. His 11 scoring throws are the third-most in the ACC and have him nearly halfway to breaking the school’s single-season record.

Murphy has thrown an interception in all four games, but he’s also one of six quarterbacks in the conference with 1,000 passing yards already.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward, a Heisman favorite thanks to his 1,439 yards and 14 passing touchdowns, predictably took the top spot, followed by Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik.

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The fact that Murphy has been so productive despite failing to connect on a lot of deep attempts could mean big things in conference play. Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer clearly trusts his guy to be aggressive downfield, and while Pro Football Focus says Murphy has only completed eight of his 27 deep attempts (at least 20 yards downfield), the margins have felt razor-thin.

Besides, no other ACC quarterback has thrown more than 23 deep passes, so the Blue Devils give themselves more chances at explosive plays than anyone in the conference. Perhaps there’s some positive regression coming against a North Carolina secondary that just gave up five touchdowns to James Madison last Saturday.

Broadcast information revealed for Duke basketball exhibition against Arizona State

A Wednesday report included new broadcast details for the Duke basketball exhibition against Arizona State.

[autotag]Bobby Hurley[/autotag] makes his return to Cameron Indoor Stadium next month, and according to a Wednesday report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Blue Devils fans around the country can watch him coach against his alma mater.

Rothstein said the scrimmage between Duke and Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils, which tips off at 7:00 p.m. on October 27, will air on ACC Network.

The scrimmage, which was confirmed on August 21, will raise money for the Duke Children’s Hospital.

Hurley has been the head coach at Arizona State since the 2015-16 season, and the Sun Devils have four 20-win campaigns and three NCAA Tournament appearances with him at the helm. Arizona State struggled down the stretch last season, losing 11 of their final 14 games after an 11-7 start, but Hurley led his squad to 23 wins and a semifinal appearance in the Pac-12 conference tournament in 2022-23.

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As a member of the Blue Devils from 1989-93, Hurley helped Duke win its first two national championships in 1991 and 1992. He dished out 1,076 career assists, a conference record that stands to this day.

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The Sun Devils will be Duke’s third and final exhibition appearance ahead of the 2024-25 season. The squad will scrimmage at the Countdown to Craziness on October 4 before hosting the Lincoln Lions on October 19.

ACC Network releases its hype video for the 2024 college football season

College football finally returned on Saturday with two ACC teams kicking it off, and ACC Network got everyone ready with a hype video.

The 2024 college football season finally got underway on Saturday, and the year appropriately began within the ACC.

Florida State and Georgia Tech traveled to Dublin for the first game on the national schedule, and ACC Network made sure fans around the conference were ready for the sport’s return.

The network released its annual introductory video on Saturday, set to the Shaboozy song “Last of My Kind,” to get everyone more excited than they already were. All 17 teams in the conference made at least one appearance in the montage, including new members California, Stanford, and SMU.

Duke fans could see the iconic Blue Devils mascot in the opening seconds and a short clip of defensive end Wesley Williams later on in the compilation. The crowds of Wallace Wade Stadium even made an appearance near the end.

Duke football is now less than a week away with the Blue Devils playing Elon at home next Friday.

ACC Network’s Eddie Royal says a bowl game would mark a successful Duke football season

During a Friday episode of ACC Football Road Trip, former NFL wideout Eddie Royal said a six wins for Duke football would count as a success.

The expectations for Duke football in 2024 are hard to figure out ahead of the season opener.

On one hand, the Blue Devils have won 17 games over the last two seasons, their best two-year span in a decade. Wide receiver Jordan Moore is on award watchlists and getting ACC Preseason Player of the Year votes.

On the other hand, they got a new head coach and still don’t know who their starting quarterback is.

During a Friday episode of ACC Football Road Trip, former Virginia Tech wide receiver Eddie Royal said six wins and a bowl game appearance would be a successful first year of the Manny Diaz era in his eyes.

Fellow ACC Network analyst Tom Luginbill said the back half of Duke’s schedule, which features Florida State, SMU, Miami, and NC State in four consecutive weeks, only adds to the difficulty of reaching the postseason.

“I mean, that is murderer’s row,” Luginbill added. “You got some tough road environments, you’ve got three or four teams that are expected to compete for the conference championship all in a row there.”

