FCS football humbling FBS foes

By Jack Moody

As college football season is in full swing, we have already seen some upsets. Some FCS (Football Championship Division) football teams have beaten FBS (Football Bowl Division) schools. Not only were they FBS schools, but some of the teams are in a Power Five conference.

A lot of the time, FCS schools are overlooked and underrated because of the size of the school or because of the teams in their conferences. I think a lot of FCS universities can play just as well if not better than a lot of FBS teams. Although the FBS consists of much better teams and players, that doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten.

In week one, UNI beat Iowa State 25-20 at Jack Trice Stadium. UNI was ranked top 10 at the time, before losing to Montana the following week. Earlier that day Richmond beat Virginia 37-20, and after that Eastern Washington beat Washington State 45-42.

I think that this proves that top FCS schools can hang with a lot of Division 1 schools, and even teams in Power Five conferences. The Power Five is made of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten, Big Twelve, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference (SEC). Typically, the best teams in the nation are in one of these conferences.

This past weekend, North Dakota State played Iowa in Iowa City and kicked a game winning field goal in the last play of the game and won. North Dakota State is ranked No. 1 in the FCS standings, and there has even been talk of them switching to FBS.

Iowa was ranked 11th in the country coming into the game. I think that NDSU could beat a lot of teams in the FBS, and they are definitely worthy of a top 25 ranking in the nation.

This isn’t new for the North Dakota State Bison, with the win at Iowa on Saturday, that makes six straight wins against FBS programs. Also, they have won five championships in a row and are favored to win again, for the sixth straight time.

The FCS doesn’t just generate good teams. In the past, they have sent a lot of good players to the NFL to have successful careers.

For example, David Johnson, former running back from UNI was taken in the third round of the NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. He had a great rookie year and scored 13 touchdowns and made a big impact on special teams.

This year, he earned the starting spot on the team and has already made some great plays. Most teams passed up on him in the draft because he was from an FCS university, and they didn’t think he was any good.

This year in the draft, NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz was taken second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles and won the starting job. So far this year, he was won his first two starts. He became the first rookie quarterback since 1970 to do so.

I think it’s time for people to understand that FCS schools and players can be just as good as FBS competition. Already this year, plenty of FBS teams have already lost to FCS schools, and FCS players in the NFL continue to play well.

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