College Football 2011: 25 Cupcake Games Worth Boycotting
Every college football team in the BCS plays at least one cupcake every year.
Coaches want that one guaranteed win (just don’t ask Houston Nutt about this), and athletic directors want to fill the seats to add funds to the department’s coffers.
Some fans don’t mind as they like an occasional home game that you don’t have to worry about.
However, there are some “cupcake” games worth boycotting. Here's 25 of them.
25. Texas State at Texas Tech (Sept. 3)
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Maybe there are a few Texas high school buddies taking the field together in this game, but very few Tech fans will know this.
What they will know is Texas State is one of the Southland Conference bottom-feeders.
Everybody is excited for the season opener, so naturally the Red Raiders fans will fill Jones AT&T Stadium.
24. The Citadel at South Carolina (Nov. 19)
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In fairness to the Gamecocks, the rest of their schedule is legit.
So playing a cupcake is acceptable.
But when you play great game after great game, it’s hard to get excited to face a Bulldogs team that went 3-8 in 2010.
23. Ball State at Oklahoma (Oct. 1)
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There was a time when Mid-American Conference teams were know for going on the road and pulling off an upset or two a season.
That’s ancient history to newer fans.
Instead, playing a team like Ball State is like playing a Football Championship Subdivision team. Especially when David Letterman’s alma mater went 4-8 last year.
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22. Eastern Michigan at Michigan (Sept. 17)
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Remember the previous slide?
MAC teams don’t excite many folks outside of the MAC. Now imagine a home game with the conference’s worst team.
OK, Michigan fans had it pretty rough during the Rich Rodriguez years, so a guaranteed win is just fine with them.
The Wolverines also play Western Michigan the first weekend of the season, so if Brady Hoke’s team can win those two and pull an upset of Michigan State, they’ll win the state championship.
21. North Texas at Alabama (Sept. 17)
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Alabama fans love them some Crimson Tide.
They don’t care who they’re team is playing inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
But this non-conference, mid-September game against North Texas will be such a laugher, even the Alabama fans will lose interest.
20. Wofford at Clemson (Sept. 10)
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On paper, Wofford looks like a decent FCS opponent after going 10-3 last year.
Then you see the Terriers lost their only game against an FBS team—Ohio out of the MAC—33-10.
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney can use a few easy wins.
19. Maine at Pittsburgh (Sept. 10)
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Pitt has a new coach and the Panthers lost some serious talent from last year, so an easy game may be needed.
Honestly, though, Pittsburgh fans don’t even get excited for big games against West Virginia or Syracuse.
So when the fans don’t show up to watch a team that went 4-7 last year, will anyone really notice?
18. Charleston Southern at Florida State (Sept. 10)
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It’s one thing to put an FCS team on the schedule, but when you pick one of the worst teams, it’s a little embarrassing.
The Buccaneers claimed just one Big South win last year, and it’s hard to envision this group being much better.
Florida State should have the starters pulled by halftime.
17. South Dakota at Wisconsin (Sept. 24)
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Here we go, another FCS weakling.
Wisconsin must be paying South Dakota well to come to Camp Randall for a trouncing.
Now Ed Meierkort has enjoyed a pretty nice run as coach of the Coyotes, but even he knows his team is the lamb being led to the slaughter in this matchup.
16. Akron at Ohio State (Sept. 3)
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Because of same state law, Ohio State has no choice but to play an Ohio school every year.
So far, the Buckeyes have won each of these games by an average of like 80 points.
This year it is Akron’s turn to take the whipping.
15. Louisiana-Lafayette at Oklahoma State (Sept. 3)
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OK, Lafayette is a Bowl Subdivision program, but it went 3-9 in the Sun Belt.
The Ragin’ Cajuns had wins against these powerhouses—Arkansas State (31-24), North Texas (28-27) and Louisiana-Monroe (23-22).
Of course you do get to see first-year coach Mark Hudspeth in his first game with the Ragin’ Cajuns.
14. Coastal Carolina at Georgia (Sept. 17)
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The Bulldogs, coming off their worst season in Mark Richt’s tenure, didn’t back away from challenges in 2011.
Leading off the season is Boise State.
But it has to be a downer to have to face Coastal Carolina between the hedges after playing the Broncos and South Carolina.
The Chanticleers did go 5-1 in the Big South last year, but finished 6-6 overall.
