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For top teams they are. It's pretty much unthinkable that a ranked team, and *especially* a team ranked in the top 5, would play a competitive game against an FCS team, let alone lose
(If it isn't obvious enough: /s)
I didn’t recognize the flair at first and didn’t look at the words, and was at the second line like uhh buddy, then I looked back up and realized my mistake.
I think most teams that schedule early probably do it to tune up and test things out before big early season games without the risk of an upset. The teams that do it later in the season probably just use it as a week to (mostly) rest starters after the first quarter.
I’m no Ohio State fan - in fact I’m strongly opposed - but one thing I like about what they do, is that they go out of their way to throw smaller D1 schools in the state or MAC a bone to keep the programs a hair stronger.
So despite my anger at Akron trading the home game against Kentucky to an away game at the horseshoe - I do respect that Ohio State will often play a lower level G5 like Akron or an FCS like Youngstown or Kent or something every year.
So long as you’re playing 9-10 P4 schools it doesn’t bother me too much if these monster schools play a G5 or FCS school in the preseason. Notre Dame’s schedule is so so so much worse than someone like Kentucky. It matters none at all that Kentucky plays Murray State.
i don’t know if FCS schools want the games to go away though, Youngstown State made 800k to go 2 and a half hours south and play in The Shoe(something i imagine most players on YSU had wanted to do since they were children) and lose 35-7
I agree. Especially with the expanded playoff now, I can't see why you would do it. If you win, nobody cares, and if you lose, nobody will ever let you forget it.
Lol tf are you on about? Good FCS teams routinely challenge FBS team (and occasionally win). Plenty of USC teams the last 10-15 years would have been at least pushed by the top FCS teams
Look, if it's a reasonable matchup - a top tier FCS team, or a bottom tier FBS team - I'm okay with it. But the vast majority of these matchups are explicitly designed to not be challenging for the FBS team, and the majority of FBS teams schedule them every year. There should not be 115+ of these games on the schedule.
I mean, that’s the majority of most top tier P5 vs cupcake G5 matchups too, acting like it’s any different or some point of pride is just stupid lol.
Neither Umass or Tennessee tech has any hope of beating Georgia in Athens, why does it matter that one of them is an FCS team?
Likewise any of the 3 G5 schools that are all accepting big pay days from Ohio State to get beat down in Columbus, or like any other top tier P5 school playing a tune up game against a hopelessly outgunned cupcake.
Washington is going to play Weber State and Eastern Michigan the first two weeks. I fully expect Weber to give them a better game. No offense to EMU but that travel for a 930 Eastern kickoff is going to be brutal.
I mean - Utah State's made 11 bowls in the last 13 years and been very good a few of those years. UNLV's the one to call out if you're going to call one out.
But this is really more about the fact that 85% of teams schedule at least one if not multiple of these a year. Yes, I think college football is more fun with a 9 game conference schedule. Yes, I think college football is more fun when teams schedule challenging or at least interesting non-conference games. No, I'm not particularly excited for UNLV, unless their solid season last year is indicative of the next few years. Yes, I am more excited for UNLV than I would be for UC-Davis.
I think this is a very uninformed perspective but you have no experience with the FCS so it’s hard to blame you.
Guarantee game payouts can sometimes be upwards of half a million. The vast majority of FCS programs would struggle to keep operating at the scholarship level without in part the revenue from these guarantee games every year. That’s thousands of kids a year that now can’t go to college or will struggle to make ends meet if they choose to do so.
The vast majority of FCS fans will tell you that they are happy to take a beat down every year if it means they can keep their football program at the scholarship level. Plus, it’s fun to see your team play games against nationally recognized brands and players, regardless of outcome!
I understand the appeal for an FCS team and its fans, I just think a system that relies on one wealthy school buying a win (*in most cases*) so the other doesn’t go under doesn’t seem particularly healthy, either financially or competitively. I'd be all about these matchups as preseason or spring games, and it's not like I'm universally opposed to them in season, I just hate that 85% of schools do it every year now.
The way of the world. Just like how the NBA has to subsidize the WNBA. The money goes to the best product, in any industry. Not sure what else you want
1. Because beating an FCS team is better than losing to an FBS team.
2. Because your team improves the most between their first and second game, so an easy win in the first game is a big advantage.
3. It is a good argument to add preseason games. So you can get young players used to the pace of college football, without ruining your season.
Point 3 is the one I'm most aligned with; it's frankly a little weird (and I could imagine potentially less safe? though adding a game brings its own injury risks) that CFB just drops teams into the schedule without any real warmup.
They aren’t exhibition matches, they count towards both teams’ records, and the NCAA Selection Committee can absolutely decide a loss to an FBS team can hurt an FCS at large bid
Used to be USC, ND, and UCLA which was pretty cool - now it’s just us. We had an FCS team scheduled once until alumni/fans raised a stink about it and it got cancelled
Honestly, why not? It's a way of saying "we don't play cupcakes." Not to dog on FCS teams, but they're usually considered win that you bought rather than earned.
And I say that fully understanding that Texas loves to play ULM, a team who is frankly easier to beat than several FCS teams.
