Only 16 Of 133 FBS Teams Will Not Play An FCS Team During 2023 Season

Scheduling non-conference games is not the easiest thing. While some teams seek to pad the win column by scheduling teams it should defeat, and perhaps handily, broken schedule agreements can leave a team scrambling to fill a vacancy. Such instances could result in a team scheduling an opponent, such as one from the Football Championship Subdivision, it otherwise would not.

Only 16 of 133 Football Bowl Subdivision programs do not play an FCS team in 2023. Notre Dame will play one for the first time when the Irish host Tennessee State on September 2. As noted in this piece, that will leave USC as the only FBS program to not have played an FCS team.

Here is a look at the non-conference schedules of the 16 teams.

Colorado: September 2 at TCU, September 9 vs. Nebraska, September 16 vs. Colorado State

Deion Sanders’ first season at Colorado opens in Fort Worth with the back end of a home-and-home agreement against TCU, which went to the CFP championship game last season. The Buffaloes lost to the Horned Frogs in last year’s opener in Boulder, 38-13.….Sanders’ first home game will be Colorado’s 72^nd meeting (20-49-2) with former Big 8/Big 12 rival Nebraska…..The Buffaloes’ most recent game against an FCS program was 2021, a 35-7 win over Northern Colorado.

Houston: September 2 vs. UTSA, September 9 at Rice, September 23 vs. Sam Houston

The Cougars’ first season in the Big 12 includes a trio of non-conference games against in-state opponents starting with UTSA, which Houston defeated in triple overtime (37-33) to open 2022…..The date with Rice will be the 45^th meeting for the Bayou Bucket. UH leads 33-11…..Sam Houston is in its first season as an FBS member and the teams will meet for the first time since 2005, a 31-10 Houston win….The Cougars’ most recent game against an FCS team was a 45-0 win over Grambling State in 2021.

Illinois: September 2 vs. Toledo, September 8 at Kansas, September 23 vs. FAU

The Fighting Illini will meet Toledo and FAU for the first time while their game at Kansas will be the first meeting with the Jayhawks since 1968. KU won that season-opening matchup, 47-7, to kick off a memorable year that resulted in an Orange Bowl appearance….Last year’s 31-0 win over Chattanooga was UI’s first game against an FCS program since a 34-14 win over Western Illinois in 2018.

Iowa: September 2 vs. Utah State, September 9 at Iowa State, September 16 vs. Western Michigan

The trip to Ames will be the 70^th meeting between the in-state rivals. The Hawkeyes, who had a six-game win streak snapped last year, lead the series 46-23…..Kirk Ferentz’s team has met Western Michigan three times and lost twice (2000, 2007) before winning in 2013.….Last season’s opener with South Dakota State, a 7-3 win in which the teams combined for 286 yards, was Iowa’s first game against an FCS opponent since besting Northern Iowa, 38-14, in 2018.

Liberty: September 2 vs. Bowling Green, September 16 at Buffalo, November 11 vs. Old Dominion, November 18 vs. UMass

The Flames will be playing their first season as a conference-affiliated (Conference USA) program at the FBS level after five seasons as an independent. As such, scheduling became much easier with four non-conference slots to fill instead of a season’s worth of opponents…..Independent UMass is a familiar foe. The Flames and Minutemen met each of the past five years with Liberty winning the last four meetings by a combined 212-62…..This will be the first season Liberty will not play a team from the FCS.

Michigan: September 2 vs. East Carolina, September 9 vs. UNLV, September 16 vs. Bowling Green

Michigan’s athletic department will be paying out a total of $4.8 million for ECU ($1.8 million), UNLV ($1.5 million) and Bowling Green ($1.5 million) to visit Ann Arbor. It will be the first meeting with the Pirates, second with the Rebels and third against the Falcons….Big Blue’s most recent matchup with an FCS team was 2010 against UMass, a 42-37 win that was not secured until an onside kick went out of bounds with two minutes remaining. The Minutemen joined the FBS in 2011.

Minnesota: September 9 vs. Eastern Michigan, September 16 at North Carolina, September 30 vs. Louisiana

The highlight of the non-conference slate will be a trip to Chapel Hill for a date with the Tar Heels and one of the leading pre-season Heisman candidates in quarterback Drake Maye. It will be the first meeting between the schools…..The Golden Gophers received a scare (28-21) from South Dakota State, then the No. 4 team in the FCS, to open the 2019 season. Their most recent matchup with an FCS team was last year’s 62-10 win over Western Illinois.

Nebraska: September 9 at Colorado, September 16 vs. Northern Illinois, September 23 vs. Louisiana Tech

Matt Rhule’s first season in Lincoln opens with a Big 10 matchup at Minnesota before the non-conference slate kicks in at Colorado. That will be the Buffaloes first home game under Deion Sanders…..NIU shocked (21-17) the ‘Huskers in 2017…..Louisiana Tech will receive $1.55 million for its trip to Lincoln…..A week after losing last season’s opener to Northwestern in Dublin, Nebraska defeated FCS member North Dakota, 38-17, in a game that was tied late in the third quarter.