Even other opponents like Royal’s Hokies could throw their hat into the ring, and that doesn’t even mention how hard North Carolina always is to beat.

Royal and Luginbill also agreed that, aside from Diaz’s record, the new head coach deciding on his quarterback of the future would be a victory. Maalik Murphy and Grayson Loftis, both underclassmen with at least three years of eligibility left, remain in the mix for the starting job.

“At the end of the year, if they know who their quarterback is, then you’ve got something to build on,” Royal said.

ACC Network tabs this veteran ESPN commentator for top 2024 college football broadcasts

ACC Network will have a new broadcast team for its weekly primetime kickoff game.

As the dog days of summer drag on, more news is (slowly) being released about broadcast teams and commentator pairings ahead of the 2024 college football season.

For Clemson and other ACC schools, that includes a significant change in the top ACC Network broadcast booth this fall. ESPN announced last week that a familiar face would be shifting over from the mothership to call the ACC Network’s premier primetime matchup every week: Tom Luginbill.

In addition to his featured work on ESPN.com, Luginbill has been in an ESPN/ABC broadcast booth for several years and worked last season with the duo of Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek. At ACC Network, he’ll replace former analyst Tim Hasselbeck, who accepted a high school coaching job in Nashville.

Wes Durham will remain the play-by-play voice of ACC Network’s top broadcast team while a new face debuts on the sidelines in former Virginia lacrosse player Dana Boyle. Boyle joined ESPN/ACC Network in 2020 and has been a reporter across various ESPN platforms. She will replace Taylor Tannebaum as sideline reporter.

With Clemson facing Appalachian State in Week 2 in primetime on ACC Network, it’s a safe bet that Durham, Luginbill and Boyle will be the broadcast team for the Tigers’ Sept. 7 home opener (8 p.m. ET).

In other broadcast news, The CW announced last week that veteran play-by-play voice Thom Brennaman would be that network’s new voice of ACC football in 2024. Brennaman will team with Max Browne in the booth with Treavor Scales working the sidelines.

More news about broadcast teams and commentator pairings will be finalized over the coming weeks.

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Clemson ‘Takeover’ airing on ACC Network Saturday

ACC Network’s ‘Clemson Day’ is here.

Clemson is ‘taking over’ the ACC Network.

Fans hoping to rewatch some of the best highlights of Tigers men’s and women’s sports from 2023-24 can do so throughout the day Saturday on ACC Network.

As part of its “Clemson Takeover,” ACC Network will broadcast 24 hours of Tiger games and moments from the past athletic year. The events will only be those that aired on ESPN and its family of channels. Because of that, no rebroadcasts from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and Clemson’s run to the Elite Eight, which ran on CBS/TNT Sports, will be shown on ACC Network.

Per Clemson Athletics, here’s the full list of events that are being televised on ACC Network Saturday (all times ET).

  • 12 a.m.: Baseball vs. Louisville
  • 3 a.m.: Women’s Soccer Championship vs. Notre Dame
  • 5:30 a.m.: Gymnastics vs. North Carolina
  • 7 a.m.: Baseball vs. Florida State
  • 10 a.m.: Lacrosse vs. Duke
  • noon: Football vs. Notre Dame
  • 3 p.m.: Softball vs. Notre Dame
  • 5 p.m.: Men’s Soccer National Championship vs. Notre Dame
  • 7 p.m.: Football vs. Kentucky (Gator Bowl)
  • 10 p.m.: Men’s Basketball vs. North Carolina

Among the highlights are Clemson 2-1 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA Division I men’s soccer national championship game. The win marked the second national title in three years for coach Mike Noonan’s program.

Two football games are also airing Saturday, including Clemson’s upset win over No. 12 Notre Dame in Death Valley on November 4 — less than a week after Dabo Swinney’s epic rant to an irate caller on the coach’s weekly radio call-in show.

The Tigers’ thrilling 38-35 Gator Bowl victory over Kentucky is one of two events that will close the night. Clemson erupted for 28 points in the fourth quarter in Jacksonville, erasing a 21-10 deficit and defeating the Wildcats to cap a 9-4 season with five straight wins.

Closing the night is Clemson basketball’s 80-76 upset win over No. 3 North Carolina on February 6. PJ Hall led the Tigers with 25 points that night as the Tigers won in Chapel Hill for only the second time in program history.

 

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