Football fans can officially start plotting out the season now that the Pack’s 2022 schedule is out.
This year will be different from any before it. NC State will likely open the season in the Top 15 nationally. Heck, some even believe we’ll be ranked in the Top 10. Whatever the final preseason polls say, it won’t matter. NC State is going to have to prove it on the field. Will they be able to do that? Who knows, but the first ingredient you need to make that prediction is the upcoming schedule, which we now have.
State opens the season AT ECU.
Now, this is obviously an exciting way to open the season, but it also comes with some danger. NC State is going to have a better team than ECU, but this is going to be the game ECU has circled. This is their super bowl, their championship game, their fans, their coaches and their players will be ramped up, hoping to dethrone the nationally ranked Wolfpack and claim the state as theirs. ECU was 5-3 last season in the American conference and 7-5 overall. But remember, this one is at their place.
If they can survive that game, it’s on to Charleston-Southern. Charleston Southern isn’t a true cupcake, but they’re going to be severely overmatched vs. the Pack. The Buccaneers were 4-6 last season and 3-4 in the Big South.
Next they host Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are coming off a bad season (by their standards) in which they went 3-6 in the conference and 7-6 overall. They have a new coach and even though Donovan Smith had a decent season at QB, they expect to have a battle for the starting role this offseason. Most predict Texas Tech to finish towards the bottom of the BIG 12, but this is a team you can’t sleep on.
After that it’s one more non-conference tune-up before the biggest game of the season. UCONN comes to the Carter on Sept 24th. Now, UCONN, despite the name, is the biggest cupcake on the schedule. The Huskers were abysmal last season, losing all but one of their games. That’s right, they were 1-11. Sure, it’s a new season, but there isn’t much help coming. UCONN’s recruiting class comes in ranked 110th in the nation.
Then it’s off to Clemson. If the Pack makes it unscathed to this game, it will be the battle for the ACC. The Tigers are likely to start the season in the Top 15, so this could literally be a Top 10 matchup. Quite the game for being your ACC opener. The Tigers will be without defensive coordinator Brent Venables who left to coach Oklahoma. Will their defense be as good as it has been? Who knows, but they’re banking on it. Their offense is going to be suspect again, as they keep on hoping DJ Uiagalelei emerges as star. Our bet is that he doesn’t last the season as the starter, but we’ll wait and see.
Next up is FSU at home. The Noles struggled last year, finishing 4-4 in the ACC and 5-7 overall, but they aren’t going to be a cakewalk. Quarterback Jordan Travis has shown some promises and their offensive line is still going to be good. Defensively they improved last year from giving up 36 points per game to 26.5 last year and a majority of that defense is coming back.
After FSU, NC State heads to Syracuse. They’ve had 3 straight losing seasons, their quarterback is suspect and their coach is as good as fired if they don’t overachieve this season. They’re likely going to be picked to finish last in the division.
Next, Virginia Tech comes to town. The Hokies finished 4-4 in the ACC and 6-7 overall. They were 3rd in the coastal division. They likely will be picked to finish around there again next season.
After that is Wake Forest at home. The Demon Deacs will be competing with NC State and Clemson for that top spot in the Atlantic. Sam Hartman is back and so is A.T. Perry. However, they lost their leading rusher to a transfer and Jaquarii Roberson, another high-end receiver is off to the NFL. Wake is going to be an offensive monster again, so the Pack defense needs to be ready.
Then it’s another home game. This time BC comes to Raleigh. The Eagles were last in the Atlantic last year, going 2-6 and 6-6 overall. Phil Jurkovec, their QB who was injured most of last season, will be back, opting to pass on the NFL draft. Zay Flowers their top receiver and Pat Garwo, their top runningback, also return. There is reason to believe BC will be a lot better than they were last season.
Next, State heads to Louisville. The Cardinals finished 4-4 in the ACC and 6-7 overall. This was good for 4th in the Atlantic. They bring back Malik Cunningham at QB, but they’ve been hit by the transfer bug on defense. It’s tough to see Louisville improving too much, but hey, Cunningham COULD have a breakout season.
The regular season ends with a trip to UNC. The Tar Heels will have to figure out who their new QB since Sam Howell is off to the NFL. They will be picked to finish in the top their of the Coastal division, but without Howell there are so many questions. Their defense wasn’t very good last season, but they brought in Gene Chizik (former Auburn coach) as their defensive coordinator, so I guess you can expect some improvement.
Overall, we like State’s schedule this season. We’re petrified of the ECU matchup on the road with all the preseason hype building to a game where the opponent and their fans will be chomping at the bit. But then again, it’s ECU.
We like Clemson being on the first weekend in October, following what should be an easy game against UCONN.
We like the bye week coming before a Thursday night game vs. Virginia Tech, and then an extended break before they host Wake Forest.
And like last year, we love playing UNC to close the season, because no matter what happens, you get to end the regular season with a must win game.
