Week one of the regular season provides the perfect narrative for Cinderella stories, because many power programs like to ease into their schedule by playing a “cupcake” team from the FCS ranks.
The power school pays the smaller school to play against them, with the expectation that they are going to lock in a victory.
FCS schools are obviously at a major disadvantage with more than 20 fewer scholarships to offer athletes, less tradition and a smaller budget.
However, in just the first week of college football, seven FCS teams defeated teams from the FBS ranks.
ESPN’s Brett McMurphy reported that those seven teams received $2.3 million to appear in those games.
The upsets came when No. 25 Oregon State lost to Eastern Washington and Kansas State, who played in the Fiesta Bowl last year, lost to North Dakota State.
It’s still a safe bet to play an FCS team and be assured a victory, but you have to wonder if we’re going to see less FBS vs. FCS games next season. Considering the lesser fan interest in those games and the probable weight on strength of schedule in the new playoff format starting in 2014, maybe not.
Reach the columnist at Justin.Janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
