Week four of the college football season has been completed. FCS teams played five games this past weekend with three against FBS foes and two all-FCS matchups. Below is a look back on trends from week four.
| Date | Away | Home | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/26 | Campbell | Appalachian State | 21-52 |
| 9/26 | Eastern Kentucky | The Citadel | 14-37 |
| 9/26 | Houston Baptist | Louisiana Tech | 38-66 |
| 9/26 | Stephen F. Austin | SMU | 7-50 |
| 9/26 | Missouri State | Central Arkansas | 20-27 |
FCS Versus FBS Points and Yardage
We will keep track of points and yardage for each FCS versus FBS game this season. Listed below are the FCS team, points scored by each FCS team, points given up, offensive yards gained by each FCS team, and yards given up by each FCS team. Totals and averages since week one are also provided.
To date, 18 FCS versus FBS games have been played. Both charts and tables are provided to show the change over the course of the season. The number of games played in each week is listed in parentheses.
| FCS Team | Points | Opp. Points | Off. Yards | Def. Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | 21 | 52 | 305 | 535 |
| Houston Baptist | 38 | 66 | 501 | 542 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 7 | 50 | 216 | 432 |
| Week 4 Totals | 66 | 168 | 1,022 | 1,509 |
| Week 4 Averages | 22 | 56 | 340.7 | 503 |
| Week 3 Totals | 64 | 188 | 1,509 | 2,183 |
| Week 3 Averages | 12.8 | 37.6 | 301.8 | 436.6 |
| Week 2 Totals | 75 | 248 | 1,734 | 3,062 |
| Week 2 Averages | 12.5 | 41.3 | 289 | 510.3 |
| Week 1 Totals | 80 | 185 | 1,258 | 2,171 |
| Week 1 Averages | 20 | 46.3 | 314.5 | 542.8 |
| YTD Totals | 285 | 789 | 5,523 | 8,925 |
| YTD Averages | 15.8 | 43.8 | 306.8 | 495.8 |
The historical scoring average through 2019 of FCS versus FBS games since the Division I split in 1978 was 15 points for FCS teams and 37 points for FBS squads. In 2019, FCS teams averaged 13.9 points per game against FBS teams while FCS teams gave up 43 points per game on defense.
FCS Versus FBS Conference and Team Records
Below are the records for each conference for FCS versus FBS games. A running total will be kept throughout the season and updated weekly. Historical team records can be found here and historical conference records can be found here.
| Team | 2020 vs. FBS | All-Time Record | Last FBS Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | 0-3 | 0-6 | Never |
| Houston Baptist | 0-3 | 0-8 | Never |
| Stephen F. Austin | 0-3 | 2-25 | 2003 |
| Conference | Weekly Record | 2020 Record |
|---|---|---|
| ACC (FBS) | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| American Athletic (FBS) | 1-0 | 3-0 |
| Big 12 (FBS) | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| Big South (FCS) | 0-1 | 0-3 |
| Conference USA (FBS) | 1-0 | 7-0 |
| MVFC (FCS) | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Ohio Valley (FCS) | 0-0 | 0-4 |
| SoCon (FCS) | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Southland (FCS) | 0-2 | 0-8 |
| Sun Belt (FBS) | 1-0 | 3-0 |
FCS School Trends Versus FBS Teams
Campbell’s 2020 fall campaign continued with another loss to an FBS program from the Sun Belt. The Camels lost to Appalachian State 52-21 and all six losses against FBS foes have been to teams from the Sun Belt. The average margin of defeat has been 31 points but that has been deceiving. The Camels have been competitive in the first half all three games and nearly pulled the upset against Georgia Southern.
Houston Baptist lost another shootout this season with the latest loss coming against Louisiana Tech. While the Huskies are 0-8 all-time against FBS opponents, their best results have come over the last two seasons. Offensively, it’s no surprise that the best results have been the last two season with Bailey Zappe at the reigns. The Huskies averaged 12.8 points per game in their first four games against FBS foes. In the last 4? They have averaged 34 points per game and all four have seen the offense put up at least 30 points.
Stephen F. Austin suffered a Lone Star State blow out with a 50-7 loss against SMU after playing UTEP and UTSA relatively close to start the 2020 season. The Lumberjacks are now 0-4 all-time against SMU and the last three games have been all been decided by 40 points or more.
Field Goal and Extra Point Trends
After a terrible week one for field goals, FCS kickers have had three straight weeks of stable results. After opening the season with back-to-back weekends without a miss on extra points, kickers have missed at least one extra point in each of the last three weeks.
Kicking and special teams issues are unsurprising given the lack of a full spring and summer practice for some programs. Overall, week one is looking more and more like an aberration. A table and chart are shown below. The number of games played in each week is listed in parentheses.
| Week | Field Goals | Extra Points |
|---|---|---|
| Week 0 | 4/4 | 3/3 |
| Week 1 | 1/7 | 11/11 |
| Week 2 | 5/8 | 6/7 |
| Week 3 | 6/8 | 4/5 |
| Week 4 | 4/6 | 16/19 |
| 2020 Totals | 16/27 (60%) | 24/26 (92%) |
What’s Ahead
21 FCS games are in the books and 35 are still scheduled to be played as of this writing. The full FCS schedule for 2020 can be found here.
Seven games are scheduled for week five including the season debut for Jacksonville State, North Alabama, and FCS superpower North Dakota State. The Bison’s game at home against Central Arkansas is their lone game this fall. It will be a smorgasbord of games featuring the FCS against fellow FCS, FBS, and Division II opponents.
| Date | Away | Home | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/2 | Campbell | Wake Forest | 7 PM | ACCN |
| 10/3 | North Alabama | Liberty | 1 PM | ESPN3 |
| 10/3 | Abilene Christian | Army | 1:30 PM | CBSSN |
| 10/3 | Houston Baptist | Eastern Kentucky | 3 PM | ESPN+ |
| 10/3 | Central Arkansas | North Dakota State | 3:30 PM | ESPN+ |
| 10/3 | Jacksonville State | Florida State | 4 PM | ACC RSN |
| 10/3 | West Texas A&M | Stephen F. Austin | 5 PM |
