Welcome to the kickoff of the 2022 college football from Dublin... Ireland? That's not a typo, the college football season will kick off this weekend when Northwestern and Nebraska tee it up from the Emerald Isle.
The Gamecock Scoop staff is going to give their readers thoughts and predictions on Gamecock games, SEC games and relevant national games each week. Unlike most others, we are not afraid to keep score and pick against the spread. Like Don Fanucci, we wanted to wet our beaks this week with a relatively light Week 0 slate.
The Week 0 Games we picked
Nebraska -13 vs. Northwestern (from Dublin) 12:30 Fox
While Nebraska's fanbase is not known as one that wants to run a coach off every five years, especially when the coach is a Cornhusker legend, the folks in Lincoln were hoping for a little more than 15-29 overall and 10-25 in the Big 10 in Scott Frost's first four seasons. The pressure is on Frost this season. Meanwhile, on the other sideline, former Gamecock Ryan Hilinski is the favorite to start at QB for the Wildcats.
Vanderbilt -6.5 @ Hawaii 10:30 CBS Sports Network
The Commodore football team took the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor this week. Compared to their recent history, the battle of Pearl Harbor probably seemed like a glowing success. Vandy's last SEC win came in 2019 and their last winning season in the SEC was 2013. We expect Clark Lea's team to be better in year 2, but opening up less than a touchdown favorite over a Hawaii team that plays in a stadium with a capacity of 9,300 is not a good look. Hawaii is now coached by their former record-breaking QB Timmy Chang.
Charlotte +7 @ FAU 7:00 CBS Sports Network
The Gamecocks' week 4 opponent opens their season this week in Boca Raton. The 49ers just missed a bowl game last season at 5-7. The media selected FAU 4th in Conference USA and Charlotte 7th. Gamecock fans can get an earlier look at one of Carolina's opponents.
Wyoming +10 @ Illinois 4:00 Big Ten Network
Josh Allen isn't walking through the door anymore in Laramie, nonetheless, the Cowboys still finished 7-6 last year and won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Bret Bielema has had high praise for his Illini team this offseason. Just coaches speak? Or is Illinois a dark horse in the Big 10?
Florida A&M @ North Carolina 8:15 ACC Network
There is probably no reason to tune into this game unless you want to see if UNC has recovered from the tail-kicking they caught last December in Charlotte.
