Time for our Tuesday rankings, NIL has put sort of a damper on the build up to the CFB season. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I’m perfectly fine with players getting paid…I’m fine with the transfer portal. But, CFB off-seasons are now annoying to me. There’s so much movement, there’s so much power being exerted from people who just have money and don’t actually know the game. I’m not a fan of that. I think many of you agree with that sentiment. So, I want to get excited about the season…and how can we ever do that if we don’t talk about the games?! Here are my top 5 games, nationwide, I’m pumped about for the 2022 CFB season.
5- FSU vs LSU, neutral site, sort of…Caesars Superdome in Louisiana- This is all part of the CFB kickoff weekend, 9/4. This is the ABC game @ 730. These are 2 teams that rarely link up. This is the first game between the 2 since 1991. (Noles won 27-16). The Brian Kelly era gets started, Mike Norvell shows off portions of last years recruiting class.
4- UCF vs Cincy @ the Bounce House- October 29th. The revenge game. The Bearcats had their fun, this is when UCF shows who the real power of the AAC is, who the real power of the future Big 12 is. This game is huge, I can’t wait.
3- Florida vs Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 29th- This will be the first time I’ve ever seen the Gators play Georgia, while Georgia is the reiging defending champion, so as much as that game typically means, it’ll mean even more this fall. This will also be Billy Napier’s first time coaching in the rivalry game. Questions of how good Anthony Richardson is will be answered by then, and if he lives up to the hype, this has a chance to be a great game in the heart of the season.
2- A&M @ Bama on Oct. 8th- This one’s pretty obvious. The battle between Nick and Jimbo has been heating up these last few months, and remember, A&M almost spoiled Bama’s season with a win @ home last year…Bama’s gonna want payback for that. And then, the post game handshake, will they/won’t they moment. It’s going to be epic.
Number 1!- Notre Dame @ Ohio State to open the season on September 3rd- Wow. This is massive. ND and Ohio State have only met 6 times in their history and the winner of this year’s game will be on a championship path. Both teams will be ranked top 10 going in. This will feel massive and its on Ohio State’s campus, so none of this neutral site stuff. Also, fun note, Marcus Freeman, the coach @ ND played college ball at Ohio State.
*Hard to leave off- Bama/Texas on Sept 10, Oregon/Georgia on Sept. 3rd, Clemson/ND on Nov 5th, and UCF/Louisville @ UCF on Sept. 9th.