Midweek Debate: FCS Opponents

There has been some debate in the comments about the merits of playing an FCS opponent.

Some say that, on the heels of the Idaho State game, the games add little or nothing to the schedule. They're not games that have a high demand in terms of ticket sales, they're not incredibly entertaining either in-person or on TV, and it's something of a disservice to destroy a team just to fill a slot on the schedule. It also presents a big risk, in that the FCS team has nothing to lose, and if the Huskies were to lose to one of these teams -- which is happening more and more every year -- the embarrassment and hit in national perception of the program would be precipitous.

The other end of the debate is that with the Huskies' desired ABC schedule, the C game is supposed to be a game like this. You want that free win on your schedule; it gets you one win closer to bowl eligibility, allows the starters to rest once you get up big, gives your other players some time to recover from injury, can get some stat padding opportunities, and gets your depth live game reps. Everybody is doing it, and why should UW feel they're above it, when they already play one if the toughest schedules every year in the Pac-12 North? Plus, not all of these game are freebies, as Eatern Washington has shown.

There are a ton of sides and angles on this issue, many more than just the ones listed above.

So where so you fall on the FCS opponent debate?