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Only 15 Of 130 FBS Teams Will Not Play An FCS Team During 2021 College Football Season

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Scheduling non-conference games is not the easiest thing. That is especially the case for, but not limited to, teams in conferences that have only three such dates. Broken agreements can leave a team scrambling to fill a vacancy, and ultimately scheduling an opponent it otherwise would not.

At least in some cases, that is how Football Championship Subdivision teams appear on schedules of Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Of course, there are a handful of FBS teams that routinely schedule FCS opponents.

Whatever the case, only 15 of 130 FBS programs do not have an FCS team on their schedule in 2021. Among them are Notre Dame, UCLA and USC, the only programs that have not played FCS teams since Division I split into I-A (FBS) and I-AA (FCS) prior to the 1978 season. That is scheduled to change next year (see UCLA) and it looked like it was going to change this year (see USC).

Here is an alphabetical look at the non-conference schedules of the 15 teams, with a note on the last time they played an FCS opponent. In many cases, games against FCS teams last year were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Boise State: September 2 at UCF, September 10 vs UTEP, September 18 vs Oklahoma State, October 9 at BYU

The Broncos open the season with three non-conference games on different days of the week. The curtain rises on the Andy Avalos era at Group of Five heavyweight UCF (Gus Malzahn’s Knights debut) on a Thursday evening before Labor Day weekend, a game that was originally scheduled for that Saturday. It will be the first meeting between the teams with UCF returning the favor in 2023…..The Broncos’ last game against an FCS opponent was a 45-10 win over former Big Sky foe Portland State in 2019.

Georgia State: September 4 vs Army, September 11 at North Carolina, September 18 vs Charlotte, September 25 at Auburn

Georgia State joined the FBS as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2013, when the non-conference schedule was heavy on FCS teams. The Panthers played one FCS opponent each year from 2014 to 2019 (48-42 win against Furman) and were scheduled to open at home against Murray State last season…..The Panthers have quite a non-conference slate in 2021, including a trip to Auburn that was scheduled six years ago and will pay $1.25 million.

Illinois: September 4 vs UTSA, September 11 at Virginia, October 2 vs Charlotte

Bret Bielema’s first season in Champaign is void of an FCS team on the slate. The Fighting Illini will play Texas-San Antonio and Charlotte for the first time and Virginia for the first time in the regular season after meeting twice in bowl games.….The Fighting Illini’s 34-14 win over Western Illinois in 2018 was their most recent game versus an FCS program. They would have opened last season against Illinois State.

Iowa: September 11 at Iowa State, September 18 vs Kent State, September 25 vs Colorado State

The rivalry game with the Cyclones, in which the Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 45-22, follows a season-opening Big Ten clash against visiting Indiana….Iowa will pay Kent State $1.85 million to come to Iowa City….Kirk Ferentz’s team last played an FCS program in 2018, a 38-14 win over Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes would have faced the Panthers last season as well. The schools are separated by about 90 miles and have met seven times starting in 1995.

Michigan: September 4 vs Western Michigan, September 11 vs Washington, September 18 vs Northern Illinois

The game against the Huskies, UW that is, will be the first meeting between the teams since 2002 when Philip Brabbs’ 44-yard field goal with six seconds left gave the Wolverines a 31-29 win in the Big House. The teams were to meet in Seattle last season before the pandemic altered the schedule.....Western Michigan will receive $1.4 million for the 100-mile trip to Ann Arbor….When it comes to landmark FCS wins over FBS teams, the conversation often starts with No. 5 Michigan’s 34-32 loss to Appalachian State in 2007. Not that a 2010 encounter with UMass, Big Blue’s most recent game against the FCS, was a walk in the park. A 42-37 win was not secured until an onside kick went out of bounds with two minutes remaining. The Minutemen joined the FBS in 2011 and the Mountaineers moved up in 2013.

Minnesota: September 11 vs Miami (Ohio), September 18 at Colorado, September 25 vs Bowling Green

P.J. Fleck’s team experiences a little MACtion with visits from two conference members, a conference the coach knows something about from his days at Western Michigan.....The game at Colorado will be the first meeting between the schools since 1992. The Buffaloes won each of the previous three meetings….The Golden Gophers received a scare (28-21) from FCS No. 4 South Dakota State to open the 2019 season. They would have played Tennessee Tech last season.

Navy: September 4 vs Marshall, September 11 vs Air Force, November 6 at Notre Dame, December 11 vs Army (Meadowlands)

The Midshipmen have only one non-conference slot from the standpoint games against Army, Air Force and Notre Dame are annually scheduled. That leaves one date, which this season is filled by Marshall in the season opener. It will be the first meeting between the programs.....The game against Air Force, originally scheduled for October 2, was moved to September 11 in recognition of the 20th anniversary of 9-11….As a member of the Patriot League in all sports but football, the Middies have often scheduled games against the FCS conference, including a 45-7 win over Holy Cross in 2019. Navy was scheduled to play Lafayette last year.

