After a long and relatively quiet offseason, Pitt football finally opens the season on Saturday against Albany. The Great Danes and Panthers have never played each other, generally because of the difference in levels that they play. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that Pitt’s Athletic Department probably would’ve never considered scheduling a team like Albany due to this. However, there has been a marked increase in the overall number of FBS vs. FCS matchups in the last 10-20 years due to the expansion of the regular season to 12 games and the desire to pad non-conference schedules with likely wins. Ignoring the question of whether Pitt and other bigger programs should be scheduling these games, they appear to be here to stay unless new scheduling restrictions become enacted. Pitt has now played at least one FCS team every year since 2009 and 13 out of the last 14 seasons. At this point it’s become expected to see one of these teams on the schedule and this is the case for at least the next two seasons. However, these games haven’t always been the cakewalk they’re intended to be, particularly in Pat Narduzzi’s relatively brief tenure as Head Coach of the Panthers.

Albany plays in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), what was formerly known as Division 1-AA. The important distinction between this level and the top level where Pitt plays lies in how many full scholarships the teams are allowed to give out. Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools like Pitt are allowed 85 scholarships, while FCS programs can only give out 63 scholarships. It should be noted that FCS rosters are often just as big as FBS rosters, as they will split them and award partial scholarships to most players. While this is the biggest difference on the surface, it generally means that FBS programs have no trouble attracting higher quality players, have the financial resources to invest more in their athletic programs, and as a result field teams of much higher quality. These disparities had long been occurring in the game but weren’t actually codified until the NCAA formally split schools into divisions based on these scholarship limitations beginning in the 1950’s and evolving until the Division I split in football in 1978.

As mentioned above games against these programs are typically scheduled to be an easy win and are often the first game of the season, so as to act as tune-up before playing higher caliber opponents. FBS teams win these games the vast majority of the time and often by eye-popping margins, such as when Pitt beat Delaware 62-0 in 2014. In return, the FCS programs are usually paid a substantial sum to usually act as a sacrificial lamb. Knowing the realities of the financial disparities between these levels, it becomes apparent why FCS teams often agree to these games, as that money is often needed to fund their entire athletic department.

However, the above example notwithstanding, things don’t always go according to script, as these games have often been hair-raising affairs for Pitt fans. Despite the fact that playing teams from the lower division should usually be rote affairs, the Panthers have struggled at times against FCS competition. The most notorious example of this happening was of course when Pitt lost to Youngstown State 31-17 to open the 2012 season, but there have been several additional close calls. Most readers probably remember when the Panthers needed Overtime to beat Youngstown State last season, but it had happened previously in 2004 against Furman. Additionally, Pitt has played in 3 other games where they beat an FCS opponent by only one score. What’s apparent is that these games haven’t always been the confidence boosting results that we often hope that they will be.

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