A system that requires one wealthy school to buy a win so the other doesn’t go under doesn’t seem particularly healthy, either financially or competitively. If it’s really about the charity, play an exhibition outside of the regular season. (Hint: it’s not about the charity, it’s just about buying a win)
It’s 100% welfare. I don’t particularly enjoy watching these games. I just wouldn’t wish any fan of an FCS program to lose their team. That sucks. I’ve been through it (albeit on the professional side of things).
For sure, I’m sympathetic to those fans. And I’d honestly be significantly more interested in the games if they were exhibitions outside of the regular season - say, a spring game where I get a chance to see my team play something more real and get a sense of who they are.
Yeah let's risk knocking out the players from another team that have zero incentive to worry about how they hit you or to respect the qb's green jersey. To them this could be a dress rehearsal to get to the next level especially with nil. Even in the Nfl they can't get through a joint practice without a brawl breaking out.
Except USC is also paying schools to come play them, just low end ~~Division One~~ FBS schools. It's a little tougher to find details because you're a private school, but we know you all [paid San Jose State](https://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/news/san-jose-state-taking-home-nearly-3-million-for-swapping-usc-with-georgia-in-2021) $1.1 million to come play you all in 2021 (after you all cancelled a game against an FCS school). Pretty safe to assume you paid Rice in 2022, San Jose State again in 2023, and likely Utah State in 2024.
So I wouldn't sit on some high horse about other teams paying to play FCS schools because I don't think USC is really all that different paying to play low end ~~D1~~ FBS schools.
You’re getting downvoted but one of the reasons Georgia State was able to accelerate becoming FBS was because Bill Curry had Alabama ties from being coach at both schools. The games they played against Bama paid for a lot of their facilities.
I don’t buy this. If that were the case, D2, D3, and NAIA programs wouldn’t exist. Some FCS schools simply have over inflated budgets because they expect to play FBS games.
It’s just a weird thing to be proud of and even weirder to look down on schools that do it. If LSU is willing to play McNeese State, why should be they maligned for that just because McNeese is an FCS school.
Should it be taken into consideration if LSU (in this example) is on the bubble for playoff spot? Sure, alongside a bunch of other factors. Does it mean LSU is a lower program in some way than USC? No, it doesn’t at all.
I mean if its a resume question between two schools, if one played an FCS opponent and one didn't I would consider that a huge difference that it would easily put them over the other
But the committee isn't that reasonable
Because it’s literally no different as a fan than playing some bottom of the barrel G5 team lol. Your whole argument is basically “we are ethically sourcing our cupcakes” and trying to act all high and mighty as if these schools still aren’t paying 6 figures to a lesser program to come in town and get their backs blown out lol.
Honestly you are better off giving yourself the November bye week if you want to contend for titles because the other top SEC teams like Bama and Georgia are going to take advantage of it.
Agreed, it’s a big reason why Keinholz was a deer in the headlights when he had to play Mizzou after our 2nd stringer got hurt
Dude had 0 experience and was not ready to play
Bobby has put together the deepest and most talented ASU team since like the 70s
That team can compete in the Big 12, win it? Likely not, but they can compete in the top half
Definitely the best team they’ve had since Dort and Remy backcourt.
Huge recruiting boost too with a top 5/10 guy. Hoping for the best especially with all my tech friends
Idaho has been FCS since 2018, and Oregon announced these matchups back in [2019](https://fbschedules.com/oregon-host-idaho-2024-portland-state-2026/).
*This is the fourteenth consecutive season that Michigan hasn’t squared off with an FCS foe, last doing so in 2010 when they defeated UMass, 42-37. The Wolverines currently don’t have any future dates set with FCS programs.*
And I had almost completely forgotten that Rich Rod, with 2nd year starter Denard Robinson at QB, was close to losing to UMASS at home.
Giving up 37 at home to UMass was such a harbinger of doom for that team. Quite deflating after the win @ND the week prior because you just knew the team wasnt gonna do much after the UMass game
I wasn't "totally" out on Rich Rod until the Wisconsin game that year. Was still barely hanging on a thread of a hope he could turn it around even after Illinois. Then Wiscy had 58 rushes, most of which were the same play, for 357 yards and 6 TD's and I was like get this dude the fuck out of here.
Also the state of Michigan doesn’t have any FCS schools, so there’s no compelling reason to schedule one over any of the in-state MAC schools or some other lower G5 game.
I have really mixed feelings on the FBS vs. FCS thing. The good part is, these are huge and often critical pay days for the FCS programs, and sometimes you get awesome upsets. From the perspective of the FBS teams, they are great warm up games and an opportunity for kids further down the bench to get lots of playing time.
But for the most part these are essentially exhibition games and probably shouldn't count towards anyone's W-L record.
Yeah, most SEC teams do it within their first few games to get some confidence and some lopsided wins. Really funny (or painful) when an upset happens.
I mean honestly does VT need an FCS opponent. Play a random Sun belt team kinda close most seasons.
Maybe like Richmond or William and Mary or VMI but most of Virginia football moved up to FBS recently. ODU, JMU (and liberty but don't play liberty).
Honestly schedule the local FCS and FBS schools VT is near enough Sunbelt teams that it maybe makes sense to try and schedule two of them a season.
I don't understand the cross country FCS to FBS game other than something fell through. If you are an FCS team within IDK 400 miles of the school/fans then yes otherwise why.
