SEC and ACC schools playing Sun Belt and CUSA schools in future spring games pitched by analyst

Mike Farrell Sports' Rock Westfall has the perfect solution to the spring game malaise many feel toward the current April scrimmage schedule for every Division I program: schools from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 playing Group of Five conference schools to get the latter paychecks and the former legitimate reps in the spring.

"The matchups are easy and sensible," Westfall prefaced before saying, "If Power Four programs want to avoid each other, they could do so for the most part. Primarily, SEC and ACC teams could schedule Sun Belt and CUSA programs. The Big Ten could focus on the MAC and Mountain West teams. The Big 12 could take on CUSA and Mountain West schools. The American Athletic Conference and four independents would fill in the rest as needed."

Westfall believes actual spring game competitions would be an economic boon for the sport through television ratings and betting revenue.

"During spring football, the NBA and NHL are winding down their marathon regular seasons while baseball starts its 162-game slog," Westfall prefaced before saying, "March Madness is down to its Final Four, the first Saturday in April. There is golf, NASCAR, soccer, and minor league spring football (UFL), which is the fourth such league in five years to give it a try. Real college football spring games would blow all of that away, both on TV and at the betting windows."

Spring games against Group of Five schools beats SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 playing FCS schools in regular season

This idea from Westfall is far better than staging any games between Power conference programs and FCS squads. No disrespect to the latter, but those types of tune-up games seen in Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 12 typically, but sometimes other weeks, don't make sense for the Power conference programs. Sure, it does for the FCS schools getting seven-figure payouts. But what good does it do to be on the wrong end of a 2007 Michigan-App State matchup or a 2021 FSU-Jax State matchup?

It doesn't. If Power conference schools started playing Group of Five teams in the spring, you can essentially scrap the FCS games; something that could be coming anyway with the talks of a Super League in the future.

Fear not FCS schools: more Group of Five matchups could then be in the cards. And while the payouts and exposure won't match the David v Goliath-esque games previously on the schedule, the overall experience will improve for college football fans.

And that may stand to benefit everyone.