Assessing If It's Wise for Cal to Play an FCS Team Like Wagner

Cal will play an FCS team when it hosts Wagner on Saturday, and there’s nothing unusual about that. In only two of the past 17 seasons has Cal not faced an FCS foe, the exceptions being 2016 and the four-game 2020 pandemic season.

Cal is not scheduled to face any FCS schools next season, although Sacramento State, which plays Cal in the 2027 opener, was an FCS school until this season, when it moved up to the FBS level.

It’s worth considering whether scheduling these lower division teams is worthwhile for a Power Four conference team such as Cal.

Several issues should be addressed.

Not This Administration’s Choice

Cal’s matchup against Wagner was announced in January 2025, when Justin Wilcox was still the head coach and Jim Knowlton was still Cal’s athletic director.

Ron Rivera was not named Cal’s football general manager until two months later, and Tosh Lupoi did not become the Bears’ head coach until the following December.

Rich Lyons had been Cal’s chancellor for just six months when the Wagner game was announced.

Time will tell whether Lupoi and Rivera will continue the trend of scheduling FCS opponents.

A Sure Win – Almost

Cal has never lost to an FCS team, having a 17-0 record in those games since 2025, and Wagner has never won a game against an FBS opponent, going 0-22 against the higher level. Cal is a 58.5-point favorite to beat Wagner on Saturday, according to Fan Duel.

The notion of a near-certain win is appealing for teams looking for a winning season or a bowl berth, and it appeals to coaches, who get fired rather quickly if they lose too many games.

The FBS teams usually don’t have to work too hard to win those games, and in most cases the starters won’t have to play the entire game. It gives coaches an opportunity to take a look at players – particularly young players – who don’t get much playing time while resting regulars, and it may offer a chance to experiment with offensive and defensive schemes.

BUT . . . .

If Cal loses to an FCS team, or has to struggle to win, it looks bad, leads to questions and can affect players’ confidence.

And a loss to an FCS team is not out of the question. In 2013, Cal had to rally from a 30-27, third-quarter deficit to beat Portland State 37-30.

You may be surprised to learn that since Division I-AA became an NCAA division in 1978 (the name was changed to FCS in 2006), FCS teams have beaten FBS teams more than 500 times, according to FeartheFCS.

Already this season five FBS teams have lost to FCS opponents. FCS schools have a 13.2% winning percentage against their FBS foes, although that percentage has shrunk in recent years. FBS teams lost only 3.2% of their games against FCS foes last year, 5.0% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2023.

However, losses to FCS teams can be devastating. Jack Crowe was starting his third year as Arkansas’ head coach when his team faced The Citadel in the Razorbacks’ 1992 opener. Arkansas lost that game 10-3 and Crowe was fired the next day, one game into the season.

Appalachian State’s upset of fifth-ranked Michigan in the 2007 opener is considered the biggest upset by an FCS team, and Michigan coach Lloyd Carr took a lot of heat, especially after Michigan lost to Oregon the next week 31-7. But that opening upset is little misleading. Appalachian State went on to win the FCS national championship for the third straight year in 2007, while the Wolverines lost four regular-season games that year.

Nonetheless, losing to an FCS team just looks bad.

Everybody Is Doing It

Cal is certainly not the only FBS team scheduling an FCS opponent this year. In fact, 125 of the 138 FBS teams have at least one game against an FCS foe scheduled for this season.

It’s become a trend, and college football, like many sports, is a follow-the-leader game.

There are 127 games this season involving a FBS-FCS matchup, according to FeartheFCS, and that would be the most in any season ever.

The only 13 teams that do not face an FCS opponent this season are UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Hawaii, UNLV, Oregon State and Tulane.

Every ACC team plays an FCS team this season.

Of course, just because nearly everyone else schedules an FCS opponent does not necessarily mean Cal should too.

Guaranteed Home Game

An FBS team will almost always be the home team against an FCS opponent, and the opponent typically gets a guaranteed fee from the hosting school. Cal is paying Wagner $525,000 to come to Berkeley on Saturday, according to Hero Sports.

An extra home game means more money from ticket sales.

Scheduling an FCS opponent makes perfect sense for Georgia, which drew 93,033 spectators for its 63-3 win over Tennessee State, or for Tennessee, which had 101,915 people at Neyland Stadium to watch the Vols beat Furman 56-9. That's a lot of revenue.

Cal is unlikely to draw half that many spectators for Saturday’s game, but Cal will still bring in some money for this home game.

Conclusion

So is it worth it? Probably, because of the guaranteed home game and a likely victory. However, If the team is angling for a berth in the College Football Playoff, scheduling an FCS opponent won’t help.

How fans of FBS teams feel about it is a different issue.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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