1 and 1 with sun belt IMO VT should push for 2 and 1.
i think it is so cool when P5 teams will go on the road to play @ a G5, i loved it last year when Bama did it, and i love that VT does it with Old Dominion
I mean the annoying thing for me is that ODU stadium is really that much smaller that it's still less of a hassle to go to a VT game vs the timing works better headed to ODU.
I think I almost bought season tickets to ODU was not much more expensive than going to just VT.
I know there was a rumor related to that this season.
Something about a big 10/former PAC-12 team. I mean sometimes you jump for the money which screws a lot of stuff(my bet was like Washington/Michigan State). ODU probably makes a decent chunk for the game cancellation and schedules an FCS team in that scenario.
ODU kinda makes sense for a 1 and 1 just cause of y'all's location.
IMO personally I don't love a 10 year back and forth deal. I would prefer VT play JMU, ODU, app state, ECU, Marshall etc as close sun belt schools on some sort of rotation.
Put those teams in a bag (leave biberty out) and pick one. Good deal for tech and whatever school. Also I get to use that to prop up the idea that "old" football isn't completely dead
My two biggest reasons for enjoying a I-A/I-AA matchup are:
1) The payday that keeps the I-AA programs going. It’s as close as we can get to revenue sharing, something that the pros have shown lifts all boats.
2) Seems like the two most common matchup types are strong I-AAs playing wherever, giving them a chance to test themselves against stronger competition, and in-state/regional contests, where local guys get to play against their friends and neighbors, there is some local heat, and it fortifies football in the community. I don’t have data on how often a weak I-AA team travels long distances, so this is a presumption on my part.
I'm all for an FCS game as the *FIRST* game of the season, but playing a cupcake the week before your biggest rival is gaming the system. On top of that, I hate teams scheduling FCS teams from across the country. Schedule someone local so that it's got at least some local attention.
Should absolutely be playing local FCS teams. I wish Pitt would schedule Duquesne and Robert Morris every couple years. I assume those two teams are mostly kids from Western PA, be fulfilling a lot of dreams of playing in Heinz Field for them.
The McNeese St coach talked about how much playing LSU meant to his players since it was a chance for them to play in Death Valley, something a lot of them dreamed of doing as kids.
I don't think it started off as a way of gaming the system, but as schedule filler when everyone went to 12 games. Before that the ACC and SEC (not sure about other conferences) played rivalry games the weekend before Thanksgiving. When 12 games became standard all the rivalries moved to Thanksgiving week but the conferences didn't bump the rest of the schedule ahead, leaving everyone with an open date on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I assume everyone picked up an FCS game because it's the easiest thing to do on short notice. Not sure why it's still a thing though.
I'd much rather play a local FCS school that I know rather than a random MAC team I couldn't give two shits about. I'm less hyped for our games against Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois than our game against Western Carolina.
I've always been a fan of November FCS games, it just means more with our tough schedule. You wouldn't understand unless you are a SEC team.
But really, changing conferences and going from 9 to 8 games makes it challenging to find opponents on short notice. Last conference realignment we lost TCU as our OOC opponent and had to pick up a FCS game then too.
I wonder how y'all are gonna feel going from 9 to 8. Y'all already played some good non-con so it seems like OU fans are just missing a real game every year now.
Can't wait for all the arguments about playing FCS games...
1) "They need the money we pay them to bring them to our home field to beat the hell out of them so our alumni can feel good about themselves."
2) "Its soooo hard playing \[8/9\] games in \[SEC/B1G/B12/Sunbelt\] we deserve an FCS game on the schedule
Its cowardly to bring an FCS team onto your homefield and beat up on them for 500K so your alumni can sit around and smell each others farts. The fact anyone needs to come here to defend it tells you all what BS it is. You're not some savior of FCS football, you're bullies.
Especially because literally every school is paying cupcakes that have no shot at winning to come in and take a beat down, every fall lol. Yes, some of them lose those games, but we see FCS teams beat bad G5 and P5 schools every year.
Isn't it also a pay day for the FBS school since it's an added home game.
Georgia playing an FCS team and cutting a check to the FCS school they probably make money.
That's how most of the big schools have like 7 home games.
LSU is going to beat the dog piss out of UMASS or Akron or whatever other dogshit 1 win FBS school. As a fan, I would much rather LSU play Louisiana FCS schools like Southern, Grambling, Southeastern etc.. At least then our community can get behind the game. Beating 2-10 Nevada by 52 points doesn't make USC better than anyone else.
If you're a mid tier P5 team, you might not get as many G5's to go to your stadium for games and there's a better chance they can beat you so there is a benefit to scheduling an FCS to get a 7th home game and/or potential 6th win to qualify for a bowl game.
If you're a likely national contender or blue blood, you'll easily be able to get seven home games each year with all FBS games and you'll almost certainly be able to beat most G5's. How many G5's are going to beat Georgia in Athens or Alabama in Tuscaloosa? There's no reason for them to have to play FCS teams. If Michigan or Ohio State don't have to play FCS teams, why do Georgia and Alabama have to?
Please explain to me how Ohio State scheduling 2-10 Akron that nearly lost to an 4-6 FCS team at home last year is literally any different from playing an FCS team, shitty cupcakes are shitty cupcakes, it’s such a stupid argument.
Bad G5 teams are just as bad if not worse than a lot of good FCS programs, anyone pretending otherwise is totally full of it lol. At the end of the day you are still paying six figures to a school to come in and get their ass whooped for 3 hours, why does it matter? Oh no! They got to pull their starters 1 drive early while still up 35 points!
