When Miami linebacker Sean Spence saw that he was spending Labor Day this year playing Florida State, he was thrilled.

“I live for big games,” Spence said. “I think our whole team feels that way.”

Good thing, because the Hurricanes may face the toughest first month of anyone in the nation next year, starting with the rekindling of a holiday rivalry.

Miami visits Florida State in prime time on Sept. 7, Labor Day night, a marquee matchup to help the Atlantic Coast Conference open the 2009 campaign. ACC officials released the year’s schedule Thursday.

“We better be ready to go Day 1, because this will be a totally different opener than we had last season,” Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder said. “I think it is great to be featured in a national TV game versus a team like the Hurricanes. It will be a great way to start the season and helps FSU continue to be a program in the national spotlight.”

A year ago, Florida State opened with a 69-0 win over Western Carolina.

This year’s first game should provide the Seminoles with a little more of a challenge.

“Our fans will have a lot to look forward to,” Florida State athletic director Randy Spetman said, “beginning on Labor Day with the Hurricanes.”

Miami and Florida State played the college version of Monday Night Football to start the 2005 and 2006 seasons, with the Seminoles winning each by three points. The game was back in its customary October slot the past two years.

Miami leads the all-time series, 30-23, with Florida State winning a wild 41-39 affair last season at Dolphin Stadium.

“We’re going to know where we stand midway through the season,” Miami left tackle Jason Fox said. “That’s why all of us came to Miami, to play in big games and to win big games.”

Miami’s early schedule shapes up as brutal.

After the Florida State opener, the Hurricanes return home against Georgia Tech – who cost Miami a trip to the ACC championship game last year with a 41-23 victory – in another prime-time matchup on Sept. 17, then visit Virginia Tech nine days later. Following that, a home game awaits against national runner-up Oklahoma.

That’s four games in four weeks against teams that finished last season ranked in the AP Top 25.

“Should be cool,” Spence said.

The Seminoles figure to get a bit of a respite after Week 1, hosting Jackson-ville State five days later.

Florida State’s season could end with maybe the biggest challenge of all: the Seminoles close the regular slate Nov. 28 at defending national champion Florida.

Moving the Miami-Florida State game back to Week 1 has been expected for some time. The Hurricanes jostled their non-conference schedule around several weeks ago to free up the date, and Florida State also had to make some moves to accommodate the switch.

The Seminoles were supposed to open with Maine, not Miami.

Both coaches – Florida State’s Bobby Bowden and Miami’s Randy Shannon – have indicated in the past that if they had the choice, they would rather see their in-state ACC rival later in the year.

“It doesn’t really matter if you get FSU early or get them late,” Shannon said. “You still have to play them.”

At the same time, both also freely acknowledge that the notion of playing in prime time, almost certainly as the only major college game in the nation that night, is a lure too strong to ignore, especially as a selling-point to recruits.

“The ACC wanted it bad, they wanted it bad, and I think ESPN wanted it bad,” Bowden said. “It’s always been such a good national draw so we both agreed to play that game again and you know, we’ve got to play them sometime. I think I’m probably like Miami, I’d rather play it later, but this is just too good of a deal to turn down.”

There also won’t be any butting-heads with the NFL that night, either: The pros won’t open their season until Sept. 10, almost certainly with the Pittsburgh Steelers opening defense of their Super Bowl title at home.