As you may know, FCS programs may give up to 63 scholarships, they may give fewer but not more. Also, teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) may portion the 63 scholarships out, among 85 players, but not more than 85. FBS programs must give 85 full rides or they could lose their Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) status. The FBS schools always play these games in their arenas, they write a check to the FCS school, and proceed to hammer the FCS opponent on the field. It should be noted, one victory (Not a second, if you elect to play a second FCS team that win does not count toward your needed 6) over a Championship Subdivision foe can be counted toward the six wins required become bowl eligible. I thought you might find in interesting what teams in the five Power Conferences are playing FCS teams, the number of games they play against these teams, and how often they lose one of these games. If you go to the site’s Team or Conference Page, look for the blue dots, as they indicated an FCS team. To get more detail about an individual game go the the team page, all 252 teams have an individual page!
Southeastern Conference (SEC): All 14 teams in the SEC played a FCS opponent in the 2014 season. They also played 14 games against the FCS in 2013 and went 13-1 (Florida was shocked by Georgia Southern)
West Division vs FCS in 2014: Alabama Plays Western Carolina out of the Southern Conference (SoCon); Auburn Takes on Samford, SoCon; LSU challenges Sam Houston State from the Southland Conference; Ole Miss battles Presbyterian from the Big South (BSC); Mississippi State welcomes UT Martin to Starkville, An Ohio Valley Conference Team (OVC); Texas A&M takes aim at Lamar University from the Southland Conference; Arkansas hosts Nicholls State from the Southland!
SEC West vs FCS in 2013, 7-0: Bama hammered Chattanooga, 49-0, Auburn pounded Western Carolina, 62-3; LSU stomped Furman, 48-16; Ole Miss stopped SE Missouri State, 31-13; MSU blasted Alcorn State, 51-7; Texas A&M busted up Sam Houston State, 62-28; Arkansas Survived Samford, 31-21.
SEC East vs FCS 2014: Georgia vs Charleston Southern, BSC; South Carolina plays Furman, SoCon; Florida takes on Eastern Kentucky, OVC; Missouri vs South Dakota State, Missouri Valley Conference (MVC); Tennessee vs Chattanooga, SoCon; Kentucky plays UT Martin, OVC; Vanderbilt takes on Charleston Southern, BSC
SEC East vs FCS in 2013, 6-1: Georgia beat up Appalachian State, 45-6, South Carolina blasted Coastal Carolina, 70-10; Florida was shocked by Georgia Southern, 26-20; Missouri knocked down Murray State, 58-14; Tennessee Annihilated Austin Peay, 45-0; Kentucky handled Alabama State, 48-14; Vandy beat Austin Peay, 38-3.
Big Ten Conference (B-10): Three of the East Division Teams do not play an FCS opponent in 2014 and the same three did not play an FCS opponent in 2013. For our purposes, we will compare the teams that are currently in the East, not Leaders / Legends from a year ago (Maryland & Rutgers are included in Big Ten East Review not the ACC or AAC)! As a result of counting in this manner, the B-10 played 11 games in both years! In 2013, the Big Ten went 11-0 vs FCS opponents!
East Division: Ohio State Does not play an FCS Team in 2014, ; Michigan State vs Jacksonville State, OVC; Michigan does not play an FCS team this year ( Note: they do play Appalachian State, who is now an FBS member as of 2014); Maryland takes on James Madison, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA); Penn State does not play an FCS Team this season; Indiana plays Indiana State, MVC; Rutgers battles Howard University, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
East Division (Sort of) vs FCS in 2013: OSU did not play an FCS Team in 2013; MSU blasted Youngstown State, 55-17; Michigan did not play an FCS Opponent in 2013; Maryland beat Old Dominion, 47-10; PSU did not play an FCS Team in 2013; Indiana beat Indiana State, 73-35; Rutgers shut out Norfolk State, 38-0.
West Division FCS Games 2014: Wisconsin plays Western Illinois, MVC; Northwestern takes on Western Illinois , as well; Iowa takes on Northern Iowa, MVC; Nebraska battles McNeese State, Southland; Illinois vs Youngstown State, MVC; Minnesota takes on Eastern Illinois, OVC; Purdue hosts Southern Illinois, MVC.
West Division vs FCS in 2013; Wisconsin blasted Tennessee Tech, 48-0, Northwestern held off Maine, 35-21; Iowa beat Missouri State, 28-14; Nebraska stomped South Dakota State, 59-20; Illinois outscored Southern Illinois, 42-34; Minnesota held off Western Illinois, 29-12; & Purdue snuck by Indiana State, 20-14!
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) In 2014 all 14 teams play an FCS team. In 2013, the ACC went 15-0 vs FCS teams (Clemson do to a quirk in their schedule played 2 FCS teams) In both 2013 & 2014 every team in the conference chose to schedule an FCS team.
Atlantic Division vs FCS in 2014: FSU takes on The Citadel, SoCon; Clemson battles South Carolina State, MEAC; Louisville plays Murray State, OVC; Syracuse vs Villanova, CAA; NC State plays Presbyterian, BSC; Boston College vs Maine, CAA; Wake Forest meets Gardner-Webb, BSC.