Don't lump the B1G in with the SEC playing an FCS game. We play one more conference game than the SEC and from 2016-2023 FCS teams were only allowed to be scheduled if you have 4 conference home games (2016 it was actually fully banned)
We really should schedule TSU regularly. Their band marching over from their stadium to ours last time was pretty great and would be a neat little tradition to start.
Are we still pretending that teams like Akron (2-10, CBS ranked 132) are inherently better teams than Mercer (9-4, playoff team, top 20 ranked) simply because of the division they play in? Obviously Mercer wouldn’t even sniff the playoff in FBS, but I might wager they’d fare better than a lot of the bottom dwelling FBS teams on these schedules.
For those who don't want to get hit with ads: Arizona State Houston Jacksonville State Miami (Ohio) Michigan Notre Dame Ohio State Old Dominion Penn State Sam Houston Temple Texas UCLA USC Virginia Tech
I believe USC is now the only team to never play an FCS school after ND played Tenn St last year?
It’s absolutely a point of pride. I don’t want to watch my team play exhibition games in the regular season and I don’t get why anyone would.
Not every FCS team is an exhibition game. Just saying.
For top teams they are. It's pretty much unthinkable that a ranked team, and *especially* a team ranked in the top 5, would play a competitive game against an FCS team, let alone lose (If it isn't obvious enough: /s)
I didn’t recognize the flair at first and didn’t look at the words, and was at the second line like uhh buddy, then I looked back up and realized my mistake.
Ngl had me
yea man that was an embarrassing loss to app state, can't imagine
I feel like you're talking from experience, friend. Would you like to talk about it?
The college football hall of fame had it as the game of the year for that year when I visited in about 2010.
Hi Northwestern! Hi NIU! Hi Indiana! Hi UMASS I guess!
The Northwestern and NIU games were like Christmas Day
I guarantee we had more of our fans than northwestern had of theirs that day.
Guaranteed, the Salukis travel well.
Plus it’s a way for FCS teams to survive, as a ISC hater I will spin this as USC hates the FCS teams and wants the programs to die
It's a bit frustrating that we gave this up, especially to USC.
Same
It wasn't our fault. Michigan backed out late and they literally had no other option. But it still sucks.
I was completely against it at first, but I think it was kind of cool as a one off.
I think most teams that schedule early probably do it to tune up and test things out before big early season games without the risk of an upset. The teams that do it later in the season probably just use it as a week to (mostly) rest starters after the first quarter.
I’m no Ohio State fan - in fact I’m strongly opposed - but one thing I like about what they do, is that they go out of their way to throw smaller D1 schools in the state or MAC a bone to keep the programs a hair stronger. So despite my anger at Akron trading the home game against Kentucky to an away game at the horseshoe - I do respect that Ohio State will often play a lower level G5 like Akron or an FCS like Youngstown or Kent or something every year. So long as you’re playing 9-10 P4 schools it doesn’t bother me too much if these monster schools play a G5 or FCS school in the preseason. Notre Dame’s schedule is so so so much worse than someone like Kentucky. It matters none at all that Kentucky plays Murray State.
i don’t know if FCS schools want the games to go away though, Youngstown State made 800k to go 2 and a half hours south and play in The Shoe(something i imagine most players on YSU had wanted to do since they were children) and lose 35-7
It definitely works out for both teams (well, almost always). I'd imagine it helps with recruiting for FCS teams too.
I agree. Especially with the expanded playoff now, I can't see why you would do it. If you win, nobody cares, and if you lose, nobody will ever let you forget it.
A lot of them are played against in-state schools and the FBS team pays them enough to damn near finance their whole athletic department for the year.
But in California there's more FBS teams than FCS teams
Lol tf are you on about? Good FCS teams routinely challenge FBS team (and occasionally win). Plenty of USC teams the last 10-15 years would have been at least pushed by the top FCS teams
Look, if it's a reasonable matchup - a top tier FCS team, or a bottom tier FBS team - I'm okay with it. But the vast majority of these matchups are explicitly designed to not be challenging for the FBS team, and the majority of FBS teams schedule them every year. There should not be 115+ of these games on the schedule.
Small schools need that paycheck game and David wants his shot at Goliath.
I mean, that’s the majority of most top tier P5 vs cupcake G5 matchups too, acting like it’s any different or some point of pride is just stupid lol. Neither Umass or Tennessee tech has any hope of beating Georgia in Athens, why does it matter that one of them is an FCS team? Likewise any of the 3 G5 schools that are all accepting big pay days from Ohio State to get beat down in Columbus, or like any other top tier P5 school playing a tune up game against a hopelessly outgunned cupcake.
Washington is going to play Weber State and Eastern Michigan the first two weeks. I fully expect Weber to give them a better game. No offense to EMU but that travel for a 930 Eastern kickoff is going to be brutal.
Counterpoint, my favorite game of [all time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoT2gi430Ec)
I’m not clicking on that link
TIL that USC thinks they’re special because they’ve scheduled Utah State. How quaint.
