NCAA Approves Two Wins Against FCS Teams Counting Towards Bowl Eligibility In 2020

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The College Football landscape for the 2020 season continues to drastically change amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week the NCAA Football Oversight Committee recommended a waiver to allow Football Bowl Subdivision teams to count two wins against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams toward bowl eligibility this season.

Source: NCAA Football Oversight Committee is recommending a waiver to allow teams to count two wins over FCS teams toward bowl eligibility this season.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) July 10, 2020

An uptick from the usual one game that is permitted to count towards bowl eligibility.

The Group of 5 Athletic Directors requested this waiver from the NCAA back in April. Now the Oversight Committee approves the waiver on the heels of the Big Ten formally announcing they are moving to a Conference-Only schedule.

Will any of this matter in the end? Possibly not as it’s unclear whether we see a college football season in 2020, let alone a bowl season during the holidays.

But if the season does happen, teams such as Independent BYU who lost a pair of games in the Big Ten’s Conference-Only decision can now schedule an additional FCS game and have it count towards their path to a bowl birth.

BYU currently has one game scheduled against a program from the FCS in North Alabama University. The Cougars have never played multiple FCS teams in a single season.

FCS leagues are unsure when their seasons will start this fall but they are remaining patient. Having a chance to play more games against FBS teams can give them opportunities for more paydays amid a pandemic where every athletic department is making cutbacks.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.