CFB: The difference between FBS & FCS
In preparation for this piece, I attended the Butler Bulldogs game against the Taylor Trojans, on Saturday, September 16, 2017, at the Sellick Bowl in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler won 27-21, as both teams scored one touchdown in the final period. The Bulldogs are now 2-1 after a win against Franklin in Week 2.
The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Taylor Trojans on Saturday, 27-21, on a one-yard QB sneak by Will Marty, which put the Bulldogs up with eight seconds left. Marty went 32-for-48, throwing for 239 yards, and a passing touchdown to go along with the rushing touchdown. The score at halftime was 20-14 in Butler's favor. It looked like these two teams were headed for a relatively high scoring game. Instead, neither team scored until an 18-yard run from Taylor’s Spencer Crisp broke the drought almost halfway through the fourth quarter.
Butler University commemorated the former Butler Bowl to alumnus Bud and Jackie Sellick. In their first home game in the Sellick Bowl, the Bulldogs put on a game for the ages. No records were set, but the 4,100+ in attendance saw one of the most dramatic wins in recent memory for this team. The win also improved their record over Taylor University to 7-0 all-time.There are obvious differences when watching an FCS game like this as opposed to an FBS one, like No. 3 Clemson and No. 14 Louisville that also took place on Saturday night. Even though the FCS can be entertaining and thrilling, like this game, there a few things holding it back from being on the same level as the FBS.
The broadcasts: There is no TV deal for Butler football, not even a local one. To broadcast these games to reach a larger audience, the university streams them live on Facebook. There were never much more than 100 viewers on the stream at one time. For comparison, every single televised college football game in Week 2 reached over 100,000 viewers. The broadcasts are student run, for the most part. They do not have professional broadcasting equipment at their disposal. The play-by-play and color commentators for this game were students. The resources necessary to put on a professional-quality broadcast are just not there.
Crowd atmosphere: As mentioned previously, attendance for this game was just over 4,100. The Sellick Bowl, much like most FCS stadiums, is not very big - Its maximum capacity is about 7,500. In the tensest moments of the game, the crowd, as expected, gets more into the action. It may get loud relative to any other time during the game, but by no means is the place going nuts. If someone watching the game did not know this is a college game, it would not be hard to mistake it for a high-profile high school game.
Players skill level: As far as the players go, there is not nearly as much talent in the FCS. Schools like Butler and Taylor are places that non-standouts go to hopefully get noticed and transfer out to a larger program. These players work as hard as any player in the country. Unfortunately, the facilities at a school like Butler are not nearly on par with those of a Clemson or USC, for example. The quality of the facilities may be fine, but the overall size limits the amount of equipment that can be used. Smaller programs have a lower ceiling, both literally and metaphorically.
Coaching and development: The coaching can be very good in the FCS, but again, there is such limited potential. No coach will be satisfied by being at these schools. The talent pool is much smaller, so often the limited potential of the players drags down coaches. Small schools are not a destination for coaches, even in sports that the school may be most known for. Chris Holtmann left Butler to be the head coach of Ohio State’s men’s basketball team. Butler may be a better job right now, but in a couple of years, Holtmann can be more successful at OSU than he could have ever dreamed of here. The point is, there is far more upside in a big school as far as money, talent, and facilities, etc. This goes a long way towards creating a much stronger atmosphere and reputation.
Photo Credit: Butler Bulldogs.