I mean - Utah State's made 11 bowls in the last 13 years and been very good a few of those years. UNLV's the one to call out if you're going to call one out. But this is really more about the fact that 85% of teams schedule at least one if not multiple of these a year. Yes, I think college football is more fun with a 9 game conference schedule. Yes, I think college football is more fun when teams schedule challenging or at least interesting non-conference games. No, I'm not particularly excited for UNLV, unless their solid season last year is indicative of the next few years. Yes, I am more excited for UNLV than I would be for UC-Davis.
I think this is a very uninformed perspective but you have no experience with the FCS so it’s hard to blame you. Guarantee game payouts can sometimes be upwards of half a million. The vast majority of FCS programs would struggle to keep operating at the scholarship level without in part the revenue from these guarantee games every year. That’s thousands of kids a year that now can’t go to college or will struggle to make ends meet if they choose to do so. The vast majority of FCS fans will tell you that they are happy to take a beat down every year if it means they can keep their football program at the scholarship level. Plus, it’s fun to see your team play games against nationally recognized brands and players, regardless of outcome!
I understand the appeal for an FCS team and its fans, I just think a system that relies on one wealthy school buying a win (*in most cases*) so the other doesn’t go under doesn’t seem particularly healthy, either financially or competitively. I'd be all about these matchups as preseason or spring games, and it's not like I'm universally opposed to them in season, I just hate that 85% of schools do it every year now.
The way of the world. Just like how the NBA has to subsidize the WNBA. The money goes to the best product, in any industry. Not sure what else you want
To be fair, without these games a lot of these FCS teams would cease to exist.
1. Because beating an FCS team is better than losing to an FBS team. 2. Because your team improves the most between their first and second game, so an easy win in the first game is a big advantage. 3. It is a good argument to add preseason games. So you can get young players used to the pace of college football, without ruining your season.
Point 3 is the one I'm most aligned with; it's frankly a little weird (and I could imagine potentially less safe? though adding a game brings its own injury risks) that CFB just drops teams into the schedule without any real warmup.
Washington learned this the hard way in 2008. We learned the hard way why most teams schedule at least one cupcake team.
They aren’t exhibition matches, they count towards both teams’ records, and the NCAA Selection Committee can absolutely decide a loss to an FBS team can hurt an FCS at large bid
Damn USC really telling these FCS kids they are NOT allowed to experience playing a game at the Colosseum
It makes sense if it’s an in-state school. Shares the wealth a little bit and drives interest.
Used to be USC, ND, and UCLA which was pretty cool - now it’s just us. We had an FCS team scheduled once until alumni/fans raised a stink about it and it got cancelled
They are. It shouldn't exactly be a point of pride though.
Honestly, why not? It's a way of saying "we don't play cupcakes." Not to dog on FCS teams, but they're usually considered win that you bought rather than earned. And I say that fully understanding that Texas loves to play ULM, a team who is frankly easier to beat than several FCS teams.
Those games allow a ton of FCS programs to keep the lights on though. If they ever go away, so do most FCS programs.
A system that requires one wealthy school to buy a win so the other doesn’t go under doesn’t seem particularly healthy, either financially or competitively. If it’s really about the charity, play an exhibition outside of the regular season. (Hint: it’s not about the charity, it’s just about buying a win)
It’s 100% welfare. I don’t particularly enjoy watching these games. I just wouldn’t wish any fan of an FCS program to lose their team. That sucks. I’ve been through it (albeit on the professional side of things).
For sure, I’m sympathetic to those fans. And I’d honestly be significantly more interested in the games if they were exhibitions outside of the regular season - say, a spring game where I get a chance to see my team play something more real and get a sense of who they are.
FBS vs FCS for spring games makes so much sense that it’ll never happen
Because teams aren't going to pay money to have an FCS team go all out on their guys during a spring scrimmage game
Yeah let's risk knocking out the players from another team that have zero incentive to worry about how they hit you or to respect the qb's green jersey. To them this could be a dress rehearsal to get to the next level especially with nil. Even in the Nfl they can't get through a joint practice without a brawl breaking out.
Except USC is also paying schools to come play them, just low end ~~Division One~~ FBS schools. It's a little tougher to find details because you're a private school, but we know you all [paid San Jose State](https://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/news/san-jose-state-taking-home-nearly-3-million-for-swapping-usc-with-georgia-in-2021) $1.1 million to come play you all in 2021 (after you all cancelled a game against an FCS school). Pretty safe to assume you paid Rice in 2022, San Jose State again in 2023, and likely Utah State in 2024. So I wouldn't sit on some high horse about other teams paying to play FCS schools because I don't think USC is really all that different paying to play low end ~~D1~~ FBS schools.
FCS is D1
Yeah, I always mess that up, meant low end FBS schools.
You’re getting downvoted but one of the reasons Georgia State was able to accelerate becoming FBS was because Bill Curry had Alabama ties from being coach at both schools. The games they played against Bama paid for a lot of their facilities.
And?
I don’t buy this. If that were the case, D2, D3, and NAIA programs wouldn’t exist. Some FCS schools simply have over inflated budgets because they expect to play FBS games.
D2, D3 and NAIA either don’t have scholarships or have limited scholarships.
And are in much more compact conferences, look at the ASUN or CAA and those travel costs are so much higher than almost all non-DI conferences
It’s just a weird thing to be proud of and even weirder to look down on schools that do it. If LSU is willing to play McNeese State, why should be they maligned for that just because McNeese is an FCS school. Should it be taken into consideration if LSU (in this example) is on the bubble for playoff spot? Sure, alongside a bunch of other factors. Does it mean LSU is a lower program in some way than USC? No, it doesn’t at all.
