The non-conference analysis is simply a look at who each FCS team is playing as of late May / early June. Occasionally schedules change, FBS schools buyout contracts and swap opponents, causing a domino effect. So these are tentative opponents, subject to change.
Big South
Charleston Southern: @ Mississippi State, @ South Carolina State, @ Elon, vs. Point University, vs. Mississippi Valley State, vs. Savannah State
Gardner-Webb: vs. North Carolina A&T, @ Wyoming, vs. Western Carolina, @ Wofford, vs. Shorter, @ North Carolina Central
Kennesaw State: @ Samford, vs. Tennessee Tech, @ Alabama State, vs. North Greenville, vs. Texas Southern, @ Montana State
Liberty: @ Baylor, vs. Morehead State, vs. Indiana State, @ Jacksonville State, vs. St. Francis, vs. Duquesne
Monmouth: vs. Lafayette, vs. Lehigh, @ Albany, @ Hampton, @ Bucknell, @ Holy Cross
Presbyterian: @ Wake Forest, @ The Citadel, vs. Campbell, vs. Cumberland(TN), vs. Wofford, vs. St. Francis
The Big South has as much versatility as a conference can have as far as non-conference scheduling goes, since they only play five conference games. With the extra open spots to fill comes the difficulty of finding opponents, which is why four of the six had to fill out their schedules with non-Division I opponents. Only Liberty and Monmouth are playing Division I exclusive schedules. And Liberty is transitioning to FBS, so their games will count, of course, but they’re not eligible for the FCS playoffs. The Big South, as a whole, is going out and playing just about everyone, as they have an opponent from every conference except the Ivy and Southland. Conference favorite, Charleston Southern, plays a sub-Division I opponent and three teams from the Mid-Eastern and Southwestern, so any slip-up in conference play will be scrutinized by the Selection Committee.