Oklahoma: September 2 vs. Arkansas State, September 9 vs. SMU, September 16 at Tulsa

The Sooners seek to make Butch Jones 0-3 in Norman. The Arkansas State coach was on the Cincinnati sideline when the Bearcats played at OU in 2010 and he was coaching Tennessee when the Vols visited in 2014……The game against SMU could provide a very entertaining quarterback matchup with Dillon Gabriel and Parker Stone…..The meeting at Tulsa will be the 29^th between the in-state schools with the Sooners leading 20-7-1. OU has won the last nine and 14 of 15 dating to 1979…..OU recently played FCS teams three straight years (2019-21) and outscored them 194-14, including 76-0 over Western Carolina in 2021.

Purdue: September 2 vs. Fresno State, September 9 at Virginia Tech, September 16 vs. Syracuse

The Boilermakers have a strong non-conference slate that includes a road test in Blacksburg…..Purdue lost, 32-29, at Syracuse in the final seconds of a wild fourth quarter last season in the second all-time meeting and front end of a home-and-home agreement….A 56-0 over Indiana State last season was Purdue’s first meeting with an FCS team since 2016.

Texas: September 2 vs. Rice, September 9 at Alabama, September 16 vs. Wyoming

The Longhorns face quarterback JT Daniels in the season opener against Rice, the 97^th meeting (UT leads 74-21-1) between the former Southwest Conference members. Daniels faced Texas as a USC freshman in 2018…..The trip to Tuscaloosa is the back end of a home-and-home with the Crimson Tide, which pulled out last year’s game in Austin in the final seconds…..The Longhorns last played an FCS opponent in 2006 when they defeated Sam Houston State 56-3. Prior to that, they beat North Texas 33-15 in 1992. That was 10 years after the Mean Green dropped down to the FCS before returning to the highest level in 1995.

USC: August 26 vs. San Jose State, September 2 vs. Nevada, October 14 at Notre Dame

The Trojans are the only FBS team to have not played an FCS program since Division I split into I-A (FBS) and I-AA (FCS) beginning with the 1978 season. Such an opponent was scheduled in the summer of 2019 when USC and UC-Davis entered an agreement that had the Aggies opening the 2021 season at the Coliseum. Opposition from the Southern Cal faithful resulted in the matchup being cancelled in February 2020, a cancellation that cost USC $725,000. San Jose State replaced UC-Davis as the Trojans’ season-opening opponent. (UC-Davis opened at Tulsa and won, 19-17, and took home a $400,000 payout. Combined with the USC cancellation, UC-Davis picked up a win and pocketed $1.125 million.)

UTSA: September 2 at Houston, September 9 vs. Texas State, September 15 vs. Army, September 23 at Tennessee

The Roadrunners’ first season in the American includes a strong non-conference schedule that opens with Houston, to whom they lost in triple overtime (37-35) in last year’s opener….UTSA made the trip to West Point last season and won in overtime, 41-38…..UTSA will receive $1.6 million for its game in Knoxville…..The last time the Roadrunners, who have been playing football only since 2011 and at the FBS level since 2012, did not schedule an FCS opponent was 2018. They defeated Texas Southern last season, 52-24.

Virginia Tech: September 2 vs. Old Dominion, September 9 vs. Purdue, September 16 at Rutgers, September 23 at Marshall

A solid non-conference slate includes a pair of Big Ten teams and a pair from the Sun Belt, including an opener against an ODU program that has twice (2018 and 2022) defeated the Hokies…..Virginia Tech has met Rutgers once (2012) since the teams were Big East foes. The Hokies lead the series 12-3 after losing the first three encounters…..With the exception of 2020 when all but a few FCS teams did not play due to the virus, the last time Tech did not play an FCS opponent was 2009. The Hokies defeated Wofford, 27-7, last season.

Washington: September 2 vs. Boise State, September 9 vs. Tulsa, September 16 at Michigan State

The Huskies open the season with a solid opponent in the Broncos. UW has won three of five all-time meetings (split two bowl games), all in the last 16 years…..This year’s game will be the first meeting with Tulsa…..UW won (39-28) the front end of a home-and-home with the Spartans last season……..The Huskies defeated FCS member Portland State last season, 52-6.

Wisconsin: September 2 vs. Buffalo, September 9 at Washington State, September 16 vs. Georgia Southern

The date in Pullman will be a return engagement of a home-and-home deal with Washington State. The Cougars won last year’s meeting, 17-14, in Madison….Buffalo will receive $1.3 million for playing at Camp Randall…..The Badgers defeated Illinois State (38-0) to open 2022, their first game against an FCS program since a 37-3 win over Western Illinois in 2014.