Scheduling conflict

College football started last night and I was happy to see things finally kick off. Mostly, I was just happy to see regular, normal football. I spent the summer watching football from Canada or being playing inside of a basketball gym. Believe me, I was ready for some normal football.
What I was really surprised with, pleasantly so I must say, were the high number of games between competitive teams. Normally the first game of the year is between some powerhouse and some school like Western Mississippi Sewing College. Certainly its been a nice early treat to see bowl-type match-ups like LSU and Wisconsin or Georgia and Clemson, but it's also nice to see good teams take on teams that can at least provide some sort of push back, like Ohio State facing Navy or Alabama against West Virginia. Surely the Buckeyes or the Tide will win but the games won't be an utter joke as if they were playing Southwestern Oregon Bible College (which, FYI, is a real school and not one I made up).
These games generate much more interest early in the season and help better frame the late discussion over who deserves a shot at a national championship when the season draws to a close.
Of course, the games between national powerhouses and the Cleveland State College for Chronically Bad Spellers (a potential Alma Mater for many of us, surely), do serve a purpose...I guess. CSCCBS earns a large sum of money for playing a school like Oklahoma and the Sooners get a chance to see how well their hot dog vendors can operate the two-minute offense.
OK, fine. The games between a powerhouse and a schlub serve a purpose of some sort.That function is anything besides generating interest in college football. I'll watch football. Like I said, I watched football from Canada. I'll turn on Madden and watch the demo mode for crying out loud. But even I can't get excited for a game between Florida State and the Poly Tech University of Sod Farming. I guess some major programs play these games because there are rules against them playing high school JV teams.
The alternative doesn't have to be the exact opposite. Nobody is saying Auburn or Oregon should play the 49ers or Seahawks. Just be like UCLA or USC and play a team like Virginia or Fresno State, play a team that could beat you but probably won't. It's better for the game all the way around.
But an encouraging pep talk isn't enough to change the scheduling habits of some teams. That's fine. And maybe it doesn't matter for most fans in certain situations. Whether or not North Carolina plays Liberty probably isn't a big deal for most fans. The Tarheels aren't ranked high enough right now and likely won't be at any point this season to move fully into the national debate. But when Florida State is playing Oklahoma State and Alabama is playing West Virginia, it seems like that's the hallmark of a strong program much more than Oregon playing South Dakota is. If FSU and Alabama lose their opening games (which probably won't happen) would it even begin to feel right that Oregon would be #1 after a certain week one win? Oregon, as it stands right now, has games scheduled against four ranked opponents. If they remained in their current #3 position, they would certainly be part of the four national semi-finalists to play for a national title. Is that really what college football fans want? A national contender that wins four tough games? Is a fifth tough game that much to ask?
Still, maybe the coach at South Dakota has had a lifelong dream of playing Oregon in the opening week. What jerks the Ducks would be to deny that dream. Fair point. So schedule the game. I just don't want to see a team like that end up in the semi finals. A championship isn't a journey on the path of least resistance. It's an achievement of overcoming obstacles, no matter how many or how frequently they line your path.
So I have a solution. Any team wanting to be considered for the national semi-finals will need to build a schedule comprised of FBS teams only. So Cal can still play Sac State if they want to, having no real aspirations for the national championship. But if Georgia wants a crack at the final game, no fair taking it easy on yourself with a game against Furman. There are well over 100 FBS teams in the country and most teams only need 2-3 non-conference games to fill. It shouldn't be that hard for the Florida States and LSUs of the world to find a couple of teams to play that aren't FCS schools. And for teams like Penn State or Virginia Tech, teams that aren't aspiring national champions this season, Youngstown State is fair game. The little guys can get their payday, the big guys can evaluate their hot dog vendor and fans can rest easy knowing the national champion, whoever it might be, will have deserved their spot in the playoffs. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch the game between Nevada University of Furniture Refinishing and the Montana College for Advanced Salad Making. It's a bitter rivalry. Very obscure...but very, very bitter.