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Just saw the 2022 schedule…only 9 games?
With 4 home games…
Missouri State
Austin Peay
North Alabama
Stephen F

So far...

Will be interesting to see who gets signed up for the other 2 games ... even if we did not have a new QB and new Top 2 WRs, this would be a tough schedule...

Just for some off-season fun....the win/loss predictions below are based on 2021 end of season Sagarin ratings....remember UCA ended up at 49 (after rounding up)

9/1: Missouri State ... Bears by 11 ... but wrong Bears
9/10: @Ole Miss ... Rebels by 38
9/17: @Idaho State ... Bears by 7
9/24: ???
10/1: ???
10/8: Austin Peay ... Bears by 2
10/15: @Kennesaw State ... Owls by 12
10/22: ???
10/29: North Alabama ... Bears by 10
11/5: @EKU ... Colonels by 6
11/12: @SFA ... Jacks by 10
11/19: Jacksonville State ... Bears by 3

So, that would be 4-5....not many happy Purple Bear fans with that ...

Who might the other two games be? Unlikely to be another P-5 team.... even with the big payday ... best to get 2 FCS teams to come to Conway for home games... maybe one FBS on the road and one more FCS at home...a D2 or NAIA team does not help get to enough wins for playoffs.....

A quick look at schedules show James Madison has all 3 dates available ... there are a lot of FCS teams with one or more of the three dates available.... including UAPB, Samford, ETSU, Eastern Illinois, Murray State, SEMO, Mercer and Tenn Tech....

Like some of the possibilities listed in the post above.

Suspect they might look at a lower level FCS, D-II or NAIA.

Don't know the date for Homecoming, but they will want a week sister for that one.

9/24 @ Southeast MO. ST. 10/1 Tarleton ST. Estes

SEMO and Tarleton will be very admirable opponents.... we better really be ready to get two wins here...

2022 BEARS SCHEDULE
HOME 9/1 Missouri State Conway, Ark.
AWAY 9/10 Ole Miss Oxford, Miss.
AWAY 9/17 Idaho State Pocatello, Idaho
AWAY 9/24 SE Missouri Cape Girardeau, Mo.
HOME 10/1 Austin Peay Conway, Ark.
HOME 10/8 Lindenwood Conway, Ark.
AWAY 10/15 Kennesaw State Kennesaw, Ga.
10/22 OPEN DATE
HOME 10/29 North Alabama Conway, Ark.
AWAY 11/5 Eastern Kentucky Richmond, Ky.
AWAY 11/12 Stephen F. Austin Nacogdoches, Texas
HOME 11/19 Jacksonville State Conway, Ark.

It's like I'm yelling into the abyss of nothing. One home game before October. WHY does this sound so familiar????

Well, I'll bet coaches and AD Office wish the same thing....choices likely limited to get D1 teams ...be nice to have ISU at home but I think it had been contracted earlier for a home and home deal.....

SEMO opens at Iowa State then go to Southern Illinois...then come home for games vs Nicholls and then UCA...pretty tough first four....

Idaho State starts at UNLV and San Diego State then come home for UCA and back on road to Northern Colorado......

Even if we had last year's team, this would be a tough schedule....my very early thoughts....

MO State ...even at home these have been very close games....if Maroon Bears make as much progress in 2022 as they did in 2021 we will have a very hard time getting a win...50-50 game at best

@Ole Miss.....they open at home vs Troy, then UCA before heading to Atlanta for Georgia Tech and back home for Tulsa....they will be looking to have a 4-0 start ...long shot for Bears....

@Idaho State.....1-10 in 2021 with Sagarin rating of 39....even at 5-6 last year we were rated at 48+.....pretty much a have to win for Bears

@SEMO.....4-7 last year rated at 44+.....that would have been a toss up game if we played then on road last year.....will need to play very good football to win this one....

APU....6-5 and rated 50.....would have been a toss up game at Conway last year...Bears will need to win this one.....I'll take a 1 point victory...

Lindenwood.....in transition to D1 as a member of Ohio Valley (along with UALR).....only 4 yr school in immediate St Louis market that plays football.....9-3 last season including losses to South Dakota State and D2 #5 Grand Valley State in playoffs...no major wins but did defeat D2 #18 Truman State ..... should be a Bears win but Lindenwood has been pretty good in D2....

@Kennesaw State....11-2 and rated 57 (above Vanderbilt, A-State, SFA, Nicholls and others).....Owls are an up and coming program....a huge school....this would probably be a big upset should Bears win...

North Alabama...3-8 rated 42....assuming UNA will be improved as they develop in D1 this should be a good game.....we owe them one for the last game played at Conway where we lost a very close playoff game...a game Bears have to win....

@EKU....7-4 rated 52.....maybe by this stage in season we will have the pieces in place and be able to pick up a big road win...

@SFA....8-4 rated at 54......very big challenge on road...

JSU....5-6 rated 48.....last year we whipped the badly at their place but maybe there was some discontent in locker room with coaching....a game we will need to win.....

A little too early to pick wins and losses but we have to see what Bears will do with QB, WR and a few key positions......7-4 maybe on top end....but then who knows.....a win over MO State to start would be a huge start....

GoBears!!

11 games seems light...? I thought 13 games was the norm? I could be off though.

11 is the limit in FCS except for certain years where teams are allowed 12. 2022 isn't one