Clemson vs SC State Highlights Problems with College Football

Today, the Clemson Tigers (#5) laid the hurt on South Carolina State. Congrats if you picked that one correctly, so did everyone in America. Most people are going to be talking about the boneheaded play that S.C. State Wide Receiver, Ahmaad Harris, made when he caught a kickoff in the end zone and flipped the ball to the referee before taking a knee. Clemson jumped on the loose ball for an easy touchdown on their way to a 59-0 domination.Clemson vs SC State

But the bigger story here is that Clemson was dominating so badly by halftime (45-0), that both teams agreed to shorten the quarters from 15 minutes to 12 minutes in the second half. It was so unbearable that they shortened the game by 20% in the second half. Seriously.

Which brings me to the problems with College Football. The system allows FBS teams to pay big money to these FCS schools to play them. Now, I understand that it benefits both schools in the equation. The small FCS school gets a huge check to help with the budget and they can bring excitement at the possible (albeit remote) chance at the upset. The big schools get essentially a guaranteed win that brings them closer to a bowl bid.

Despite the benefits, they need to regulate these games. Top 10 FBS schools never lose these games, well except Michigan did once. But even when Michigan lost, it was against the best of the best of the FCS. That season Appalachian State was coming off back-to-back championships and they ended up winning the championship for the third consecutive year that season. I’m okay with this type of match-up. If an FBS team must play an FCS team, it better be one of the best.

Like in another FBS vs FCS match-up today, North Dakota State beat #11 Iowa. An upset yes, but not surprising. North Dakota State has won the FCS championship five years in a row and they have a pretty good track record of beating FBS teams. If Iowa wants to pay $500,000 to North Dakota State and risk a loss, I can get behind that.

I know that it will not stop, there will always be FBS teams looking to play FCS teams, well except if your a FBS team in the Big Ten. I get it, if you’re a top team with championship aspirations like Clemson, you can’t risk an early loss, so you schedule an easy win. But the NCAA should force these big schools to at least play a ranked FCS school. These 50+ point blowouts between FBS and FCS schools aren’t good for anyone and if shortening games catches on, they will become even more of a joke.

[Image Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports via RubbingtheRock.com]

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