CSJ Sagarin NCAA FCS Playoff Projection-Nov. 13

Here is this week’s projected field using the Sagarin rankings to fit the bracket. This field is as of today and using the fact that 10 FCS conferences get automatic bids to the field the bracket (highest ranked school in each get the bid in this projection). Then the 14 next highest ranked teams are the at-large teams.

We have just one week to go with four spots already wrapped up with San Diego from the Pioneer, Central Connecticut State from the NEC, Wofford from the Southern, and Jacksonville State from the OVC having already securing spots.

One item that I am doing that takes back to the roots of the Division I FCS playoff field is to seed the full group from #1 to #24 and not look at geography to select the field.

I will repeat that this is as the field sits if the rankings were used to select the field today. As this projection shows, there are six schools from the Missouri Valley Football Conference with four of these schools in the Top 8. This will likely go down but I still could see five MVFC in the final bracket with possibly three in the top 8.

Below are the rankings from the Sagarin rankings with one adjustment at 20 and 21 to avoid a conference match-up in the first round.

#1 North Dakota State MVFC

#2 James Madison CAA

#3 South Dakota State At-Large #1

#4 Western Illinois At-Large #2

#5 Northern Iowa At-Large #3

#6 South Dakota At-Large #4

#7 Jacksonville State OVC

#8 Weber State BSC

#9 Youngstown State At-Large #5

#10 Central Arkansas Southland

#11 Illinois State At-Large #6

#12 Southern Utah At-Large #7

#13 Furman At-Large #8

#14 Northern Arizona At-Large #9

#15 Samford At-Large #10

#16 Sam Houston State At-Large #11

#17 Richmond At-Large #12

#18 Delaware At-Large #13

#19 Kennesaw State Big South

#20 Wofford So Con

#21 Stony Brook At-Large #14

#22 Central Connecticut State NEC

#23 San Diego Pioneer

#24 Lehigh Patriot

And here are these projections in bracket form.