FBS teams should not be playing FCS teams anymore.
If you need evidence, just look at what happened Thursday night.
No. 7 Miami absolutely slaughtered Florida A&M 77-7, and somehow the final score doesn’t even explain how ugly this game actually was.
Miami led 49-0 at halftime and 77-0 at the end of the third quarter. The Hurricanes finished with a school-record 856 total yards and 42 first downs, while FAMU managed just 107 yards.
It got so bad that the two teams agreed to shorten the fourth quarter from 15 minutes to 10.
Seriously.
We’re shortening college football games because one team is beating the other so badly.
At that point, why are we even playing them?
Florida A&M’s only touchdown came on a 72-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. The Rattlers didn’t score a single offensive point.
And this isn’t about blaming Miami.
What are the Hurricanes supposed to do? Stop playing? Tell their backups not to score?
The problem is that these games are scheduled in the first place.
Yes, FCS programs receive significant payouts for taking these games. Florida A&M reportedly received $720,000 for playing Miami, which is a major reason these matchups continue to exist.
But from a competitive standpoint, what are we accomplishing?
Miami didn’t prove it’s a national championship contender by winning 77-7. Florida A&M gained nothing from being completely overwhelmed. Fans didn’t get a competitive football game.
We basically watched three quarters of a scrimmage before both teams decided they had seen enough.
There will always be the occasional historic FCS upset, and those moments are awesome.
But games like Miami-FAMU are far more representative of the problem.
With the massive talent and financial gap between major FBS programs and the FCS only continuing to grow, it’s time to stop pretending these matchups belong on the same schedule.
Miami 77. Florida A&M 7.
We don’t need to see this anymore.
