The Wolfpack, coming off a 5-7 record in O'Brien's maiden run, will begin at South Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 28, two days before most of the other 11 ACC teams will start the season. The Gamecocks, coached by Steve Spurrier, went 6-6 in 2007 but are expected to begin the season ranked among the top teams in the nation.

After a date with William & Mary, the Pack will then face five teams in a row that all had winning records a year ago and all went to postseason bowl games.

Butch Davis, in his second season at North Carolina, appears to have it easier than O'Brien -- on paper, that is. But the Tar Heels, 4-8 in 2007, will open Aug. 30 in Chapel Hill against NCAA Championship Subdivision power McNeese State. The Cowboys went 11-0 in the regular season last year. Then, the Heels go to Rutgers, an emerging Big East power, before playing Virginia Tech -- one of the ACC's perennial leaders.

Duke, in its first season under new coach David Cutcliffe, has a similar opener against James Madison, another school formerly listed in the NCAA's Division I-AA. After going 1-11 under Ted Roof in 2007, the Blue Devils will open at home on Aug. 30 against the Dukes, who went 8-4 and reached the playoffs for the third straight season.

No game times were announced, but the matchups yield plenty of nuggets:

* Duke will get to enjoy some home cooking. The Devils will stay in Durham for the first month of the season. Their second game is a rematch with Northwestern -- the one team Duke beat last year.

* The biggest nonconference game on North Carolina's schedule is Notre Dame on Oct. 11. The Irish were down last season, but the game will generate plenty of excitement.

* Rivalry dates are set. N.C. State plays ECU (Sept. 20) and UNC (Nov. 22). Duke and UNC play Nov. 29 on the last date of the regular season.

* The Pack will have a Big Four blast. For the first time since 2003, N.C. State will play all three of its Big Four rivals -- UNC, Duke and Wake Forest. The Pack also will play them in consecutive weeks. That hasn't happened since 1971.

* No Fair game this year. N.C. State will play Florida State on a Thursday just before the State Fair opens in Raleigh and will be on the road the following week.