Top FCS teams have closed gap on FBS

The stadiums are big, the crowds will be large and the odds long that Richmond, William and Mary or James Madison will pull off upsets in their season-opening football games.

But the odds are not as long as they once were that on Saturday, Richmond will defeat Duke or William and Mary will beat Virginia. And JMU should not be counted as an automatic "W" for Maryland on Sept. 12.

Once, such games were seen as opportunities for the secondand third-stringers at the big schools to see plenty of action, perhaps before halftime.

The Football Championship Subdivision school, formerly I-AA, was supposed to absorb a beating from the Football Bowl Subdivision school.

The FCS school would deposit a huge check from the FBS program and return to its normal schedule, hoping no essential personnel were lost to season-ending injuries.

Then, Appalachian State beat Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2007, and things changed. Everyone saw how good the best FCS schools can be.

The FBS schools still hold a huge advantage. They have more scholarships, 85 to 63, bigger recruiting budgets and national reputations.

Nor are these games meant to be competitive events. Virginia did not schedule William and Mary hoping the Tribe would offer stiff opposition.

But things do not always go as planned. Big programs ebb. Smaller programs improve.

"When you open with a game like this, it helps your focus in the preseason," said William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock. "It gives you a sense of urgency to prepare and get ready. You know if you don't, it could be a long day."

The difference between a middle-to-lower-rung FBS school and a high-level FCS school is not as pronounced as it once was.

Even with more scholarships, FBS schools don't enjoy a total mismatch in recruiting.

Some talented players figure out they'd rather excel in a small pond than get lost in a big one.

Virginia and Virginia Tech have excellent facilities, but the new Laycock Center at William and Mary, with its spacious locker room, weight, medical and meeting rooms, will not cost the Tribe any players.

In terms of coaching, the field is more than even.

Laycock, Mike London at Richmond, Mickey Matthews at JMU and a host of their colleagues are the equal of coaches at any level.

"I still think it's pretty much an uphill struggle," Laycock said. "The odds are way against you. It's all relative to each team and each year."

William and Mary has had victories over Temple and Navy and had North Carolina on the ropes one year going into the fourth quarter. Richmond beat Duke in 2006.

But no FCS school is going into Gainesville, Fla., or Austin, Texas, and beating Florida or Texas this season.

Even on a subpar afternoon, the elite FBS teams have too much talent and depth to lose to an FCS school.

But what do Florida's fans get from games against Charleston Southern and Troy?

Nothing, other than the chance for early-season tailgating opportunities.

The odds always are long in FBS-FCS games for schools such as Richmond, James Madison and William and Mary.

But the odds are not insurmountable. If the players at Duke, Virginia and Maryland overlook that, they do so at their peril.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444