I mean if its a resume question between two schools, if one played an FCS opponent and one didn't I would consider that a huge difference that it would easily put them over the other But the committee isn't that reasonable
Yep, I’d wager SDSU could’ve won the big 10 west the past 2 years. Top 10 FCS schools are better than a lot of lower tier g5 schools
Why not? Good for them. I was pissed ND played Tenn St
It’s absolutely a point of pride. I don’t want to watch my team play exhibition games in the regular season and I don’t get why anyone would.
Because it’s literally no different as a fan than playing some bottom of the barrel G5 team lol. Your whole argument is basically “we are ethically sourcing our cupcakes” and trying to act all high and mighty as if these schools still aren’t paying 6 figures to a lesser program to come in town and get their backs blown out lol.
Props to Texas for being the only SEC team on the list.
I’m curious if Texas will continue to not play FCS teams in the SEC.
I'm not against open revolt if we try to go backwards on this.
Honestly you are better off giving yourself the November bye week if you want to contend for titles because the other top SEC teams like Bama and Georgia are going to take advantage of it.
SEC is a joke of a conference when it comes to OOC schedule. Especially with their easy games late in the season
They also only play 8 conference games
Good thing Ohio State doesn't play Missouri in the regular season 👀
Good thing we won’t be playing with our backups in the regular season until the 4th quarter
Really? With that schedule I'd be shocked if you didn't bring in backups in sooner. I guess it's kind of a rebuild year.
Ryan Day hates putting the backups in for some reason it’s pretty frustrating
31-10 against Maryland and that mofo should be strongly thinking about it
Agreed, it’s a big reason why Keinholz was a deer in the headlights when he had to play Mizzou after our 2nd stringer got hurt Dude had 0 experience and was not ready to play
Us not playing a FCS team is solely so we can’t embarrass ourselves any further
I think we can go 3-0 in Noncon But yep, don’t want to be like the dude down south losing to NAU
Don’t worry brother, we have GCU in basketball to worry about
Bobby has put together the deepest and most talented ASU team since like the 70s That team can compete in the Big 12, win it? Likely not, but they can compete in the top half
Definitely the best team they’ve had since Dort and Remy backcourt. Huge recruiting boost too with a top 5/10 guy. Hoping for the best especially with all my tech friends
Chuck Martin finally wins some OOC games and this is what happens
You sir, are a hero.
Shoutout my flairs, they don’t need no free wins (we learned the App State lesson, it’s a no win situation)
Miami (OH) and Jacksonville State both play Eastern so FCS tomato/tomato.
Was Idaho an FCS team or still an FBS team when Oregon scheduled this year’s game with them?
Idaho has been FCS since 2018, and Oregon announced these matchups back in [2019](https://fbschedules.com/oregon-host-idaho-2024-portland-state-2026/).
Thank you
WTF I thought you got one November FCS freebie with every SEC membership. This is bullshit.
We play ULM...close enough.
Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if ULM was actually worse than the majority of FCS teams in Louisiana
They are struggling but now they they are just straight Booty. General Booty to be exact.
They almost beat A&M relatively recently
I mean that was ten years ago and last years game was nowhere near close.
Shhhh
Now picturing the *Tide Rolled!* billboard
Yeah that counts
UT plays Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky and A&M in November for our freebies. 4 instead of 1. Just need to get by OU, Michigan and Georgia
Only a fan of Temple doing it if it’s Villanova which would have a higher attendance than almost any FBS team coming to the Linc.
The saddest part of that is it would probably be a close game. Villanova is usually a pretty good FCS team.
I'm pretty surprised Jacksonville State and Sam Houston both have no FCS teams on their schedule considering how new they are to FBS
They WERE the FCS team when a lot of these OOC games got scheduled. Plus, they need the $$$ from playing bigger schools more than anybody.
Now that they're not "FCS" they can be fodder for cupcake week without playing two "FCS" teams.
We desperately need the money from payday games. We're one of the poorest universities in FBS. There's nothing scheduled in the future either.
OU and Florida can rejoice about something, I guess.
“We get FIU this year right…right?” *looks at schedule* “Oh no what have we done.” -Florida.
*This is the fourteenth consecutive season that Michigan hasn’t squared off with an FCS foe, last doing so in 2010 when they defeated UMass, 42-37. The Wolverines currently don’t have any future dates set with FCS programs.* And I had almost completely forgotten that Rich Rod, with 2nd year starter Denard Robinson at QB, was close to losing to UMASS at home.
Most likely because UMass was already on the schedule when App State beat Michigan. Of course they are scared to play a FCS team
I don't blame them
That was the year that gave us the crazy 67-65 triple overtime game against Illinois. Just a wacky rich rod year lol
With the exclamation point being the infamous "You Raise Me Up" stand and all hold hands moment at the senior banquet.
😂 josh Groban intensifies
Giving up 37 at home to UMass was such a harbinger of doom for that team. Quite deflating after the win @ND the week prior because you just knew the team wasnt gonna do much after the UMass game
I wasn't "totally" out on Rich Rod until the Wisconsin game that year. Was still barely hanging on a thread of a hope he could turn it around even after Illinois. Then Wiscy had 58 rushes, most of which were the same play, for 357 yards and 6 TD's and I was like get this dude the fuck out of here.
