FCS Playoffs ‘Til I Die: Final 2018 Playoff Prediction

All the regular season games have been played, and let’s get right to it.

Once again, a quick recap of the rules for the ability to qualify for the FCS Playoffs:

The field for the FCS Playoffs is determined at the conclusion of the FCS regular season, which is the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

There are 10 conferences that get autobids to the playoffs, the Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Northeast, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Pioneer Football League, Southern, and Southland Conferences.

Two conferences, the SWAC and MEAC, choose to send their champions to the Celebration Bowl, a postseason event that’s separate from the FCS playoffs. (Additionally, the SWAC also plays a championship game, and also have scheduled some games on Thanksgiving or beyond.)

What this means is that their conference champions play in the Heritage Bowl and not the playoffs, though second-placed teams that don’t have Thanksgiving or later games could be considered instead.

A third, the Ivy League, chooses to not send its members to the FCS playoffs, which is a crying shame this season because 9-0 Princeton or 8-1 Dartmouth are two of the strongest teams in all of FCS and thanks to their conference’s University Presidents, are barred from playing in the postseason.

Conference Champions/Autobid Winners:

• • Big Sky: 9-2 (7-1) Weber State
  • Big South: 10-1 (5-0) Kennesaw State
  • Colonial Athletic Association: 8-3 (6-1) Maine
  • Missouri Valley: 11-0 (8-0) North Dakota State
  • Northeast: 8-3 (4-1) Duquesne
  • Ohio Valley: 8-3 (7-1) Jacksonville State
  • Patriot League: 9-1 (6-0) Colgate
  • Pioneer: 9-2 (8-0) San Diego
  • Southern: 8-3 (6-2) Wofford
  • Southland: 7-3 (5-2) Nicholls

• Seeds:

  1. North Dakota State
  2. Weber State
  3. Kennesaw State
  4. James Madison
  5. Eastern Washington
  6. South Dakota State
  7. Maine
  8. Wofford

  Next Teams Up: UC Davis, Colgate

  Rest of the field:

  Colgate, Delaware, Duquesne, East Tennessee State, Indiana State, Jacksonville State, Monmouth, Montana State, Lamar, Northern Iowa, Nicholls, San Diego, Southeast Missouri State, Stony Brook, Towson, UC Davis

  Last Four In:

  Stony Brook, Lamar, Monmouth, Northern Iowa

  The Bubble’s Burst:

  Illinois State, Eastern Kentucky, Furman, Elon

  Potential 1st Round Matchups:

  Duquesne at Towson
  Southeast Missouri State at Nicholls
  San Diego at UC Davis
  Indiana State at Montana State
  Lamar at Northern Iowa
  Monmouth at Delaware
  Colgate at Stony Brook
  East Tennessee State at Jacksonville State

  Potential 2nd Round Matchups:

  Indiana State/Montana State winner at No. 1 NDSU
  San Diego/UC Davis winner at No. 2 Weber State
  Duquesne/Towson winner at No. 3 Kennesaw State
  ETSU/Jacksonville State winner at No. 4 James Madison
  Lamar/Northern Iowa winner at No. 5 Eastern Washington
  SEMO/Nicholls winner at No. 6 South Dakota State
  Monmouth/Delaware winner at No. 7 Maine
  Colgate/Stony Brook winner at No. 8 Wofford