VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: Kids introduce the C-N schedule
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney has released the Eagles' 2022 football schedule featuring five contests played on the banks of Mossy Creek.
C-N has two weeks of non-conference play before starting a new divisional format.
The Eagles make a return trip to play West Georgia in Carrolton, Ga. on Sept. 3. This will mark Carson-Newman's first trip to Carrolton. The Eagles lead the all-time series 5-1, but West Georgia defeated the Eagles in Burke-Tarr Stadium last year 45-7.
It marks the first time since 2010 that the Eagles won't open up the season on a Thursday (Carson-Newman dropped a 24-21 decision to Winona State at home on a Saturday to start 2010).
Lining the schedule are three unfamiliar foes. C-N will play two schools for the first time ever, and a third for the first time since 1975.
"It's simple," Clowney said. "It really doesn't matter about unfamiliarity because it's our job to put the best Carson-Newman football team we can on the field. That's our objective week in and week our regardless of whether were playing Mars Hill for the 50th time or Franklin Pearce for the first time."
The first of those contests takes place in week two when the Eagles open the doors to Burke-Tarr Stadium against Franklin Pierce.
"West Georgia was already there and last year we had week two open," Clowney said. "We really didn't realize how challenging it was going to be to find a game. We're fortunate to be able to get that game in, last year we didn't need a bye that week and hopefully it will be instrumental to us improving week to week."
The Ravens are NCAA Division II members in the Northeast 10. FPU is in its third-season of NCAA Division II football, prior to 2019, the Ravens had a Collegiate Sprint Football Team.
The Eagles haven't taken on a school from the NE10 since 2010 when they defeated Bentley 35-28. Carson-Newman is 4-2 all-time against the league. The other four matchups are all against New Haven from the 1990s.
Carson-Newman hops into a new-look conference play in week three by welcoming in Limestone to Mossy Creek.
The Saints mark the first of three consecutive weeks of cross-divisional play for C-N. Home matchups with Limestone and Newberry are sandwiched around a road contest at Lenoir-Rhyne in week four.
Carson-Newman starts play against the Mountain Division on Oct. 8 with a road trip to Tusculum.
The Eagles return home Saturday Oct. 15 for the first ever meeting with the Erskine Flying Fleet in football. C-N and Erskine will kick at 6 p.m. to give Carson-Newman its first home Saturday night game since 2018.
Carson-Newman closes the month of October with trips to Mars Hill and Emory & Henry. The Eagles will square off with the Lions for the 59th time while playing the Wasps for the first time since 1975. E&H owns a 23-17-2 lead in the all-time series against Carson-Newman.
While the schools haven't met in nearly a half a century, the Wasps are one of five programs featuring double-digit games played in a series to have a winner record against Carson-Newman (Appalachian State, North Alabama, Tennessee and Wofford are the others).
The Orange and Blue closes out the home portion of its schedule with its final divisional matchup against the University of Virginia's College at Wise and the Highland Cavaliers on Nov. 5. The contest will be Homecoming and Senior Day.
"It is cool because we've seen the conference grow," Clowney said. "The divisions will be a testament to where we go as a football league. When I played, it was cool to watch the Gulf South have divisions. I'm excited to see it for us now and to think about a championship game."
C-N is presently scheduled to close the regular season on the road at Catawba. C-N will for sure be on the road that week. However, should Carson-Newman win the Mountain Division it would face off with the champion of the Piedmont Division for the SAC Championship. Similarly, if Catawba were to win the Piedmont and C-N fell short in the Mountain, the Eagles would find themselves on the road at a new opponent taking the spot of whomever was scheduled to face the Mountain Division's champion.
All Carson-Newman football games are broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting one hour prior to kickoff with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
