College Football fans get to watch their team play 12, maybe 13 times per year. For being the most popular college sport by far, this makes every weekend of football very special, and in a certain sense, rare. Despite only have 12 guaranteed games, teams spend one of these games on playing an FCS school, which over 95% of the time results in a win, often by more than three scores.
Of course, this means a win, meaning teams only need five additional wins to reach bowl eligibility, but the question remains: should FBS teams, particularly P4 teams, schedule FCS schools as one of their 12 opponents?
The Case for Keeping FCS Schools on the Schedule
Many teams use their FCS game as a tune-up game to finalize any roster questions that still remain. For example, a team may be still deciding between two quarterbacks, and a game against an FCS school allows a team to play both players without really risking a loss.
Another reason teams like to play an FCS school is because it helps fund FCS schools. P4 and G5 schools pay millions of dollars to FCS teams to come and play. This money allows the FCS school to remain active and have a team. While P4 schools may not actually care about FCS programs, it is a good look and it does pay dividends when good FCS talent can transfer to a larger program.
Why College Football FBS vs FCS Games Need to Go Away
Again, there are only 12 guaranteed games. 12 opportunities to watch your favorite team take the field, and one of them is essentially wasted on an automatic win. This may not be an issue if fans were still super invested, but ticket prices suggest they aren’t.
Looking at this weekends slate of FBS vs FCS games, here are some of the ticket prices to get into games according to ESPN.
- Weber State vs Washington – $4
- Houston Christian vs SMU – $5
- Furman vs Ole Miss – $6
- Indiana State vs Purdue – $4
- Eastern Ilinois vs Illinois – $2
If these were late-season games when the season had already been decided, maybe these prices would be a bit more justified, but when you see Ole Miss, a team who is ranked No. 6 in the nation and has the aspirations of winning a National Championship, it seems crazy tickets are going for only $7. Washington just played in the CFP last season, but the demand is only high enough to warrant $4 tickets.
And again, this is the first game! Fans haven’t been able to watch these teams for eight months, yet the demand to watch them beat up on FCS schools isn’t there.
Solution
The 12th game of the season should be used for an additional conference game. With conferences being as big as they are now, the disparity in talent between teams schedules warrants an extra game. Missouri and Florida could not have more opposite schedules, yet they play in the same conference. An additional conference game would likely result in Florida getting a more manageable SEC opponent and Missouri getting a tougher one.
As far as FCS revenue goes, why not allow teams to scrimmage FCS schools in the spring instead of having intrasquad scrimmages that don’t garner very much interest? This would allow FCS schools to still get their paychecks, get more interest from fans, and play a better 12th opponent. I don’t know about you, but I’m more likely to tune in to a Alabama vs FCS game in the spring than a Crimson vs White game.
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