UNC Football: Week One Schedule Report (For Past & Future Opponents)

There were some intriguing results across the college football landscape yesterday, and some of those games involved teams that are on the UNC football schedule this year.

Hopefully, by now everyone has recovered from yesterday’s thriller in Boone.  With the 63-61 marathon victory in the rearview mirror, North Carolina has done what matters most in each of the first two weeks.  Win.

As we look ahead to the rest of the season, we will be taking a look at how the UNC football program’s future (and past) opponents are performing throughout each week of the season as well.

We begin today with our Week One Schedule Report.

Up Next

@ Georgia State Panthers

The Panthers opened their season in Columbia, SC for a road game against South Carolina.  After falling behind 9-0, GSU picked it up and held a 14-12 lead in the third quarter.

However, the Panthers’ special teams unit would cost them big time in this one.  They allowed two blocked punts that were scooped up and scored by the Gamecocks and spotted U of SC 23 consecutive points to end the game.

While the final score wasn’t impressive, the Panthers were just a few special teams blunders away from a one-possession game on the road against an SEC team.  Next week’s matchup has “trap game” written all over it for UNC.  However, the Heels should know better than anyone that road noon contests against Sun Belt teams can get pretty crazy.

Result: 35-14 Loss at South Carolina, (0-1, 0-0 in Sun Belt)

Looking Ahead

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The biggest game on the college football slate was the showdown between the fifth-ranked Irish and the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus.

In what many expected would be a lopsided Buckeye victory, the Irish opened many eyes by leading the game for most of the way.  The Irish held what many expect to be the best offense in the country to just 21 points on their home turf.  However, Notre Dame couldn’t do much with the ball either, scoring just ten points en route to a 21-10 loss.

A close loss in Columbus is not going to drop the Irish very far in the AP poll, and if they can handle business at home against Marshall and Cal, they will enter Chapel Hill as a top ten team on September 24th.

Result: 21-10 Loss at Ohio State (0-1)

Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies opened their 2022 campaign with a road game against Old Dominion, out of the Sun Belt.

In one of the ACC’s more embarrassing results of the weekend, the Hokies lost 20-17.  Although both UNC and NC State had major trouble in similar games, the Hokies were the only one of the three that didn’t come home with a win.

Quarterback Grant Wells threw four interceptions in the contest.  Brent Pry has a lot to fix in his first season in Blacksburg.

Result: 20-17 Loss at Old Dominion (0-1, 0-0 in ACC)

@ Miami Hurricanes

The Mario Cristobal era kicked off in Miami with a beatdown of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.

The ‘Canes scored 42 first-half points and hung 70 in a victory that should have been called after the third quarter.

The preseason favorite to win the Coastal Division only has one tough game on paper until they play the Heels.  If Miami can beat Texas A&M in College Station on September 17th, UNC will likely be facing a second top ten opponent when they head to South Beach.

Result: 70-13 Win vs Bethune-Cookman (1-0, 0-0 in ACC)

@ Duke Blue Devils

Duke is not projected to be very good in the first season for new head coach Mike Elko, but that didn’t stop them from shutting out Temple on Friday night.

The Blue Devils built a 24-0 halftime lead and continued to shut down the Owls in the second half during their 30-0 win in Durham.

They travel to Northwestern for a non-conference matchup next week.

Result: 30-0 Win vs Temple Owls (1-0, 0-0 in ACC)

Pittsburgh Panthers

Pitt renewed their rivalry with West Virginia on Thursday night, and the game did more than live up to the hype.

The largest crowd in Pitt football history witnessed a back-and-forth showdown that the Panthers ultimately won 38-31 following a game-winning pick-six in the final minutes.

The Panthers have another non-conference test coming up with Tennessee visiting the Steel City next week.

Result: 38-31 Win vs West Virginia (1-0, 0-0 in ACC)

@ Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia kicked off the Tony Elliott era in Charlottesville with an in-state matchup against the Richmond Spiders.

Quarterback Brennan Armstrong had a big game and the Cavs handled business on their home turf.

The Cavs will travel to Illinois next Saturday for another ACC/Big Ten battle.

Result: 34-17 Win vs Richmond (1-0, 0-0 in ACC)

@ Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake hosted the VMI Keydets on Thursday night, and had little trouble in their first game without quarterback Sam Hartman.

While they won big this week, Wake will hit the road for a sneaky game against 2-0 Vanderbilt next Saturday.

It is too early to tell how the Deacs will perform against quality opponents without Hartman, or whether or not he will return by the time UNC heads to Winston-Salem in November.

Result: 44-10 Win vs VMI Keydets (1-0, 0-0 in ACC)

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech will open their season tomorrow night against Clemson in the Falcons’ Mercedez Benz Stadium.

It would be quite a shock if they can pull off the upset.

Result: None (0-0, 0-0 in ACC)

North Carolina State Wolfpack

We have heard all offseason about how this year’s Wolfpack squad will be the best team in the school’s history.  So in true NC State fashion, they prompted to nearly lay an egg in the season opener.

The Wolfpack made plenty of crucial mistakes on the road against ECU and nearly handed them the game after a turnover on downs and interception in the fourth quarter.

However, the Pirates wouldn’t take it, missing a game-tying extra point with under three minutes left and what would have been a game-winning 42-yard field goal in the final seconds.

Much like UNC, the Pack was fortunate to come home with the win, but all of their goals are still on the table.

Result: 21-20 Win vs East Carolina (1-0, 0-0 in ACC)

Looking Back

Florida A&M Rattlers

The Rattlers did not exactly impress in the Denny’s Orange Blossom Classic on Sunday.  Jackson State dismantled them by a score of 59-3 in Miami on Sunday afternoon.

This result doesn’t make the UNC defense look particularly good after the Rattlers put up 24 points in Chapel Hill last week.

Result: 59-3 Loss vs Jackson State (0-2, 0-1 in SWAC)

Check back next week for our Week Two Schedule Report!

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