The playoff is here. No, not the College Football Playoff final four, but the actual NCAA Division I FCS Football Playoff.
To the surprise of absolutely nobody who follows the sport, defending champion North Dakota State once again earned the No. 1 seed in the bracket, which was announced on Sunday morning following the conclusion of play over the weekend. The Bison, on a 33-game win streak, will have a first round bye before hosting the winner of Nicholls State and North Dakota as they seek their eighth title in the past nine years.
James Madison earned the No. 2 seed and will also be playing in their first tournament under a new head coach, with Mike Houston moving on to East Carolina last offseason and Curt Cignetti taking over the Dukes. They’ll play the winner of Monmouth and Holy Cross after their own first round bye.
No. 3 Weber State, No. 4 Sacramento State, No. 5 Montana State, No. 6 Montana, No. 7 South Dakota State and No. 8 Central Arkansas will also take a week off before hosting the winners of the first round matchups. Those include games between Illinois State-Southeast Missouri, Furman-Austin Peay, Central Connecticut State-Albany, Kennesaw State-Wofford, Villanova-Southeastern Louisiana and San Diego-Northern Iowa.
Let’s hear from #FCSPlayoffs Committee Chair Greg Seitz on the challenges committee faced.#FCSPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/lYcThU6c2Z
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 24, 2019
New Hampshire, South Carolina State, Southern Illinois and Towson were the first four teams out of the bracket. After the four rounds are completed in the tournament, the FCS title game will be held in Frisco, Texas on January 11 and be broadcasted on ABC.
