Looking Ahead to Playing Up

I've finished my collection of 2011 football schedules in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, after waiting a couple of months on Western Illinois and Northern Iowa. Thus, I can begin my examination of their games five months out. (Logical, right?)

We'll start today with a look at conference teams who are playing a guarantee game in 2011. In other words, FCS (I-AA) teams playing FBS (I-A) teams on the road, primarily so they pick up the big paycheck for playing a powerhouse. Sometimes you get a win in these games, like Appalachian State over Michigan, James Madison over Virginia Tech or North Dakota State and South Dakota over Minnesota. (Thanks a lot, Brewster.)

So looking ahead to 2011, here's a list of MVFC teams that are playing FBS schools next year:

Illinois State - None
Indiana State - Sept. 3 at Penn State, Sept. 17 at Western Kentucky
Missouri State - Sept. 3 at Arkansas, Sept. 17 at Oregon
North Dakota St. - Sept. 24 at Minnesota
Northern Iowa - Sept. 3 at Iowa State
South Dakota St. - Sept. 10 at Illinois
Southern Illinois - Sept. 10 at Ole Miss
Western Illinois - Sept. 17 at Missouri
Youngstown St. - Sept 3 at Michigan State
South Dakota (MVFC in 2012) - Sept. 3 at Air Force, Sept. 24 at Wisconsin

Looking at this, I would have to classify Missouri State as fools. At Arkansas and At Oregon? Show up, take the money, and hope nobody gets hurt. Illinois State will play all 11 games against FCS opponents, but has six home games in 2011. In the end, the MVFC will play four Big Ten teams this season, two from the SEC, and one each from the Big XII, Pac-12, and Sun Belt.

I made a schedule grid of this 2011 season but have no idea how to link it on here, so I guess I'm out of luck from that standpoint. Thanks for reading.

UPDATE: I found out how to post that schedule