Poor Arkansas State. Though 1-3, they aren't that bad of a team. Just ask 5-0 Iowa, the team they nearly shocked last Saturday, falling 24-21. They lost to Troy by a field goal, too, and their third loss was to Nebraska.
Still, they're from the Sun Belt, and that means the Red Wolves have to work to earn any respect...or even acknowledgement that they're in the same college football subdivision as Penn State, apparently.
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In an AP article about Penn State's upcoming game with FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Eastern Illinois, Genaro C. Armas writes
The Nittany Lions have had other games against FCS teams in recent seasons against Youngstown State and Coastal Carolina. Another contest against Arkansas State was canceled last season in favor of a made-for-TV matchup against Pac-10 team Oregon State.
Though he could try to weasel out of it, the above paragraph implies, either by mistaken knowledge or clumsy writing, that Arkansas State is one of the FCS teams that Penn State has played (or in Arkansas State's case, was going to play).
What's the difference between Arkansas State and a Division I-AA team? Maybe not much. There are certainly some FCS teams that could beat the Red Wolves, but not that many. And when Arkansas State hosted an actual FCS team—Mississippi Valley State—in their opener, the result was a 61-0 win. Add that to last year's 83-10 demolition of Texas Southern and at least in these two examples the distinction is clear.
Not that either of those teams is a great representative of the FCS—they were a combined 7-16 last year—but the point is that there's a world of difference between a lower-rung FBS team and a lower-rung FCS team.
The sadder thing is, no one in the comments section seems to have noticed the slight. If the Red Wolves continue to play like they have this year, though, they may find themselves in their second-ever bowl game, and then at least people will realize, for that day, that the team is one of the 120 in the highest college football division.
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