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Greetings from “Can’t Wait For Saturday,” your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He’ll give you his views each day on the game he loves.
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For years, schools in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) operated with different rules than the teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) when it came to scheduling.
FBS schools were allowed to schedule 12 games each season, while FCS teams were limited to 11 when the calendar broke a certain way. Kind of a ridiculous setup, right? Well, the powers that be finally agree,
The permanent 12-game schedule for the FCS is expected to be approved next month and will go into play in 2026.
Games against the FCS are vital for FBS schools. They are always at home, provide a great chance for a win (Illinois has never lost to an FCS school) and dot the early part of many teams schedules.
Illinois opens Aug. 29 against FCS school Western Illinois, which has a game at Northwestern the next week. The Leathernecks have a chance to take an early lead in the Big Ten.
The FCS schools have long ago shown they can compete. Mention Appalachian State to any Michigan fan and you will hear some bad words.
The games against the FBS help the FCS schools financially and normally involve a big check. Illinois has routinely scheduled the state’s FCS teams: Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois. Southern Illinois and Illinois State. It is not quite a rotation, but probably should be.
I anticipate a time in the near future when the FBS will move to a 13-game schedule. The bump for the FCS makes that easier.
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Source link : https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/cant-wait-for-saturday-fcs-moving-onto-level-playing-field/article_1d1ea3fd-f7ba-41a3-8379-3cf2fcb6e263.html
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Publish date : 2025-05-16 14:47:00
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