Atlantic Division vs FCS in 2013: FSU pounded Bethune-Cookman, 53-6; Clemson played two FCS teams do to a scheduling issue (Remember Clemson could only count one of these wins toward the 6 required to become bowl eligible), they blasted both South Carolina State, 52-13 & The Citadel, 52-6; Louisville humbled Eastern kentucky, 44-7; Syracuse annihilated Wagner, 54-0; NC State survived Richmond, 23-21; Boston College stopped Villanova, 24-14; & Wake Forest beat Presbyterian, 31-7.
Coastal Division vs FCS in 2014: UNC takes on Liberty, Virginia Tech plays William & Mary, CAA; Miami hosts Florida A&M, MEAC; Pitt welcomes Delaware, CAA; Georgia Tech battles Wofford, SoCon, Duke faces Elon, CAA; & Virginia squares off with Richmond, CAA.
Coastal Division vs FCS in 2013; UNC destroyed Old Dominion, 80-20, Va Tech blasted Western Carolina, 45-3; Miami annihilated Savannah State, 77-7; Pitt Struggled with Old Dominion, 35-24; Georgia Tech obliterated Elon, 70-0; Duke hammered North Carolina Central, 45-0; & Virginia detonated Virginia Military Institute, 49-0!
Pacific Coast Conference (PAC 12) The PAC 12 plays 8 FCS teams in 2014, 4 of their 12 teams did not schedule an FCS opponent (UCLA & SC never schedule them). In 2013 the conference scheduled 9 Football Championship Subdivision opponents and went 8-1 against them, Oregon State fell to Eastern Washington!
North Division vs FCS in 2014: Oregon welcomes South Dakota, MVC; Stanford plays UC Davis, Big Sky; Washington battles Eastern Washington, Big Sky; Oregon State takes on Portland State, Big Sky; Washington State battles Portland State, as well; California hosts Sacramento State, Big Sky.
North Division vs FCS in 2013: Oregon swamped Nicholls State, 66-3, Stanford did not play an FCS opponent, Washington massacred Idaho State, 56-0; Oregon State was ambushed by Eastern Washington, 49-46; Washington State blasted Southern Utah, 48-10; California survived Portland State, 37-30!
South Division vs FCS in 2014: UCLA does play an FCS team; USC does not play an FCS opponent, Arizona does not play an FCS team; Arizona State plays Weber State, Big Sky; Utah welcomes Idaho State, Big Sky; & Colorado does not play an FCS team.
South Division vs FCS in 2013: UCLA did not play an FCS opponent; USC did n0t schedule an FCS team; (Please Note: UCLA, USC, & ND have never scheduled, by definition, an FCS opponent); Arizona busted up Northern Arizona, 35-0; ASU hammered Sacramento State, 55-0; Utah disintegrated Weber State, 70-7; Colorado escaped Central Arkansas, 38-24!
Big 12 Conference (B-12) In 2014 the Big 12 scheduled 8 games against FCS universities, Oklahoma & Texas did not schedule an FCS opponent. In 2013 the conference played 8 FCS opponents again, going 7-1, K-State beaten by 3-time defending FCS Champion, North Dakota State
The B-12 does not have Divisions:
Oklahoma: 2014, did not schedule an FCS opponent & in 2013, did not play an FCS team!
Baylor: 2014, plays Northwestern State, Southland & in 2013, Baylor obliterated Wofford, 69-3.
Texas: 2014, did not schedule an FCS team & in 2013, did not play an FCS Team.
TCU: 2014 play Samford, SoCon & in 2013 TCU beat SE Louisiana, 38-17.
Kansas State: 2014 takes on Stephen F Austin, Southland & in 2013, K-State lost to North Dakota State, 24-21
Oklahoma State: 2014 plays Missouri State, MVC & in 2013, OSU blasted Lamar University, 59-3.
Texas Tech: 2014 scheduled Central Arkansas, Southland & in 2013, T-Tech busted up Stephen F. Austin, 61-13.
West Virginia: In 2014 plays Towson, CAA & in 2013, WV outlasted William & Mary, 24-17.
Iowa State: 2014 scheduled North Dakota State, MVC & in 2013, ISU escaped Northern Iowa, 28-20!
Kansas: 2014 plays SE Missouri, OVC & in 2013 Kansas beat South Dakota, 31-14.
So here is what we have in games scheduled in 2014, matching the Power Conferences against the Football Championship Subdivision: SEC 14, B-10 11, ACC 14, PAC 12 8, & B-12 8. This adds up to a total of 55 games being played by Power Conferences (85 scholarship schools) against the Football Championship Subdivision (63 scholarship schools), In 2013, these groups played each other 57 times, 2 fewer games in 2014 than in o13. The breakdown is as follows: SEC, 13-1; B-10, 11-0; ACC, 15-0; PAC 12, 8-1; B-12 7-1; The Power Conferences went 54-3 vs the FCS in 2013! Notre Dame, while an Independant, is factored in this Power Conference alignment do to its quasi relationship with the ACC, that said, it should be noted that the Irish do not schedule FCS opponents! Let me know what you think!
Up Next: Power Conferences vs Power Conferences
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