Blue Bloods, Please Stop Scheduling FCS Games

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 8:33 AM ET

Everyone is happy that the college football season is back. It is an exciting sports soap opera full of action. But that can’t be said about every aspect of the season. One blackeye that needs to end is the scheduling of FCS schools by blue blood programs.

I understand how scheduling works, especially for SEC and Big Ten schools. The conference schedules are difficult and grueling, so to voluntarily add another challenging game to the schedule seems almost counter-productive. But some schools have taken that to the extreme.

And a perfect example of that extreme was Ohio State playing Grambling. Yes, the Buckeyes played and defeated No. 1 Texas during Week 1, so an easier game makes perfect sense. But there is a difference between easier and a waste of time. To no one’s surprise, the Buckeyes won 70-0 while gaining 651 yards of offense compared to the Tigers 166. A game like this does absolutely nothing for Ohio State, aside from getting some backups experience. But the experience they get during practice on a Tuesday is more beneficial than what they received playing a Grambling team that went 2-6 in the SWAC last season.

Sep 6, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Boo Carter (23) dives for the end zone against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

As for Grambling, it is financially beneficial. The Tigers received $1M from Ohio State to make the trip to Columbus. That amount is vital for the program. But getting throttled and potentially hurt by players that are clearly larger, stronger and faster, is far from beneficial. Yet, money talks so for the Grambling program the positives outweigh the negatives.

But this is more about Ohio State than Grambling. The Buckeyes’ roster is loaded with future NFL players. They would be favored heavily against any G5 program, so why schedule an FCS program? Any MAC, Sun Belt or CUSA program would likely provide a better test, while also gladly accepting the $1M check. On top of that, it would give the Ohio State season ticket holder a better product to watch on a Saturday afternoon.

And this isn’t just about Ohio State, there are plenty of other culprits. Just in the last two weeks we have seen Tennessee beat East Tennessee State 72-0, Florida State beat East Texas A&M 77-3, Miami beat Bethune-Cookman 45-3 and Florida beat LIU 55-0. These games aren’t necessary. Destroying Akron, Kent State or Louisiana-Monroe accomplishes a similar result, yet it is against competition that at the least is on equal footing with scholarship numbers.

This needs to improve.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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