Not according to ESPN:
[In coming up with the new scheduling model, athletic directors from each school collaborated with the league to help determine the matchups they wanted to protect. Ultimately, the league ADs approved the new scheduling model. In the case of Georgia Tech and Louisville, both schools agreed they did not need any games protected, and that allowed the league more creativity and flexibility in arranging the entire schedule.
"I was vocal to the conference office that we don't have a true rival in the ACC, so we can be more flexible with trying to put a schedule together," Louisville athletic director Josh Heird told ESPN. "What are the tried-and-true rivals we have to keep together? Viewership drives some of these matchups. But all in all, I think everybody is pretty happy -- as happy as you can be trying to accommodate 17 different wants and needs."]
The ACC revealed its new seven-year football scheduling model as a 17-team league with new members Cal, Stanford and SMU on Monday, featuring 16 protected matchups.
www.espn.com
And that's the rest of the story ...