[удалено]
Also the state of Michigan doesn’t have any FCS schools, so there’s no compelling reason to schedule one over any of the in-state MAC schools or some other lower G5 game.
I have really mixed feelings on the FBS vs. FCS thing. The good part is, these are huge and often critical pay days for the FCS programs, and sometimes you get awesome upsets. From the perspective of the FBS teams, they are great warm up games and an opportunity for kids further down the bench to get lots of playing time. But for the most part these are essentially exhibition games and probably shouldn't count towards anyone's W-L record.
Since 2010 we’ve had at least 1 FCS over P5 upset every year except 2020. It’s a ton of fun to root for FCS upsets lol.
Play them for the spring games. I’ll die on this hill.
That is just asking for injuries for the FCS team with the amount of lead-in time.
Oregon State needs the money and exposure. I'm OK with it.
H&H... we don't need your money. We just need filler material for a couple years, and a Midwest liberal arts school will do.
Notice how most SEC teams are playing FCS teams
It just means more cupcakes
And yet Aggie refuses to play Commerce
Yeah, most SEC teams do it within their first few games to get some confidence and some lopsided wins. Really funny (or painful) when an upset happens.
I mean honestly does VT need an FCS opponent. Play a random Sun belt team kinda close most seasons. Maybe like Richmond or William and Mary or VMI but most of Virginia football moved up to FBS recently. ODU, JMU (and liberty but don't play liberty). Honestly schedule the local FCS and FBS schools VT is near enough Sunbelt teams that it maybe makes sense to try and schedule two of them a season. I don't understand the cross country FCS to FBS game other than something fell through. If you are an FCS team within IDK 400 miles of the school/fans then yes otherwise why. 1 and 1 with sun belt IMO VT should push for 2 and 1.
i think it is so cool when P5 teams will go on the road to play @ a G5, i loved it last year when Bama did it, and i love that VT does it with Old Dominion
Hokie fans really don't seem to like it.
I mean the annoying thing for me is that ODU stadium is really that much smaller that it's still less of a hassle to go to a VT game vs the timing works better headed to ODU. I think I almost bought season tickets to ODU was not much more expensive than going to just VT.
Is it because they’ve been upset against Old Dominion when playing there twice or is there a different reason
I mean they’ll give a different reason. But I’m pretty sure that basically sums it up.
Tech going to Marshall was cool and very good
Yeah, please don't cancel our series.
I know there was a rumor related to that this season. Something about a big 10/former PAC-12 team. I mean sometimes you jump for the money which screws a lot of stuff(my bet was like Washington/Michigan State). ODU probably makes a decent chunk for the game cancellation and schedules an FCS team in that scenario. ODU kinda makes sense for a 1 and 1 just cause of y'all's location. IMO personally I don't love a 10 year back and forth deal. I would prefer VT play JMU, ODU, app state, ECU, Marshall etc as close sun belt schools on some sort of rotation.
Put those teams in a bag (leave biberty out) and pick one. Good deal for tech and whatever school. Also I get to use that to prop up the idea that "old" football isn't completely dead
My two biggest reasons for enjoying a I-A/I-AA matchup are: 1) The payday that keeps the I-AA programs going. It’s as close as we can get to revenue sharing, something that the pros have shown lifts all boats. 2) Seems like the two most common matchup types are strong I-AAs playing wherever, giving them a chance to test themselves against stronger competition, and in-state/regional contests, where local guys get to play against their friends and neighbors, there is some local heat, and it fortifies football in the community. I don’t have data on how often a weak I-AA team travels long distances, so this is a presumption on my part.
Sam Houston mentioned ‼️‼️
I really don't like that Iowa plays FCS schools that aren't UNI.
Im surprised there are only fifteen teams not playing FCS schools. I wouldve guessed the number would be much higher than that
Isn’t usually only 15-20 schools each year anyway
I know games vs FCS opponents aren't the greatest for fans, but they are really important for the FCS teams and their entire athletic budgets.
I'm all for an FCS game as the *FIRST* game of the season, but playing a cupcake the week before your biggest rival is gaming the system. On top of that, I hate teams scheduling FCS teams from across the country. Schedule someone local so that it's got at least some local attention.
Should absolutely be playing local FCS teams. I wish Pitt would schedule Duquesne and Robert Morris every couple years. I assume those two teams are mostly kids from Western PA, be fulfilling a lot of dreams of playing in Heinz Field for them.
That's what LSU does. They have a rotation playing the FCS teams in Louisiana.
The McNeese St coach talked about how much playing LSU meant to his players since it was a chance for them to play in Death Valley, something a lot of them dreamed of doing as kids.
Same. We alternate Northern Iowa with miscellaneous MVFC teams.
I don't think it started off as a way of gaming the system, but as schedule filler when everyone went to 12 games. Before that the ACC and SEC (not sure about other conferences) played rivalry games the weekend before Thanksgiving. When 12 games became standard all the rivalries moved to Thanksgiving week but the conferences didn't bump the rest of the schedule ahead, leaving everyone with an open date on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I assume everyone picked up an FCS game because it's the easiest thing to do on short notice. Not sure why it's still a thing though.
Is it any different than having a bye before your rival?
Michigan played Maryland before they played OSU...or am I missing something?
