Try Taking A Wider Focus

We’re here because we like the Ducks. Which not only means we are handsome, we are among the best humanity has to offer. It also means we mostly see FBS football and players on those teams.

Yet there are a ton of college players out there who rarely get the same level of attention because they play in the FCS.

That’s in no way a strike against them.

Last night (10:30 to 2:09 AM, ET) I watched the Montana Grizzlies go head to head with the Idaho State Bengals in an FCS Big Sky Conference take-no-prisoners battle which the Griz won 38 - 30. It was first-rate football played fast and at a constant high intensity over all four quarters, with aggressive play calling and outstanding execution on both sides of the ball—on both teams. Many of those players from QB on down played better than some of the players who suit up every week in the B1G.

And it made me wonder how these guys weren’t playing for the Ducks or for other FBS programs. A Griz friend explained they often get recruited by FBS but believe they have a better chance of playing at a place like Montana and showing what they can do. Others are not aiming for the NFL but want to experience the challenge and the joy of playing college football before going on to have a normal life.

This is just to say that there’s so much good football being played—and great players—that we simply never get to see because we focus too narrowly. And we miss an awful lot of the very things we love and appreciate.