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Only 12 Power 5 teams don’t have an FCS team on the schedule in 2021. More than half are in the B1G

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Even though the B1G has loosened its policy on not scheduling any FCS opponents during the college football season,  half of the teams in the league don’t have a foe from that level on the slate in 2021.

Kyle Umlang recently pointed out that a total of 12 teams at the Power 5 level will not play an FCS opponent during the 2021 college football season. Seven of those squads are from the B1G.

Here’s the complete list provided by Umlang:

  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Notre Dame
  • Ohio State
  • Purdue
  • Stanford
  • Texas
  • USC
  • UCLA
  • Wisconsin

That means Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State and Rutgers will all play an FCS opponent during the 2021 season.

Some teams from the B1G have almost entirely abandoned playing FCS opponents, at least on a regular basis. Other teams have continued to add teams from that division to the schedule, as a way to ensure an extra home game, especially in seasons when they’ll have only four conference home games.

What’s more impressive is that the B1G is by far the conference with the most teams on this list. The Pac-12 has three teams while the Big 12 has one and Notre Dame represents the Independents. Every school from the ACC and SEC will play FCS opponents in 2021.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB