There are plenty of takes on the 2021-22 college football season. Just when you think you’ve read one that seems to make sense there’s yet another wrench tossed in that grinds those gears to a halt. At the beginning of the ACC+1 schedule not many could have imagined Clemson dropping from the hunt for a national championship. There were high expectations placed upon D.J. Uiagalelei.
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight it was too much for one player to shoulder. Then there is the sudden realization that the next man up theory is good on paper but not so much in reality. By the end of the year the departure of two of the masterminds behind Clemson’s success were departing leaving fans with a gut punch.
The truly interesting story for the conference as a whole is how a number of teams improved significantly. Three teams, Pitt, Wake Forest and NC State have slowly but surely been building toward success. It’s been like watching molasses slowly pour from a bottle into a mixing bowl to make cookies. You know that ultimately it’s going to be worth the wait, it’s having the patience for the finished product that’s tough to handle. The challenge all three teams now have is once fans have bitten into those fresh, soft, moist molasses cookies are they going to be happy with stale ginger snaps?
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For Notre Dame it’s what’s next after head coach Brian Kelly drove off to LSU like future Senator John Blutarsky (aka, John Belushi) from the movie Animal House. Kelly left behind some baggage and mayhem on the feel-feels front with Irish fans who we’re sure all wish him much success in Baton Rouge (wink, wink, nod, nod).
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Irish fans will get a front row seat peek into the future of the program on September 3 as Notre Dame opens at Ohio State. This year’s ACC schedule includes away games at North Carolina and Syracuse with Clemson and Boston College visiting.
Pitt will have two great home games back to back this year. First, the renewal of the rivalry with West Virginia, aka as the Backyard Brawl on September 3 followed by a visit from Tennessee on September 10. Without Kenny Pickett at the helm will the Panthers be back in the mix in 2022?
In a shaking up of the schedule, which is refreshing to see, Clemson will take on Georgia Tech for their opener on Monday, September 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Tigers get to face off with cross-state rivals South Carolina on Saturday, November 26 in Death Valley. If bowl performances were informative then the Gamecocks will have a bit more to throw at Clemson than in years past.
Miami Dings Duke, Cards And Pack Deadly Top 5
Wake Forest will help get the ACC Labor Day weekend football activities underway on Thursday, September 1 when they entertain the Keydets from Virginia Military. Two weeks later the Demon Deacons will entertain Liberty and then Army before heading to Durham to take on Duke in their first conference game.
NC State begins their 2022 football season on Saturday, September 3 with a visit to Greenville, NC to take on East Carolina. The next three games will be at home against Charleston Southern, Texas Tech and UConn before opening conference play against Clemson.
College Football Final ACC+1 Top 25
| RANK | TEAM |
| #1 | GEORGIA |
| #2 | ALABAMA |
| #3 | MICHIGAN |
| #4 | CINCINNATI |
| #5 | BAYLOR |
| #8 | NOTRE DAME |
| #13 | PITTSBURGH |
| #14 | CLEMSON |
| #15 | WAKE FOREST |
| #20 | NC STATE |
What might the first Way-Too-Early Preseason college football poll look like for the ACC+1 teams? That answer is coming soon.
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