From Columbus To Fayetteville, Week 1 Of The 2022 College Football Season Offers Many Appealing Matchups

The 2022 college football season kicked off with a handful of Week 0 games. While neither of the 11 matchups included a ranked team, the menu of games served as a nice warmup for the first full week of action.

Indeed, Labor Day weekend is always fun for college football fans as the action gets underway Thursday night and rolls through Monday evening for five straight days of games.

Here is a look at some of those games, at least those that appear to be the most interesting as a new season arrives in earnest.

Thursday, September 1

West Virginia at Pitt No. 17

Following a decade-long hiatus resulting from both programs moving out of the Big East and going separate ways, the Backyard Brawl is back on between schools that are separated by about 75 miles on I-79. While the Mountaineers and Panthers renew acquaintance for the 105^th time, there is familiarity among the starting quarterbacks as well.

Pitt’s Kedon Slovis and West Virginia’s JT Daniels, who transferred from Georgia, were teammates at USC. In fact, it was in the Trojans’ 2019 season opener that Slovis took over for Daniels, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. USC’s offensive coordinator that year was Graham Harrell, who is in the same role in Morgantown.

Pitt leads the all-time series 61-40-3.

Friday, September 2

Virginia Tech at Old Dominion

It was September 2018 when 20,532 crammed into S.B. Ballard Stadium to see the Monarchs pile up 30 first downs and 632 yards in upending the Hokies, 49-35. This year’s matchup between the in-state schools will be the fourth, with the Hokies winning in 2017 and 2019.

Former Penn State assistants Ricky Rahne and Brent Pry will lead their teams into this opener. Rahne’s Monarchs seek to continue the momentum from five straight wins to close the 2021 regular season, followed by the program’s second bowl (loss to Tulsa) appearance. For the Hokies, there is a sense of newness. Marshall transfer Grant Wells debuts at quarterback while Pry makes his head coaching debut for a team that has had three losing seasons in the past four.

Saturday, September 3

No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 Ohio State

This will only be the sixth meeting between two of the nation’s most tradition-rich programs, with Ohio State leading 3-2. It will be the first regular-season game since 1996 and first meeting since New Year’s Day 2016, a 44-28 Ohio State win.

While the spotlight on this game will be intense, much of the glare will be directed to the Notre Dame sideline where Marcus Freeman took over for Brian Kelly after the latter departed for LSU. The 36-year-old Freeman was a two-time, second-team All-Big Ten selection as a linebacker at Ohio State, where he served as a grad assistant in 2010.

Buckeyes’ fans, meanwhile, are anxious to see how quarterback C.J. Stroud performs out of the gate after finishing fourth in Heisman voting last year.

No. 3 Georgia vs No. 11 Oregon (Atlanta)

The defending national champs will see a familiar face on the Oregon sideline. Former UGA defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is a first-time head coach and making his debut in what will be anything but a neutral site game that will pay Georgia $5 million and Oregon $4.5 million.

There is also a new quarterback at Oregon, where former Auburn signal caller Bo Nix has been given the keys to the offense. He faced the Bulldogs twice (2019, 2020) while with the Tigers, who came up short in both games. Georgia coach Kirby Smart returns national championship hero Stetson Bennett at quarterback. Most of the attention, though, will be on a defense breaking in a number of new starters under co-coordinators Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann.

No. 23 Cincinnati at No. 19 Arkansas

The story in this first meeting between the schools is what the coaches have done for their respective programs. Luke Fickell has led the Bearcats to the top of the Group of Five – it’s off to the Big 12 next season – with a CFP semifinal appearance last season. Sam Pittman has turned things around in Fayetteville and was rewarded with a new deal for his effort. The Hogs won nine games last season, two more than the previous three years combined.

While Fickell has to replace quarterback Desmond Ridder and corner Ahmad Gardner, among others, Pittman has K.J. Jefferson, who was 10^th nationally in pass efficiency, returning at quarterback. He also a number of key players returning from a defense that made great strides last season.

UC, by the way, will receive $1.5 million for making the trip.

No. 7 Utah at Florida

Billy Napier makes his debut on the sideline in Gainesville, and it is anybody’s guess what his Gators will look like. One thing is certain: Anthony Richardson is the quarterback after Emory Jones entered the portal and departed for Arizona State.

Utah, which next year will host the Gators in the back end of a home-and-home deal, is coming off a Pac-12 title. Coach Kyle Whittingham, in his 18th season at the helm, has quarterback Cam Rising and several and several other key starters back this season for a run at consecutive conference titles. In an ironic twist, former Gator linebacker Mohamoud Diabate’s first game with Utah will be against his old team.

No. 13 North Carolina State at ECU

This is an intriguing season opener for both Dave Doeren’s and Mike Houston’s programs. At No. 13, the Wolfpack has its highest preseason ranking in the AP poll. It is a nod to the fine work Doeren has done. Key players on both sides of scrimmage departed, but there seems to be enough depth to keep both units humming. Devin Leary has emerged as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks.

The Pirates’ seven-win season in 2021 showed that the progress under Houston, entering his fourth year in Greeneville, is real. Dowdy-Ficklen might be Rowdy-Ficklen for this matchup as the ECU faithful backs a team that is hungry to get 2022 off to a great start. And what better way to do than upending the team from Raleigh?

The Wolfpack leads the all-time series, 18-13.

North Carolina at Appalachian State

With Sam Howell, UNC’s all-time leading passer now in the NFL, Drake Maye started and did very well (five TD passes) in a Week 0 win over Florida A&M. He gets his first start against an FBS program in Appalachian State, which in 1983 had Mack Brown as its head coach.

The Mountaineers, 19-7 in two years under alum Shawn Clark, entered preseason camp with its share of questions on both sides of scrimmage. Quarterback Chase Brice and a strong running game should keep the scoreboard humming, though.

The in-state schools have met only twice with the most recent being a 34-31 Mountaineers win in Chapel Hill in 2019. The first meeting was in 1940, a 56-6 Tar Heels home-field victory.

Sunday, September 4

LSU vs. Florida State (New Orleans)

Mike Norvell got his third season in Tallahassee off to a nice start in Week 0 as his Seminoles ran past FCS member Duquesne. Now, the varsity portion of the schedule kicks in and does so with Norvell sporting a 6-12 mark against Power Five teams as the Seminoles’ coach. Hence, a strong showing in New Orleans, even if it is in a losing cause, is needed.

Brian Kelly, who signed a 10-year, $95-million deal, is running the show in Baton Rouge and is tasked with quickly returning the Bengal Tigers to national prominence. Remember, this is a program that won a national title a mere three years ago.

Monday, September 5

No. 4 Clemson at Georgia Tech

This Labor Day evening ACC matchup will not be played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, but at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Regardless of venue, the Clemson faithful are largely interested in one thing: how D.J. Uiagalelei moves the offense after finishing 107^th of 110 qualifying quarterbacks in pass efficiency last year.