The ACC announced Duke’s full 2013 football schedule this afternoon. The Blue Devils’ schedule will feature 12 games against 11 FBS opponents, seven of which either posted a winning record or reached bowl eligibility last season. Duke’s 12 opponents combined for a 74-78 record in 2012.

2013 Duke Football Schedule (2012 Record; Bowl game)

AUGUST
31 – N.C. CENTRAL (6-5)

SEPTEMBER
7 – at Memphis (4-8)
14 – GEORGIA TECH (7-7; 21-7 win over USC in the Hyundai Sun Bowl)
21 – PITTSBURGH (6-7; 38-17 loss to Ole Miss in the BBVA Compass Bowl)
28 – TROY (5-7)

OCTOBER
5 – Open
12 – NAVY (8-5; 62-28 loss to Arizona State in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl)
19 – at Virginia (4-8)
26 – at Virginia Tech (7-6; 13-10 win in OT over Rutgers in the Russell Athletic Bowl)

NOVEMBER
2 – Open
9 – N.C. STATE (7-6; 38-24 loss to Vanderbilt in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl)
16 – MIAMI (7-5)
23 – at Wake Forest (5-7)
30 – at North Carolina (8-4)

Here are some highlights from Duke’s 2013 football schedule:

There’s no place like home—The Blue Devils will open up their season with five of their first six games of the year being played in Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke opens its 2013 campaign with another installment of the Bull City Gridiron Classic against N.C. Central Aug. 31 before traveling for a non-conference tilt against Memphis the following week, which represents the team’s only road contest before Oct. 19. The Blue Devils posted a 5-2 home record last season.

A new ACC foe—Pittsburgh will visit Wallace Wade Stadium Sept. 21 for the Panthers’ first-ever conference matchup with Duke. Pittsburgh and Syracuse will both join the ACC as full members at the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year, with the Panthers joining the Blue Devils in the conference’s Coastal Division and the Orange playing in the Atlantic.

An earlier open date—The Blue Devils’ 2013 schedule features two bye weeks, giving the team a much-needed additional week of rest during conference play. Duke only had one open date in its calendar last season, and it came after the team’s 10th game of the season. Playing football games in 10 consecutive weeks left the Blue Devils susceptible to fatigue and injury issues as the season wore on, but the team’s first bye week Oct. 5 next season will be a welcome sign.

Tobacco Road rivalry pushed back to Thanksgiving—Duke clinched bowl eligibility for the first time in 18 seasons against North Carolina this year. But the game marked not only the first time Duke students were able to watch the team earn its sixth win of the year, but for many, the first time they had been able to take in a Duke-North Carolina football matchup. The rivalry game, which is traditionally played during Thanksgiving weekend—while students are away from campus—took place on Oct. 20, 2012, marking the earliest the teams had met in the season since 1926. As a result, Duke students came out in droves to Wallace Wade Stadium and created one of the most memorable home football atmospheres Durham has ever seen. Next season, however, the game will assume its usual position on Thanksgiving and will be played at North Carolina’s Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Coming off a 6-7 campaign and the team’s first bowl appearance since 1994, Duke will return 46 lettermen for head coach David Cutcliffe’s sixth team. The Blue Devils will open spring practice March 4 and will play in the program’s annual Spring Game April 13 at Wallace Wade Stadium.