(01-13-2020 11:59 AM)RamDawg Wrote: Regarding the FBS vs. FCS discussion:
Playing FBS allows better games over the course of the whole season.
Joke about silly bowl games vs. FCS playoffs, it's about the money: https://fanbuzz.com/college-football/bowl-game-payouts/
This is my point exactly. I here these criticisms frequently:
"You think if we move to FBS that people will all of a sudden care about playing Florida International or South Alabama?"
Ok, if you take the most obscure and furthest Sun Belt/CUSA teams to prove your point, then thats an argument you can win. If you compare apples to apples...South Alabama and FIU are bigger games than Albany and Stony Brook. That would be comparing apples to apples.
"Playoffs are better than Bowl Games"
Really? Then why do most playoff games draw crowds of about 5,000 around the country? Hell, JMU's quarterfinal and semifinal games averaged around 11,000 people. National Championships are nice but we've played 4 in 50 years of football and even those are in front of crowds of 17,000 and in a soccer stadium. If you guarantee we'll be in the national championship every year I might consider it but that's not realistic to expect that and even then you are competing with the lowest bowl games in the country.
"I want to play for national championships"
So do I, but like I mentioned above, we've only done it 4 times in 50 years. And thats pinnacle FCS. When you compare pinnacle G5 you get UCF beating Auburn or Baylor. You get Boise upsetting Oklahoma in one of the greatest games ever. A few years ago you get Houston beating Florida State in the Peach Bowl. I'll take any of those accomplishments over an FCS championship.
"FCS has playoffs like it should be"
True, but FBS has regular season games that matter and against more relevant competition. Imagine this schedule (assuming we are in Sun Belt which I'm using as what many consider the smallest FBS conference):
Regional FCS (Richmond/W&M/etc)
AAC team (Temple/ECU/Navy/etc
P5 team (VT/UNC/Penn State/etc)
G5 team (Charlotte/ODU/Marshall)
South Alabama
GA Southern
GA State
App State
Arkansas State
Coastal Carolina
Louisiana Lafayette
Troy
Any way you spin it that is better than playing FCS/CAA schools that have 1/4 our budget and 1/10 our fan base.