College Football Cupcakes: The Weakest Opponents of 2010's Top 25 Teams

What is a cupcake?

In college football, a cupcake is when a very weak opponent is scheduled by a far superior team.

The cupcake games really benefit the strong teams because it gives them both a preseason game to gain experience and a chance to pad stats, all while racking up BCS style points.

For the weaker teams, they get a big paycheck in return and a chance to see how they stack up against the top teams.

The addition of the 12th game in 2005 has produced many more of these situations in recent years.

This has raised a lot of controversy, as teams have scheduled numerous cupcakes in order to inflate their record by year's end.

This ranking system is very different from most we do here.

In this instance, instead of counting down from 10-1, we look at ten particular games in 2010 with the preliminary rankings of FBS teams according to Mark Schlabach (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=4804655).

In addition, if you haven't heard of these schools, we will answer the question as to whether or not they are FBS schools, or if they are FCS schools instead.

So here's a look at 10 of many cupcakes for 2010 featuring top teams.

1. Georgia State (vs. No. 1 Alabama)—Nov. 20

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FCS.

Bill Curry coaches the first-ever season in Georgia State football history, as they join the Colonial Athletic Association in 2010.

And in their first season, the Panthers will play all their home games at the Georgia Dome.

But they end their opening season in Tuscaloosa against Greg McElroy, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, and the Crimson Tide.

By that point, the defense without LB Rolando McClain should have found itself, especially with the return of LB Dont'a Hightower.

If this season does not go well, the last game against the Tide could be a long three hours for the Panthers and Bill Curry.

2. Eastern Michigan (vs. No. 2 Ohio State)—Sept. 25

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FBS.

The Eagles hail from the MAC, and are coming off a winless season under former Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English.

2010 does not get any easier when they come down from Ypsilanti to Columbus and face Terrelle Pryor and the highly-touted Buckeyes.

The team that lost at Ann Arbor 45-17 a year ago will not have an easier task traveling to another Big Ten school this season.

But don't expect a blowout, as OSU has never taken care of lower-level teams the way many expect them to in the Jim Tressel era (see Cincinnati in 2002, and Ohio U. in 2008).

Regardless, barring catastrophic injuries, expect a big win by the Buckeyes.

3. New Mexico (vs. No. 4 Oregon)—Sept. 4

*Disclaimer: Expect this ranking to be much lower because of QB Jeremiah Masoli's suspension.*

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FBS.

Former Illinois OC Mike Locksley moved out to NMU to try to turn the Lobos around, but ended 2009 with a winless record, and a loss to rival New Mexico St.

It will not get any easier as Locksley and the Lobos will travel to Eugene to start 2010 against the defending Pac-10 champion Oregon Ducks.

Obviously, the Ducks may not be highly ranked because of Masoli's arrest.

But having LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, and true freshman Lache Seastrunk gives the Ducks enough of a running threat to give anyone issues.

Eugene will raise the Pac-10 title banner that day, and should rack up a lot more points against Locksley's Lobos to kick off the new decade.

4. Rice (vs. No. 5 Texas)—Sept. 4

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FBS.

Rice, typically a baseball school, had a difficult 2009 season, finishing only 2-10 in Conference USA, including a 73-14 loss to Case Keenum's Houston Cougars.

2010 does not get any easier, as the Owls head to Austin against Texas, who is expected to start QB Garrett Gilbert.

Gilbert, who nearly pulled off one amazing shocker against Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, is heading into his second year, and the expectations for him are massive.

Gone though is WR Jordan Shipley, a favorite target of former QB Colt McCoy.

But they return WRs Malcolm Williams and breakout freshman Marquise Goodwin.

The opener against the Owls, a rematch of a 52-10 blowout win by the 'Horns in 2008, should be another offensive explosion.

5. South Dakota State (vs. No. 8 Nebraska)—Sept. 25

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FCS.

The Jackrabbits hail from the Missouri Valley Conference, a league that many college basketball fans are very familiar with.

And they gave Minnesota a tough game in Minneapolis in 2009.

But the second-place squad in the MVC makes a trip into the Sea of Red to face Suh-less Nebraska.

The Huskers still have a lot of weapons returning on defense, meaning the Jackrabbits will have a tough time scoring on Bo Pelini's defense.

Expect SDSU to score very few points if any against the Blackshirts on Sept. 25.

6. Eastern Illinois (vs. No. 9 Iowa)—Sept. 4

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FCS.

The Panthers have quite a familiarity with the Big Ten despite being a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

EIU fell to Penn State a season ago 52-3 in Happy Valley.

And former QB Jake Christensen was an Iowa transfer when current QB Ricky Stanzi earned the job.

Now these two teams will meet to start 2010, but obviously Christensen will not be in the game, graduating after the 2009 season.

Iowa is aiming for a Big Ten title in 2010, and they have the pieces to do so.

Their push for a BCS title game appearance begins the same way it did a year ago.

Hopefully for the Hawkeyes, they do not need to block consecutive field goals as they did against Northern Iowa a season ago.

7. San Jose State (vs. No. 10 Wisconsin)—Sept. 11

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FBS.

On Sept. 11, a different kind of Spartans will travel to Camp Randall to face Wisconsin.

This time, it is the San Jose State Spartans, who finished 2-10 in the WAC in 2009, losing to ranked USC and Boise State by a combined 101-10 in the two games.

It will not get any easier as they face the physical Badgers, who return RB John Clay, pound-for-pound the most powerful back in the Big Ten, and one of the best in the country.

Camp Randall is one of the toughest venues in the country, so that all but eliminates much of a chance for SJSU to pull off the upset.

Clay and QB Scott Tolzien, along with a punishing D should be too much to handle for most teams.

For the Spartans, they might be going home very, very sore.

8. Miami (OH) (vs. No. 11 Florida)—Sept. 4

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FBS.

One common trend is the fact that most of these games kick off the season.

And another such case is the Miami (OH) Redhawks going to Gainesville to play Florida.

The Redhawks in 2009 finished in the MAC 1-11 and were blanked in their first two OOC games 90-0 by Kentucky and Boise State.

To start 2010, they must travel to the Swamp to start the John Brantley era against the Florida Gators.

Even without Tebow, the Gators still have plenty of firepower to display in front of Gator Nation.

Miami has won only three games in the past two seasons, so it can only get better from here on out.

A loss is extremely likely to start Miami's 2010 season.

9. Indiana State (vs. No. 14 Cincinnati)—Sept. 11

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FCS.

Celtics F Larry Bird is probably the most well known alum of ISU, but the Sycamore football program struggled in 2009, finishing 1-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

It will not get easier for the Sycamores as they travel to Cincinnati to face the defending Big East champion Bearcats at Nippert Stadium.

Butch Jones in his first home game will look to let QB Zach Collaros show off in front of the home crowd for the first time in the new decade.

The Sycamores gave up 35 points per game, so expect a lot of points to fly up on the scoreboard for the Bearcats.

A win by ISU would be very shocking, but don't expect that to happen with the type of offense UC has at its disposal.

10. Florida A&M (vs. No. 19 Miami)—Sept. 4

FBS or FCS?

Answer: FCS.

The Rattlers of the MEAC will face Miami for the second straight season, this time without super KR Leroy Vann, who had returned five punts for touchdowns in his career at A&M.

Last time around, the Hurricanes won 48-16 over the Rattlers at Sun Life Stadium.

This time, Miami returns a much more experienced squad after a 9-4 season, featuring QB Jacory Harris.

The only hope the Rattlers have of pulling the upset is if the U is looking past A&M because they travel to Columbus to face the Buckeyes a week later.

But that is not likely to happen.