At Big Ten media day on Monday, Commissioner Jim Delany
announced that teams can once again schedule FCS opponents under certain
circumstances. A few years back, the Big Ten asked its teams to cease
scheduling FCS teams in an effort mainly to bolster television ratings and
strengthen the schedule in the eyes of the college football playoff committee.
Since then, no other conferences have followed suit, putting the Big Ten at
somewhat of a disadvantage, mainly because teams have been scrambling to find a
third nonconference FBS opponent.
Depending on the season, each B1G team has three or four
conference home games. Now Big Ten teams with only three scheduled conference
home games will be allowed to add an FCS school to the schedule to fill the
additional home game.
In the short term this will benefit teams that are
rebuilding such as
Rutgers and Purdue. Having
the chance to schedule a winnable game will go a long way to making some teams
return to bowl eligibility sooner. In addition it will give schools a larger
pool of opponents from which to schedule games. From my standpoint, down the
road it would be ideal if Rutgers could schedule a team from the ACC and either
the AAC or Conference USA each year, and then also schedule a game against
either a Big 12 or SEC opponent, but I know that's not always realistic. In
addition, there is something to be said for the momentum to be gained from
having success, and there is a greater chance of having success against an FCS
foe. Plus, having a winnable game early in the season often provides the
opportunity for some second and third string guys to see more action. I can't
help but think that the series that Giovanni Rescigno played against Howard
opened some eyes on the coaching staff and aided in his opportunity to earn the
starting job by season's end.
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