Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has coached in the Football Championship Subdivision. He knows what it’s like when a football program doesn’t have massive resources. He knows the big schools, the FBS, provide the lifeblood for the little guys.
“I think FCS schools depend on playing FBS teams,” Rhule said. “I was in the FCS. If you don’t have an FBS team, it’s hard to fund your football team. It’s hard to fund the rest of it.”
Lifeblood means money. FCS Football Central on SI (Sports Illustrated) reported that Nebraska will pay FCS Houston Christian $500,000 for Saturday’s game, according to a copy of the contract obtained from the University of Nebraska via a state public records request.
FCS Football Central also reported that Ohio State paid Grambling State $1 million for last Saturday’s game. Ohio State won, 70-0. You can see the list of 2025 payouts here.
Mixed feelings flourish in the college football world about big schools playing FCS schools instead of, say, playing another big-name school in games that would appeal to fans and television networks.
Those mixed feelings aside, FBS vs. FCS matchups still occur. FCS Football Central on SI reports there will be more than 125 matchups between FCS and FBS teams in 2025.
Already this season, four FCS teams have defeated FBS teams:
* Tarleton State 30, Army 27
* Austin Peay 34, Middle Tennessee State 14
* Long Island U 28, Eastern Michigan 23
* Bryant 27, Massachusetts 26
Army paid Tarleton State $250,000 to come to Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y., according to FCS Football Central. And Tarleton State repaid the Cadets’ hospitality by winning, 30-27, on Aug. 29.
In 2024, six FCS teams defeated FBS schools.
But not one of the FCS upsets the past two years was over a Power Four team. The last time a ranked FBS team lost to an FCS team was Sept. 4, 2021, when Montana upset No. 20 Washington, 13-7. In 2016, No. 13 Iowa lost to North Dakota State, 23-21.
According to FBSchedules.com, only 10 of 136 FBS schools are *not* playing FCS schools. Four Big Ten schools are not playing FCS schools: Michigan, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin. Other FBS schools not playing FCS schools are: Colorado, Notre Dame, Sam Houston, Stanford, Texas and Tulane.
You could look at it another way: It’s a win-win for all involved. The big school usually pads its record. The little school gets a hefty check for making the trip.
Rhule recently was asked whether the Big Ten should impose a rule forbidding its member schools from playing FCS teams.
Rhule answered with an emphatic “No.”
He coached at FCS Western Carolina from 2002 to 2005. He was the assistant head coach during his final three seasons there.
He was the linebackers coach at the University of Buffalo in 1999 and 2000, as the Bulls transitioned from the FCS level to FBS.
Rhule thinks the arrangement has helped Southeastern Conference schools strategically over the years.
“I think the SEC has been really smart over the years,” Rhule said. “They play their FCS team late in the year so as they’re getting ready to go on their playoff run, they play them before the last game which I think is a really smart way to schedule.
“I just think if it was up to me, which it’s not, across college football everything would be similar. If we’re all playing nine conference games, we’re all playing nine conference games. It would just all be similar so that it’s easy to compare.
“I’ve been at Temple where we’re counting on going here [to a big-name school] to make that money to make ends meet. So, I wouldn’t make that rule.”
Nebraska-Houston Christian kickoff is 11 a.m. CT Saturday.
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