If you are going to go, you might as well go big. My tentative slate for 2022 has twelve games on it. It is very aspirational. Right out the gate on the second weekend, I have two games scheduled on the same day. I am in Colorado Springs to see Air Force host Colorado at 1:30pm. Unfortunately, the scheduling gods are not aligned with me, as I was trying to double that with a later game, Middle Tennessee State at Colorado State. That game is now at 2pm. There was a schedule change that killed that double. Or, I messed up my time zones when looking at the pre-season schedule. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. I do catch the Rams the following weekend at Washington State. I am hoping to double with Drake at Idaho that weekend too, but the game time is the dreaded TBD.
I am picking up a lot of new teams to see this year. My “first timers” in live competition include Wyoming, Middle Tennessee State (maybe), Colorado State, Drake, Idaho, Kansas, Southern Utah, and Sam Houston State. And while it may be unfair to cast the die on these schools and their competitors already, I don’t think I will see any team that will be in the hunt for the national championship this year. I do have both Texas and OSU on the schedule. They might be BCS playoff dark horses this year, but I doubt it. There are some great schools on this list, but I don’t think most of them would hit a college football top ten list. I concede that a WSU tradition is fairly well-known, but that notoriety is for a dedicated fan base schlepping their flag to ESPN’s Game Day every weekend. Touchdown Jesus, Toomers Corner or Doting the I, it ain’t. Nonetheless, my level of anticipation is already ramping up and it is only July.
Logistically, it is a heavy travel year, as I focus on the Mid and Mountain West, I could have up to four double weekends this year, but it depends on the schedule. The pair of games in Kansas is particularly suspect and may not happen at all. I may have run out of gas by that point. I am still weighing my options for an east coast game. As always, I could add something else. I am confident that seeing soon to be BSC member Sam Houston State is a lock on my schedule. Look, how can the season not be an unqualified success if I get to see the Bearcats roll in Huntsville?