The five-month feast is about ready to hit the table, piping hot. Preseason camps are well underway, and soon the blocking and tackling will formalize in actual games against real opponents in full stadiums. Tailgating time and appointment TV viewing beckon; set your calendars accordingly.
It’s time to prepare ourselves for the bonanza to come, with an overview of everything college football has laid out for us. Forty observations on the 2022 schedule:
1. The softest September belongs to Michigan. The Wolverines play no road games and no Power 5 nonconference opponents, after dropping a scheduled series with UCLA three years ago. Michigan’s four September opponents—Colorado State, Hawai’i, Connecticut and Maryland—went a combined 17–33 last year, with an average Sagarin ranking of 114. Three of them are breaking in new coaches. If strength of schedule matters more than brand name, there should be no reason to rank the Wolverines highly before October. (The Wolverines’ 2023 nonconference schedule is East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green, all at home of course. Weaksauce.)
