FCS playoff thread

[micropolitan guy]

2025 FCS Football Official Bracket | NCAA.com

The pairings are out. NDSU, Montana State, Montana and Tarleton State are the top four seeds.

Yale and Harvard make the field. I think they both can win a game or two.

As an alum of one of the three private schools to ever win the championship, I'm glad the Ivy pinhead administrators finally gave them the same chance to compete in the postseason that every other league champion gets.

Only five private schools have ever even played for the title (Villanova, Furman, Richmond, Colgate, Lehigh), Villanova in 2009 being the most recent.

FCS Football Championship History | NCAA.com

 

[dixiehack]

On the very remote chance you wondered why Tennessee Tech was ditching the OVC, getting seeded No. 13 despite a perfect record against FCS competition explains a lot. Then again, the SoCon is also a single bid league, which would have been unfathomable a generation ago.

 

[John]

On the very remote chance you wondered why Tennessee Tech was ditching the OVC, getting seeded No. 13 despite a perfect record against FCS competition explains a lot. Then again, the SoCon is also a single bid league, which would have been unfathomable a generation ago.

I was just thinking that about the SoCon. You once could count on Wofford and/or Furman being there every year - and obviously App State and Ga Southern before they moved up.

 

[micropolitan guy]

On the very remote chance you wondered why Tennessee Tech was ditching the OVC, getting seeded No. 13 despite a perfect record against FCS competition explains a lot. Then again, the SoCon is also a single bid league, which would have been unfathomable a generation ago.

Furman has fallen off the map. They were an excellent FCS program for a long, long time. I remember David Whitehurst just dominating games, way back in the old Southern Conference era.

 

[dixiehack]

Chattanooga would make noise from time to time, and less often ETSU. Samford was going for a while but utterly collapsed this year.

 

[Cosmo]

Monmouth's QB got hurt, I get it, but you can't lose at home to a one-win Albany team to close the year and still make the playoffs. Was a little surprised that 7-5 North Dakota wasn't even on the last four in line.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Since we posted a link to the bracket but not the actual schedule (all times noon local time, all second-round games Dec. 6):

Harvard (9-1) at 12 Villanova (9-2), winner at 5 Lehigh (12-0)
Yale (8-2) at 15 Youngstown State (8-4), winner at 2 Montana St. (10-2)
Central Connecticut State (8-4) at 9 Rhode Island (10-2), winner at 8 UC Davis (8-3)
Illinois State (8-4) at 16 Southeastern Louisiana (9-3), winner at 1 North Dakota State
North Dakota (7-5) at 13 Tennessee Tech (11-1), winner at 4 Tarleton State (11-1)
New Hampshire (8-4) at 14 South Dakota State (8-4), winner at 3 Montana (11-1)
Drake (8-3) at 11 South Dakota (8-4), winner at 6 Mercer (9-2)
Lamar (8-4) at 10 Abilene Christian (8-4), winner at 7 Stephen F. Austin (10-2)

 

[maumann2]

There are going to be some odd travel arrangements in round two, especially Rhody landing in Sacramento to take on the Aggies three time zones away. Let's just say James Franklin would be irritated to find out Yolo County Airport has a 6,000 foot runway.

 

[Cosmo]

Villanova-Lehigh would be a blast. There's a lot of little brother syndrome going on there, as Lehigh is 1-12 all-time against the Wildcats and have never beaten them at home.

 

[HanSenSE]

There are going to be some odd travel arrangements in round two, especially Rhody landing in Sacramento to take on the Aggies three time zones away. Let's just say James Franklin would be irritated to find out Yolo County Airport has a 6,000 foot runway.

Sacramento and take the Causeway?
SFO/Oakland and I-80?

 

[dixiehack]

I’m curious what kind of crowd Tennessee Tech will draw. Traditionally bad at football, students away for Thanksgiving and by the second half UT-Vandy will be on in a rare year where it promises to be a good game.

 

[maumann2]

Sacramento and take the Causeway?
SFO/Oakland and I-80?

Definitely Providence-Sacramento. Guessing cheaper to charter. But can you imagine trying to fly coach? Boston/Chicago/Salt Lake/SFO?

Fun, fun!

 

[Cosmo]

We've always wondered how the Ivies would do in the playoffs. Welp.

Youngstown State 21, Yale 0 -- early 2nd
Villanova 24, Harvard 0 -- early 2nd

 

[Driftwood]

I enjoy this as what college football really should be. Last year's two semifinal games were great and fun to watch.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Yale comes back to win 43-42;

 

[HanSenSE]

 

[micropolitan guy]

Yale comes back to win 43-42;

If Bo Pelini is still the coach there, this is even more marvelous than it already was.

 

[TrooperBari]

If Bo Pelini is still the coach there, this is even more marvelous than it already was.

Pelini left Youngstown in 2019 after going 33-28 in five seasons. Looks like he had a very brief stay at LSU as a defensive coordinator after that.

 

[Della9250]

If Bo Pelini is still the coach there, this is even more marvelous than it already was.

It's his successor, the generically named Doug Phillips

 

[rtse11]

Yale comes back to win 43-42;

Yale has a 2nd and 8 at the YSU 26 with 2:15 remaining. YSU has 2 timeouts and the 2:00 timeout in its pocket. Yale gets only 2 yards on second down but YSU player gets flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. First down and Yale runs out the clock.
In case you thought only the big boys did asshattery things