I see the first four games as W's. Any thoughts?
We are almost surely going to open with UL at home, so here is a better look at the schedule:
Date | Opponent | Time/TV | Comments |
Saturday, September 3rd | LOUISVILLE? | TBD (could be Friday night) | ACC game to start season, probably UL |
Saturday, September 10th | at Connecticut | | |
Saturday, September 17th | PURDUE | | |
Saturday, September 24th | WAGNER | | Annual FCS opponent |
TBD | NOTRE DAME | | Open dates for ND are 10/1, 10/29 & 11/9 |
TBD | FLORIDA STATE | | |
TBD | at Wake Forest | | |
TBD | at Clemson | | |
TBD | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | | |
TBD | VIRGINIA | | |
TBD | at Pittsburgh | | |
TBD | at Boston College | | |
As far as I can tell, Cunningham is probably coming back. If so, UL is going to be hard to beat. Their offense is legit, their defense is suspect.
UConn is a sure win. Even Mora will tell you that.
Purdue has a fifth year senior QB in Aiden O'Connell who may or may not come back. I think he has played well enough this season so he is going to go pro but he might stay. That decision might well determine whether we win this game or not. Even if he does not come back, while they will lose some important players, they have a solid team and will be tough to beat. Our recent record against B1G teams is not good.
Wagner might be worse than UConn. Another sure win.
ND will have a new HC and that will make things easier but let's not kid ourselves. They have a ton of talent, will get a really good coach and will be heavily favored. Kind of hoping for a game against them on 10/1, when the new staff might still be settling in.
FSU is winnable at gome but they showed signs of improvement in 2021 (5-7) and this is no lock. We will be fortunate if we are favored to win that one.
Winning at Wake is going to be really hard. Hartman is back, as is the 2 excellent WRs. They are losing almost no important players on offense (unless the portal beckons). They are going to score a lot of points. Their defense loses 5 starters, wasn't good to begin with and is probably going to be bad. I expect them to be ranked and we will probably be a double digit underdog.
Same applies to Clemson (double digit underdog). Yes, they have lost that invincible aura they once had but they are loaded, especially on defense and we will be a double digit dog again. As good as Wake is on offense, Clemson will be on defense. And vice versa.
NC State at home might be winnable, especially if Leary decides to go pro. Again, they have a lot of talent, and beating them is going to be tough.
UVA at home is almost a must win for us. They finished 6-6 with their QB Brandon Armstrong putting up great numbers. He is listed as a junior. I assume he is coming back. If so, their offense is going to be good. Maybe we might be favored in this one.
If we were able to get 6 wins against this schedule, it would be a great accomplishment.
Then we have an away game at Pitt. We know Pickett is gone, which will help. But they are clearly more talented than we are and will be a double digit favorite.
BC on the road is another winnable game we almost have to have. We caught a break not having to play against Jerk this year. Doubt that will happen again next year. That will be a tough game to win but it should be possible.
I expect at minimum that ND, Clemson, Wake and Pitt will be ranked and there is a good chance NC State will be as well.
Tough year. We could face a ton of really good QBs.