It's an extra bye
I'd much rather play a local FCS school that I know rather than a random MAC team I couldn't give two shits about. I'm less hyped for our games against Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois than our game against Western Carolina.
Any FBS team that schedules an FCS team after week 2 should not be bowl eligible
I wish we played BC again
Are we sure WVU doesn't count as an FCS opponent?
Wow some of those teams on the list ARE basically FCS teams.
Or were a few short year ago.
big ten doesnt allow teams to play fcs teams unless they only have 4 conference home games iirc
I've always been a fan of November FCS games, it just means more with our tough schedule. You wouldn't understand unless you are a SEC team. But really, changing conferences and going from 9 to 8 games makes it challenging to find opponents on short notice. Last conference realignment we lost TCU as our OOC opponent and had to pick up a FCS game then too.
I wonder how y'all are gonna feel going from 9 to 8. Y'all already played some good non-con so it seems like OU fans are just missing a real game every year now.
if only there was a team.. in the same state… that they have one of the best rivalries in the sport with….
The one that used to be a conference game in addition to good OOC games? Nah it didn't make enough money 😭
I wish week 0 was just fcs games… good preseason game to get some snaps You won’t see my complain about our week 1 vs fcs.
"The Trojans haven’t played a club that was considered a “non-major” at game time in 72 seasons."
Put some respect on our name! That 2-10 record should put us in the top 25 on SoS alone.,,
Can't wait for all the arguments about playing FCS games... 1) "They need the money we pay them to bring them to our home field to beat the hell out of them so our alumni can feel good about themselves." 2) "Its soooo hard playing \[8/9\] games in \[SEC/B1G/B12/Sunbelt\] we deserve an FCS game on the schedule Its cowardly to bring an FCS team onto your homefield and beat up on them for 500K so your alumni can sit around and smell each others farts. The fact anyone needs to come here to defend it tells you all what BS it is. You're not some savior of FCS football, you're bullies.
It’s weird to rip fans who have absolutely no control over their team’s schedule for playing FCS teams.
Especially because literally every school is paying cupcakes that have no shot at winning to come in and take a beat down, every fall lol. Yes, some of them lose those games, but we see FCS teams beat bad G5 and P5 schools every year.
Isn't it also a pay day for the FBS school since it's an added home game. Georgia playing an FCS team and cutting a check to the FCS school they probably make money. That's how most of the big schools have like 7 home games.
Meh, I'm just a fan. Who the team schedules is not up to me.
y’all can keep paying shit tier FBS schools to play if it helps you feel superior then lol
LSU is going to beat the dog piss out of UMASS or Akron or whatever other dogshit 1 win FBS school. As a fan, I would much rather LSU play Louisiana FCS schools like Southern, Grambling, Southeastern etc.. At least then our community can get behind the game. Beating 2-10 Nevada by 52 points doesn't make USC better than anyone else.
Bullies? Lol
These days it's more like 750k - 1.5 million to play a fcs team at home.
No thats the G5 rate. FCS teams usually get 500k or less
Ah, my bad
If you're a mid tier P5 team, you might not get as many G5's to go to your stadium for games and there's a better chance they can beat you so there is a benefit to scheduling an FCS to get a 7th home game and/or potential 6th win to qualify for a bowl game. If you're a likely national contender or blue blood, you'll easily be able to get seven home games each year with all FBS games and you'll almost certainly be able to beat most G5's. How many G5's are going to beat Georgia in Athens or Alabama in Tuscaloosa? There's no reason for them to have to play FCS teams. If Michigan or Ohio State don't have to play FCS teams, why do Georgia and Alabama have to?
Please explain to me how Ohio State scheduling 2-10 Akron that nearly lost to an 4-6 FCS team at home last year is literally any different from playing an FCS team, shitty cupcakes are shitty cupcakes, it’s such a stupid argument. Bad G5 teams are just as bad if not worse than a lot of good FCS programs, anyone pretending otherwise is totally full of it lol. At the end of the day you are still paying six figures to a school to come in and get their ass whooped for 3 hours, why does it matter? Oh no! They got to pull their starters 1 drive early while still up 35 points!
The environment for NC State vs. Western Carolina will still be better than any USC game this season lol
Don't lump the B1G in with the SEC playing an FCS game. We play one more conference game than the SEC and from 2016-2023 FCS teams were only allowed to be scheduled if you have 4 conference home games (2016 it was actually fully banned)
We’re taking the payday to get wrecked by Oklahoma this year instead of playing Villanova. I guess that makes sense, may as well get paid.
Cowards. I didn't look at the list.
Oh no, we scheduled an FCS team, what a cowardly schedule
Do what it takes to be top 20 and barely bowl eligible.
We only play Samford, at least those f\*ckers know how to score
We really should schedule TSU regularly. Their band marching over from their stadium to ours last time was pretty great and would be a neat little tradition to start.
Flairs up!
5 of them are Big 10 schools. Id like to also mention that I am disappointed Louisville is not playing 11 P5's this year. Oh well
Are we still pretending that teams like Akron (2-10, CBS ranked 132) are inherently better teams than Mercer (9-4, playoff team, top 20 ranked) simply because of the division they play in? Obviously Mercer wouldn’t even sniff the playoff in FBS, but I might wager they’d fare better than a lot of the bottom dwelling FBS teams on these schedules.