Clowney unveils 2023 football schedule
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney has unveiled the Eagles’ 2023 schedule, featuring six home dates inside the friendly confines of Burke-Tarr Stadium.
VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney has unveiled the Eagles' 2023 schedule, featuring six home dates inside the friendly confines of Burke-Tarr Stadium.
The schedule features the return of a season-opening Thursday night home game and the Eagles' first game against an FCS opponent since 2007.
After starting 2022 on the road, Carson-Newman cranks open 2023 with Virginia Lynchburg on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. The Eagles last faced the Dragons in 2018, taking a 63-10 decision on Oct. 20.
Week two sends Carson-Newman to Johnson City, Tenn. to square off with East Tennessee State. The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Bucs 17-9-1.
C-N and ETSU haven't played since 1974, a 17-7 C-N victory. This will be Carson-Newman's first meeting with a higher-division foe since 2007 and its fabled 29-17 win at UT Chattanooga.
"Virginia Lynchburg is a makeup, we had a contract with them for the season that CoVID cancelled," Clowney said. "Then, ETSU popped up and gives us an opportunity to play up a level. We were looking for something to get us started for a conference schedule that we are familiar with."
Since moving to Division II in 1993, C-N is 2-3 against higher division foes (Florida International in 2003 is the other win). C-N has dropped FCS games to Montana (1994), Central Florida (1995) and North Dakota State (2004).
Carson-Newman hops into conference play in week three by heading to Limestone. The Saints took a two-overtime thriller from Carson-Newman last season.
The Saints mark the first of three consecutive weeks of cross-divisional play for C-N. Road matchups with Limestone and Newberry are sandwiched around a home contest against Lenoir-Rhyne in week four.
Carson-Newman starts play against the Mountain Division on Oct. 7 when Tusculum arrives on the banks of Mossy Creek.
"Week in and week out, you never know what these games are going to look like," Clowney said. "It really does put an increased emphasis on the preparation because you can win every game, but there's also an opportunity to get beat if you aren't ready because of how deep this league is."
The Eagles head on the road Saturday Oct. 14 for the first ever meeting with the Erskine Flying Fleet on the road.
Carson-Newman closes the month of October with hoe games with Mars Hill and Emory & Henry. The Eagles will square off with the Lions for the 60th time while playing the Wasps in Jefferson City for the first time since 1975. E&H owns a 23-18-2 lead in the all-time series against Carson-Newman. The Wasps represent Carson-Newman's homecoming opponent.
"Homecoming is always a big deal," Clowney said. "You always want a fan to be there for every game, but if you can only make one, be there for Homecoming."
The Orange and Blue closes out the road portion of its schedule with its final divisional matchup against the University of Virginia's College at Wise and the Highland Cavaliers on Nov. 4.
C-N is presently scheduled to close the regular season at home against Catawba. C-N will for sure be in Burke-Tarr Stadium 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 with a new opponent taking the spot of whomever was scheduled to face the Mountain Division's champion.
"There's a little extra oomph to have the opportunity to host a championship game," Clowney said. "You take care of business, you have the opportunity to go win a championship in front of your home fans."
All Carson-Newman football games in 2023 will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
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DATE |
OPPONENT |
NOTES |
STATUS |
|
Aug. 31, 2023 |
Virginia-Lynchburg |
7:00 PM |
|
|
Sep. 09, 2023 |
at East Tenn. St. |
TBA |
|
|
Sep. 16, 2023 |
at Limestone * |
12:00 PM |
|
|
Sep. 23, 2023 |
Lenoir-Rhyne * |
1:00 PM |
|
|
Sep. 30, 2023 |
at Newberry * |
6:00 PM |
|
|
Oct. 07, 2023 |
Tusculum * ^ |
1:00 PM |
|
|
Oct. 14, 2023 |
at Erskine * ^ |
4:00 PM |
|
|
Oct. 21, 2023 |
Mars Hill * ^ |
1:00 PM |
|
|
Oct. 28, 2023 |
Emory & Henry * ^ |
Homeomcing |
3:00 PM |
|
Nov. 04, 2023 |
at Virginia-Wise * ^ |
12:00 PM |
|
|
Nov. 11, 2023 |
Catawba * |
Senior Day |
1:00 PM |
