Originally Posted by
LongLostAlum
As I had said, I understand that the politics of it all makes it difficult. But by your own admission, we aren't playing them because the AD doesn't want to play them. So it's not an impossible task to play them, if maybe our AD made an effort at doing so, as you so suggest, and since we have negotiated deals with FBS teams in the past, though admittedly it may be more difficult as of late. Regarding North Alabama, I'm sure they will be vastly improved next year, and present quite a challenge for us, having moved up to D-I and all.
Did we get beaten down from playing Iowa last year? I suspect so. I also suspect that Iowa got beaten down even more, as did the Gophers, Colorado State, Kansas State, and Iowa State before them. I'm not opposed to playing a couple of cupcakes each year, but I also think that the fans deserve to see one non-conference game where we are the supposed "cupcake", or at least a slight underdog, and that means playing an FBS team of a fairly high caliber. Outside of the playoffs, I believe it to be the highlight of the year, especially if we remain at the high caliber of football we are currently at.
But of course, I'm just speaking as a fan, not as a football insider with any particular knowledge on the subject.