30 games in under a year?

[ByeSonBusiness]

My initial take is I’m not terribly concerned. The off season will be shorter which could create depth problems related to serious injuries because players won’t have enough time for a full recovery and rehab. That’s a legitimate concern. But the break is substantial enough I don’t think i’d Expect a material increase in soft tissue or fatigue related injuries. Maybe I’m way off base with that? And teams should have more players at their disposal because of the eligibility rule changes.

With 85+ players on scholarships at the DI level I would think they should be just fine, guess we'll find out!

[THEsocalledfan]

With 85+ players on scholarships at the DI level I would think they should be just fine, guess we'll find out!

You mean 63+? 85 is FBS

[Professor Chaos]

You mean 63+? 85 is FBS

You can have up to 85 scholarship players in the FCS as well. You just can only split up to 63 full rides between them.

[totoinfl]

You already have an entire year that will not count. I assume NDSU will be well above the maximum of 63 scholies next fall; we will need it for depth.

As much as we complain about the blowouts in conference...this might be the time to want a few. Testing depth, allowing starters to rest could help the issue once you get to the home stretch. I think the 12 straight weeks by itself will be a test, let alone the second season 3ish months later.

[HerdBot]

This is what Kramer and the coaches are for. They have scientific formulas on all this stuff.

[WeAreThePride]

I think it will be ok but they do need to leverage their depth. Any time they get some separation, start subbing aggressively. Of all FCS teams, NDSU is best positioned to handle this.

Absolutely this. This won't be the year to put up flashy numbers. The starters need to do just enough to get the win, and then pull them. Depth will be more important in 2021 than it has ever been.

[IndyBison]

The people I know who play/played and coach at the HS and college level have said the ability to play both in the Spring and Fall will be very dangerous and difficult. We'll see how true that is if they do both. I still have my doubts it will happen.

[BattleBorn]

If anyone can make it happen, it's Coach Kramer. That said, I think the NCAA is playing us with this promise of a spring season.

[bajadanny]

The people I know who play/played and coach at the HS and college level have said the ability to play both in the Spring and Fall will be very dangerous and difficult. We'll see how true that is if they do both. I still have my doubts it will happen.

Spring football is not a good idea period

[THEsocalledfan]

The people I know who play/played and coach at the HS and college level have said the ability to play both in the Spring and Fall will be very dangerous and difficult. We'll see how true that is if they do both. I still have my doubts it will happen.

As do I, and my guess is the spring season is the one that will potentially go away. But, lets try to look at this logically to see which argument wins out.

Reasons spring football will happen:
1. Very likely at least 1-2 vaccines will be available under emergency use approvals.
2. Athletic departments have a giant football attendance hole currently in their budgets. Teams that make a little money from TV like NDSU also have lost TV money. (assume Montana would have that issue too?) Most college fiscal years follow the academic year, thus they still have some time to make some of it up.
3. If at least 2 of the big 3 conferences firmly commit to play, I think it will create enough inertia to drag the others along like we saw in FBS.
4. Most have outdoor venues and with their typical pud loser FCS attendance, frankly, transmission is unlikely. NDSU, honestly, is an outlier in this type of discussion. Even Montana is a better situation since outside.

Reasons spring football will not happen:
1. Worry about injuries in playing 30 games in a year.
2. Even if vaccine is on emergency approval, their will be a pecking order in distribution. The CDC is likely to use this plan: https://www.nap.edu/download/25917 If I am reading it right, football teams would be in tier number 3. I am very doubtful we will have it for the beginning of a spring season, but I do think fall is doable.
3. Attendance/tailgating restrictions will decrease the potential gate revenue so much, that for many pud FCS schools it is cheaper to simply not play.
4. Not wanting to spend any money at all on testing.

With all this said, I find the reasons not to play more compelling. I was hoping doing this rationally would talk me off the ledge, but I was wrong.