13. Northwestern State at LSU (Sept. 10)
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LSU fans will probably enjoy having an easy game, but they probably would have enjoyed it more in the middle of the season.
Northwestern State does have a pretty cool mascot (Demons), but it is still a program that went 5-6 in the Southland Conference.
There should be a smattering of Demons fans at the game, so hopefully the LSU faithful will go easy on them.
12. Portland State at TCU (Sept. 24)
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TCU is still a year away from playing in a BCS conference, but the Horned Frogs have earned the right to be called out for playing a cupcake.
The Vikings went 2-9 last season, but expectations are much higher this season for coach Nigel Burton’s team.
They may get to four wins this season. One of those won’t come against TCU.
11. Arkansas State at Virginia Tech (Sept. 17)
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Don’t forget, but the Hokies lost their cupcake game last year when James Madison upset Virginia Tech 21-16.
Frank Beamer won’t let his team slip like that again.
Instead, I would expect the Hokies to put up some serious points on an Arkansas State team that went 4-8 last year.
10. Norfolk State at West Virginia (Sept. 10)
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It seems every year the Mountaineers have one of these games.
Just in the past it was against Louisville (with Steve Kragthorpe) and Syracuse (with Greg Robinson). There’s still Rutgers.
That’s enough making fun of the Big East.
Norfolk State—a good, but not great FCS program—is this year’s pay date.
9. Samford at Auburn (Nov. 19)
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This game is actually Samford’s season finale. What a way to build morale going into the offseason.
For Auburn, it’s just a tune up before the Iron Bowl.
Tiger fans are likely to treat this as a tailgate tune-up.
8. Youngstown State at Michigan State (Sept. 3)
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There was a time when Youngstown State was a FCS power.
Now the Penguins just talk about how great they were under Jim Tressel.
Eric Wolford hopes his second season coaching at YSU goes a lot better than the three-win campaign of 2010.
7. Chattanooga at Nebraska (Sept. 3)
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No matter what team the Cornhuskers are playing, no one expects any less intensity from Bo Pelini.
Pelini will find a way to convince himself (and maybe even his team) that Chattanooga could compete in the Big Ten.
When in reality the Mocs are a 6-5 team from the Southern Conference.
6. UT-Martin at Mississippi State (Nov. 5)
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The Skyhawks are a decent FCS program.
But the Bulldogs are an SEC team on the rise under Dan Mullen.
He learned from the best (Urban Meyer) how to schedule some easy wins that keep the fans happy and the money rolling in for the athletic department.
This should be a laugher.
5. Tennessee Tech at Iowa (Sept. 3)
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Not all season openers are going to be Boise State versus Georgia.
Some fans have to settle for Tennessee Tech, which doesn’t have a realistic chance of winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship.
Maybe after the turmoil of last season and this offseason for the Hawkeyes, getting a game with the Golden Eagles is just what was needed.
4. Missouri State at Arkansas (Sept. 3)
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The Bears went 5-6 last year and 4-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Razorbacks should enjoy the week off from the tough SEC slate, but only the die-hard fans will really care about this game.
Missouri State has a nice running back in Trevor Wooden, but the Bears defense will be in for a long afternoon.
3. Indiana State at Penn State (Sept. 3)
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Indiana State is where Larry Bird played basketball in the 1970s, so it’s obviously not a football team that should be playing at Penn State to start the season.
Joe Paterno didn’t become the all-time winningest coach by playing top 10 opponents each week.
You have to sprinkle in a few Indiana States.
The Beaver Stadium fans will still be loud when the Sycamores come to town. Those same fans will also have unrealistic and unrealized expectations for 2011.
2. Furman at Florida (Nov. 19)
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Urban Meyer may be gone, but the joke non-conference games live on.
Of course, Will Muschamp didn’t have anything to do with scheduling this game so don’t blame him.
If Charlie Weis’ offense isn’t clicking by this game, it could be a long season in Gainesville.
1. Missouri State at Oregon (Sept. 17)
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This is the second time Missouri State has made the list, but really, it’s not personal.
The Bears are a mediocre Missouri Valley Conference team, and no one really needs to watch Chip Kelly’s Ducks put up 80 points.
Of course everyone over at ESPN will praise Darron Thomas and LaMichael James for their performances, but what does it really prove?
Stay away from it.
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