Notre Dame

The Irish return to independent status this season after residing in the ACC during pandemic-disrupted 2020. As part of its scheduling arrangement with the league, which Notre Dame is a member of for most sports, the Fighting Irish will play five ACC opponents this season. Overall, Brian Kelly’s team plays nine Power Five teams and three from the Group of Five…..The Irish have not played an FCS team since the aforementioned Division I split in 1978. Prior to that point, Notre Dame consistently played top-tier teams. That includes Penn in 1955, the Quakers’ final year as a major independent before joining the Ivy League, which kicked off in 1956.

Ohio State: September 11 vs Oregon, September 18 vs Tulsa, September 25 vs Akron

The visit from Oregon would have been the back end of a home-and-home agreement, but last year’s scheduled game in Eugene was cancelled due to the pandemic. The Buckeyes are 9-0 against the Ducks with the most recent meeting taking place in the 2014 CFP championship, the first year of the playoff…..A combined $2.9 million will be paid to Akron ($1.8) and Tulsa ($1.1) for their visits to Columbus....Ohio State last played an FCS program in 2013 under Urban Meyer, a 76-0 win over HBCU Florida A&M. The Rattlers, who suffered their largest margin of defeat, returned to Tallahassee $900,000 richer.

Purdue: September 4 vs Oregon State, September 11 at UConn, September 18 at Notre Dame

The Boilermakers’ only previous meeting with Oregon State was 1967 in West Lafayette. No. 2 Purdue, led by quarterback Mike Phipps and tailback Leroy Keyes, lost to the Beavers, 22-14.....Purdue and the Fighting Irish will resume a series (ND leads 58-26-2) that saw them meet every year from 1946 to 2014….Purdue’s last game against an FCS team was a 45-24 win over Eastern Kentucky in the 2016 season opener.

Stanford: September 4 vs Kansas State (Arlington), September 18 at Vanderbilt, November 27 vs Notre Dame

Stanford is the only team that will play an entire Power Five schedule. The game against Kansas State is the return engagement of a home-and-home agreement with the Cardinal winning in Palo Alto (26-13) in 2016. KSU received $2.8 million to move this year’s game from the Little Apple to Arlington....Stanford, which was scheduled to open 2020 against William & Mary, last played an FCS team in 2018, a 30-10 win over UC-Davis. (The Aggies pulled off a 20-17 win over the Cardinal in 2005, Walt Harris’ first home game as Stanford’s coach.)

Texas: September 4 vs Louisiana, September 11 at Arkansas, September 18 vs Rice

A trip to Arkansas and a visit from Rice on consecutive Saturdays hark back to the days of the Southwest Conference. The ‘Horns and Hogs will meet for the first time since the 2014 Texas Bowl and the first time in the regular season since 2008 in Austin. It will be UT’s first visit to Fayetteville since 2004…..The Longhorns last played an FCS opponent in 1992 when they defeated North Texas 33-15, 10 years after the Mean Green dropped down to the FCS. The program returned to the FBS in 1995.

UCLA: August 28 vs Hawaii, September 4 vs LSU, September 18 vs Fresno State

The Bruins play each of their non-conference games before the Pac-12 schedule kicks off. The opener against Hawaii represents the earliest playing date in team history while the visit from LSU will mark the first meeting between the schools.....UCLA has not played an FCS team since the Division-I split in 1978. That will change next season when Alabama State comes to the Rose Bowl. North Carolina Central visits Pasadena in 2023. The HBCUs filled open dates that were the result of Michigan cancelling a home-and-home with the Bruins.

USC: September 4 vs San Jose State, October 23 at Notre Dame, November 27 vs BYU

When the Trojans host BYU on Thanksgiving weekend, it will be the first time since 1999 they do not close the regular season against a conference opponent or Notre Dame.....You will not find an FCS opponent on the Trojans’ schedule this year or any year in the past. UC-Davis, however, was on this year’s schedule temporarily. The Trojans announced in July 2019 that the Aggies were coming to the Coliseum on September 4. Pressure to keep an FCS program off the schedule resulted in the game being cancelled in February 2020, which cost USC $725,000. San Jose State, which had its September 4 date at Georgia cancelled — at a cost of $1.8 million to UGA — when the latter agreed to play Clemson in Charlotte, was slotted in. (UC-Davis opens September 2 at Tulsa and will receive $400,000. That’s a total of $1.125 million for the Aggies to alter their schedule when the USC cancellation guarantee is factored in.)

Wisconsin: September 11 vs Eastern Michigan, September 25 at Notre Dame (Chicago), October 16 vs Army

The encounter with Notre Dame at Soldier Field will be the 17th meeting between the schools, with the Fighting Irish holding an 8-6-2 lead.....Wisconsin will pay Eastern Michigan $1.4 million for visiting Madison…..The Badgers’ last game against an FCS school was a 37-3 win over Western Illinois in 2013. They would have played Southern Illinois last season.

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