FCS went 8-19 against FBS.

now to be fair 2 of those wins were 1st year FBS teams, but 2 of those wins were also against ranked opponents

Boston College over Villanova
Georgia Tech over Elon
Air Force over Colgate
Oregon over Nicholls State
West Virginia over William and Mary
Illinois over Southern Illinois
Duke over NCCU
Tennessee over Austin Peay
Missouri over Murray State
Baylor over Wofford
Kent State over Liberty
Indiana over Indiana State
Wake Forest over Presbyterian
Ball State over Illinois State
Middle Tennessee State over Western Carolina
San Jose State over Sacramento State
Army over Morgan State
Houston over Southern
Arizona over Northern Arizona

_____________________________

North Dakota State over K-State
Samford over Georgia State
Towson over UConn
SUU over South Alabama
EIU over San Diego State
Northern Iowa over Iowa State
McNeese State over South Florida
Eastern Washington over Oregon State

FBS teams were 19-8 over FCS teams.

Arkansas State throttled UA-Pine Bluff 62-11 racking up 740+ yards offense 500+ rushing and tied an FBS record and had 4 different players rush for over 100yds in a single game, Fredi Khnighten our 3rd string QB touched the ball 3 times for 102 rushing yds and 2 rushing TDs.

You missed 4 games. FBS went 23-8 over FCS this week.

EMU over Howard
ECU over Old Dominion
Ark. St. over Ark. PB
Kent St. over Liberty

wouldn't that have been something if sdsu stayed in the AAC

Howard actually led EMU in the second half. Old Dominion may be ready for C-USA sooner than we think given they lost to East Carolina by only 14.

I'll say it again: The best FCS teams can play with anyone in FBS. Play the game early in the season, when having 22 fewer scholarships isn't an issue, and line up a battle-hardened FCS playoff team that's used to pressure situations with a slow-starting FBS team that might not be taking their opponent seriously enough, and if anything the FCS team might have a slight edge that negates the FBS team's home-field advantage.

It's amusing when someone on a message board says that MAC or SBC teams (or whomever) should be in FCS and fans respond by saying their team is too good for FCS. Too good? No. The best teams in FCS are better. Your team doesn't want to try to stop Eastern Washington's QB. You think that 4 TD game against Oregon State was impressive? In the FCS semifinals last year, as a freshman, he came off the bench at halftime and threw 6 TDs in the second half. In a losing effort.

Anybody overlooking, or coming in unprepared for a team that is motivated can be beaten. I see it every year...

So the most interesting part of this post is that there were 31 games this weekend pitting FBS against FCS. Which probably means there was about 50 games that were FBS vs. FBS. Not the best mix for tv, but I guess opening weekend gets a pass.

(09-01-2013 04:24 AM)randaddyminer Wrote:  wouldn't that have been something if sdsu stayed in the AAC

Boise State didn't look so great this weekend either.

(09-01-2013 11:50 AM)goofus Wrote:  

(09-01-2013 04:24 AM)randaddyminer Wrote:  wouldn't that have been something if sdsu stayed in the AAC

Boise State didn't look so great this weekend either.

The AAC dodged a bullet when those two programs left. We are better for having a smaller footprint.

Tulane beat Jackson St. 34-7.

I think that makes it 24-8.

The funny thing about the Tulane-JSU game is that Tulane was roughly even in total yards with JSU. JSU just turned the ball over SIX times and threw the game out of reach that way. They were "blown out", but didn't look out of place on the field.

FCS teams are REALLY beginning to close the gap.

(09-01-2013 01:00 PM)oliveandblue Wrote:  Tulane beat Jackson St. 34-7.

I think that makes it 24-8.

The funny thing about the Tulane-JSU game is that Tulane was roughly even in total yards with JSU. JSU just turned the ball over SIX times and threw the game out of reach that way. They were "blown out", but didn't look out of place on the field.

FCS teams are REALLY beginning to close the gap.

Part of the reason is that its the first game of the year. Everyone is a little rusty and many are new to their positions. That sets up the possibility for surprises. Secondly, with red shirt years and modern training and nutrition, Jr/SR FCS players are very likely to be quite competitive vs many FBS players (it just took them a few years to develop). Finally, because its week #1, the biggest weakness in FCS is not exposed. FCS has fewer scholarships, thus less quality depth. Since the season has just started, for the most part, injuries and the stress placed on depth is not a factor.

Still, it does seem like more FCS wins over FBS schools have occurred in recent years.

How the individual FCS conferences fared against FBS:

Big Sky: 2-2
MVC: 2-3 with one close loss
CAA: 1-2 with two close losses
SoCon: 1-3
Southland: 1-1
OVC: 1-2
Patriot: 0-1
Big South: 0-2, one close loss
MEAC: 0-3, one close loss
SWAC: 0-3
Independent: 0-1
NEC, PFL, Ivy: 0-0

Overall: 8-23
(not 8-24; somebody upthread double-counted Kent St. over Liberty)

But if you only count the major FCS conferences (CAA, MVC, Big Sky, SoCon, and some would argue Southland), their record against FBS was 7-11. The OVC is generally considered to be on the next tier below those 5. The Patriot, Big South and MEAC are lopsided conferences that usually have a couple good programs each while the rest are third tier. The SWAC is terrible and does not participate in the FCS playoffs.

The point I mean to make is that the serious FCS conferences played FBS about even, other than the SoCon. The SoCon had a horrendous opening weekend, beating only Savannah St. and Georgia St., which are probably the worst programs in each subdivision.

Some talking head is probably going to say, "sure, FCS teams won 8 games, but they only had a .258 winning percentage and lost by a combined score of blah blah blah," but keep in mind that the teams from the good FCS conferences also blow out the SWAC teams. There's a bigger divide between the top and bottom of FCS than there is between the top and bottom of FBS, and the FBS games against the non-playoff and non-full-scholarship conferences in FCS aren't really representative of the difference between the subdivisions.

(09-01-2013 03:31 PM)LastMinuteman Wrote:  There's a bigger divide between the top and bottom of FCS than there is between the top and bottom of FBS

Right. The top teams in FCS are roughly equivalent to the G5 "BCS buster" teams -- which is what we saw this weekend. It would only be a mild surprise, if that, if Oregon State had lost to Boise State (rather than Eastern Washington) or if Kansas State had lost to Cincinnati (rather than North Dakota State), and really it should be the same when those teams lose in September to the cream of FCS.

The difference is that the bottom of FCS is "farther down" than the bottom of FBS.

I really wonder if the only lower subdivision in Division I football should be the non-scholarship programs like the ones in the Pioneer League.