North Dakota St. Makes Strategic Investment for Week 1 Showdown vs. Colorado

The FBS and FCS are different on many levels.

Besides the obvious gaps in budget, talent, and popularity, the FBS also has a significant advantage in one surprising area that is being utilized more frequently in football: helmet communications.

College football often involves adjustments and modifications, so adapting to new rules is a familiar process for coaches. It's simply about smoothing out any issues.

One of the most significant changes that could enhance the quality of play is the introduction of headset communications for quarterbacks and a principal defensive player.

This change would enable coaches to communicate directly with their players during the game.

Unfortunately, FCS programs like North Dakota State, heading into their Week 1 matchup against Colorado, don't have access to helmet communications unlike their FBS counterparts. This means that matchups involving one FBS team and one FCS squad would put the latter at a massive disadvantage, knowing they can't talk to their players while the other side can.

Which is why North Dakota State decided to pay out of pocket to utilize the technology for their matchup against the Buffaloes to begin the season.

What is also quite strange is that they can't use helmet communications for the whole season, only being able to utilize it against Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes.

Obviously, having it for a whole season would give North Dakota State a major edge over their FCS opponents, where most of their games will be played instead of Colorado and other FBS schools.

Regardless, this recent piece of news only shows that college football has some catching up to do when it comes to balancing out the disparities between teams at the FBS and FCS levels, respectively.

With this major purchase, the Bison will hope to maximize their usage of it against the Buffaloes Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Related: Colorado Made Major Accusation About Oregon Following Blowout Loss In 2023