If College GameDay existed at the Division II level, where know exactly where Bizarro Rece, Coach, Kirk, Desmond and the gang would be in Week 1.
Texas A&M-Commerce will open the 2020 season with a Thursday, Sept. 3 game at West Florida.
Let's slow that down again: in a sport where, at the highest level, games are regularly scheduled a dozen years in advance, A&M-Commerce and West Florida announced on June 15 it will play a game on Sept. 3 -- a span of 81 days.
And this isn't any home-and-home, either. This is the 2017 D2 national champions visiting the defending D2 champs. Texas A&M-Commerce actually defeated West Florida to win its 2017 crown, a 37-27 triumph at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
West Florida will make a return trip to Commerce on Sept. 18, 2021.
"We're excited to play the defending national champions. I think it'll be a great football game," said A&M-Commerce head coach David Bailiff. "If you want to be the best, you've got to play the best. When you play somebody that's as talented as they are, it will show you early in the year what you've got to work on. You don't get exposed when you play a weak opener, and they will show us what we're good at and what we've got to work at."
The hasty turnaround became necessary due to COVID-induced cancellations.
Texas A&M-Commerce was scheduled to host Simon Fraser, the only Canadian member of Division II, in a game that became nearly impossible to play because of new border-crossing restrictions put in place by the Canadian government.
West Florida was slated to face West Virginia Wesleyan, a member of the Mountain East Conference, that has since announced it will play a conference-only season this fall. West Florida also lost a planned home game when Florida Tech dropped football last month.
"Following Florida Tech's announcement to drop football and then the MEC's decision to play only conference games, we felt it was very important to our student-athletes and fans to get a fourth home game back on the schedule," West Florida AD Dave Scott said. "With the addition of Texas A&M-Commerce, not only do we get to play an opponent our fans are familiar with, but we now have one of the most attractive home schedules in our history."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.