Every college football team has a schedule full of games. Some are better than others.
Here are few to look out for this season, from East Tennessee State, Emory & Henry and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise to Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
These aren’t in any particular order, but Emory & Henry’s first South Atlantic Conference game deserves to be at the top.
*Newberry at Emory & Henry (Sept. 17): Welcome to the SAC. The first SAC game will be at Fred Selfe Stadium and will feature SAC defending champion and preseason favorite Newberry. The Wolves finished 10-3 last season, and advanced to the second round of the D-II playoffs.
*West Virginia at Virginia Tech (Sept. 22): Thursday night and under the lights in Blacksburg. The Black Diamond Trophy, which was created by Rish Equipment in Bluefield, goes to the winner, and both fan bases want it bad. The Hokies are 7-3 in their last 10 meetings with the Mountaineers. They haven’t played in Blacksburg since 2004 when they were still Big East rivals.
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*UVa-Wise at Emory & Henry (Oct. 8): These clubs have met four times, with the Wasps winning the first three before the Cavaliers won a remarkable 33-30 decision in their last meeting in 2011. UVa-Wise has struggled mightily since joining the SAC and the Wasps could do the same in making the jump to DII football.
*Florida at Tennessee (Sept. 24): This isn’t the same Gators, but they are still 16-1 in their 17 meetings with Tennessee, winning the last five by an average of 20 points. Tennessee has lost 38 straight games to top-10 teams, but Florida won’t be in that territory when this game rolls around. That is good news for the Vols.
*Miami at Virginia Tech (Oct. 15): Miami is back, again. That has been a common refrain for years, but maybe Mario Cristobal is the coach to make it happen. Miami, of course, is the preseason favorite in the ACC’s Coastal Division, but Hokies still believe in new coach Brent Pry.
*Chattanooga at ETSU (Oct. 1): Defending Southern Conference champs ETSU will host the rival Mocs, who are the preseason favorite to take the title this season. ETSU’s lone regular season loss in 2021 was to Chattanooga, which has won four of five since the Bucs brought its program back in 2015.
*Emory & Henry at Bluefield (Sept. 10): No one will forget last year’s game. Former E&H football player and offensive coordinator Dewey Lusk and the Rams rallied for 29 fourth quarter points to win 46-45 at Fred Selfe Stadium. Bluefield is no pushover again, having been picked second in the Appalachian Division of the Mid-South Conference.
*Tennessee at Georgia (Nov. 5): Can the Vols take down the defending champs? It will take a mighty effort and it comes one game after another tough game with Kentucky, which is a popular choice for second in the SEC East. The Vols last beat the Bulldogs on the famous Josh Dobbs to Jauan Jennings Hail Mary pass in 2016. The last five meetings haven’t been close.
*Virginia at Virginia Tech (Nov. 26): Call it a rivalry, but the Commonwealth Cup has been all Hokies, with a 16-1 mark in the last 17 meetings. Add an 11-game win streak in Blacksburg and this Cup has been overflowing for Virginia Tech. New UVa head coach Tony Elliott hopes to change that.
*ETSU at Mississippi State (Nov. 19): Expect lots of cowbells in this one. ETSU was plenty boastful after beating an SEC team last season, but Mississippi State is not Vanderbilt. Don’t expect it to be that easy against the Bulldogs, whose SEC schedule is simply brutal, with Georgia the week before the Bucs and the Egg Bowl the following week.
*Concord at Emory & Henry (Sept. 3): Two NCAA Division II schools located two hours from each other sounds like the possibility of a long-term rivalry. Concord advanced to the D-II national semifinals in 2014, but have just one .500 record since then. These clubs met in the past, with the Wasps holding a 20-10-1 advantage.
*Lenoir-Rhyne at UVa-Wise (Oct. 1): Lenoir-Rhyne, which was picked to finish second in the SAC, finished 8-3 last season, falling in the opening round of the playoffs. One of those losses was a stunning 35-28 upset in Wise. Now do it again.
*Alabama at Tennessee (Oct. 15): At least it’s back to the third Saturday in October, but this is no longer the rivalry it once was. The Crimson Tide have won 15 straight, last losing to the Vols in 2006, which is also the last time the Vols beat a top-10 team, that being Georgia. Tennessee has lost all 15 games against Saban by an average of 25.9 points per game.
*Kentucky at Tennessee (Oct. 29): Basketball – yes, it’s true - and horse racing will always rule in Kentucky, but the football team won 10 games last season. This used to be gimme for the Vols, winning 17 straight at one stretch before that streak was snapped in 2017.
*Virginia Tech at Old Dominion (Sept. 2) / Virginia Tech at Liberty (Nov. 19): Virginia Tech lost to Old Dominion in Blacksburg in their last meeting in 2018 and fell to Liberty in the same scenario in 2020. Now those clubs get the chance to do it on their home fields.
*UVA-Wise at North Alabama (Sept. 10): Everyone knows about Alabama and their dominance of college football. North Alabama isn’t bad either, having won three straight NCAA DII national titles from 1993-95. The Lions finished national runner-up in 2016. Tall task for the Cavs.
There are more, such as Virginia Tech at North Carolina State, Tennessee at Pittsburgh, ETSU at Mercer, Emory & Henry at Tusculum and UVa-Wise at Carson-Newman.
This list could go on and on, but you get the hint.
There are plenty of games to keep area college football fans happy in 2022.
As for my allegiance, Roll Tide!!!
bwoodson@bristolnews.com | Twitter: BHCWoodson | (276) 645-2572