It’s getting down to crunch time in the FCS world. At this point no team has locked up a conference bid, but some teams are near locks for a playoff spot. Some teams have been eliminated as well. There is still a ton of football to played, but it is looking like the committee may have some VERY difficult choices to make in just a few weeks. Here we go…
How last year’s playoff teams did in Week 7:
#4 North Dakota State (3-1, 6-1): Beat #12 Western Illinois 21-13
#2 Jacksonville State (3-0, 6-1): Beat Eastern Kentucky 24-7
#6 Richmond (4-1, 7-1): Beat Elon 35-7
#9 Charleston Southern (2-0, 4-2): Beat Presbyterian 38-3
#5 Citadel (5-0, 7-0): Beat Wofford 24-21 OT
#11 Chattanooga (5-1, 7-1): Beat VMI 30-13
Fordham (2-0, 5-2): Beat Georgetown 17-14
New Hampshire (4-1, 5-3): Beat Towson 21-7
Colgate (2-4, 1-1): Idle
#1 Sam Houston State (6-0, 7-0): Beat Nicholls 38-21
Southern Utah (2-3, 3-4): Lost to Weber State 37-36
McNeese State (3-3, 4-4): Beat Northwestern State 48-27
#8 JMU (4-0, 6-1): Idle
#10 Montana (2-2, 5-2): Lost to Northern Arizona 45-34
#7 South Dakota State (4-0, 5-2): Beat #13 Youngstown State 24-10
Northern Iowa (2-2, 3-4): Beat Missouri State 61-7
#15 Eastern Illinois (3-2, 5-3): Lost to Murray State 40-38
William & Mary (1-3, 3-4): Idle
Duquesne (1-1, 4-3): Lost to St Francis (PA) 14-10
Dayton (4-1, 6-2): Beat Butler 31-16
#12 Western Illinois (2-2, 5-2): Lost to #4 North Dakota State 21-13
Portland State (1-3, 2-5): Idle
Illinois State (1-4, 3-5): Lost to South Dakota 27-24
#17 Coastal Carolina (5-2): Beat Central Conn State 33-25 (Coastal not eligible for FCS playoffs in 2016)
Other Notable Results:
#16 Villanova (4-1, 6-2): Beat #23 Albany 24-13
Here are the projections after Week 7
National Seeds:
1 Sam Houston State* (Southland) – SHSU took down another Southland rival in Nicholls, who gave Georgia a run for their money earlier this season. There are always surprises, but it doesn’t look like much stands between Sam Houston and a perfect regular season.
2 Jacksonville State* (OVC) – Another team that looks unlikely to lose an FCS game, the Gamecocks have what should be their last tough game in Eastern Illinois this week. JSU should cruise to a top 3 seed at this point.
3 North Dakota State – The Bison put a quality bounce back win on their resume, knocking down a tough Western Illinois team that has beaten quality clubs. South Dakota State is still in the MVFC driver’s seat, but NDSU remains a National Title threat.
4 Eastern Washington* (Big Sky) – Tough slate for EWU this week, as they face a Montana team looking to bounce back from an unexpected loss. Tons of seeding implications in this one, but for now Eastern is the team to beat in the Big Sky.
5 South Dakota State* (MVFC) – The Jack Rabbits picked up what could have been one of the more significant wins of the season, beating #13 Youngstown State. SDSU will be favored in all of their remaining games, as they drive towards an MVFC title.
6 Richmond* (CAA) – No win is routine, but you had to expect the Spiders to take care of business against Elon. Richmond seems to be clicking on all cylinders heading into the home stretch.
7 The Citadel* (SoCon) – The Bulldogs keep finding ways to win, this week in OT against a tough Wofford team that was looking to make a statement. The SoCon is having a good year, and The Citadel is leading the way.
8 James Madison – Idle week for the Dukes. Several teams could be in the #8 spot, but JMU remains undefeated against FCS opponents. 11/5 against Richmond, and 11/12 against Villanova are looming.
* Projected Conference Auto-bid
Conference Projections
Big Sky
Auto-Bid:
Eastern Washington (4-0, 6-1)
At-Large:
Montana (2-2, 5-2)
North Dakota (5-0, 6-2)
Cal Poly (3-1, 5-2)
Bubble:
Weber State (4-0, 5-2)
Big South
Auto-Bid:
Charleston Southern (2-0, 4-2)
Bubble:
Liberty (2-0, 4-3)
Colonial
Auto-Bid:
Richmond (4-1, 7-1)^
At-Large:
James Madison (4-0, 6-1)
Villanova (4-1, 6-2)
Stony Brook (4-0, 5-2)
Bubble:
New Hampshire (4-1, 5-3)
^ Denotes 7 Division 1 win mark achieved
Missouri Valley
Auto-Bid:
South Dakota State (4-0, 5-2)
At-Large:
North Dakota State (3-1, 6-1)
Youngstown State (3-1, 5-2)
Western Illinois (2-2, 5-2)
Bubble:
South Dakota (3-1, 4-3)
Northeast
Auto-Bid:
St. Francis (PA) (3-0, 5-3)
Ohio Valley
Auto-Bid:
Jacksonville State (3-0, 6-1)
At-Large:
Eastern Illinois (3-2, 5-3)
Tennessee State (2-1, 5-2)
Patriot
Auto-Bid:
Lehigh (3-0, 6-2)
Bubble:
Fordham (2-0, 5-2)
Pioneer
Auto-Bid:
San Diego (5-0, 6-1)
Bubble:
Dayton (4-1, 6-2)
Southern
Auto-Bid:
Citadel (5-0, 7-0)
At-Large:
Chattanooga (5-1, 7-1)
Samford (4-1, 6-1)
Bubble:
Wofford (2-2, 4-3)
Southland
Auto-Bid:
Sam Houston State (6-0, 7-0)
At-Large:
Central Arkansas (5-0, 6-1)
Bubble:
SE Louisiana (4-1, 4-3)
Where is Liberty?
LU got to 2-0 in the Big South against an over matched Monmouth team. As the FCS landscape is beginning to take shape, it looks like a Big South title is the only path to the playoffs for the Flames. A win against Coastal to close out the season won’t be enough should Liberty lose to CSU. So, every week is a one week season from here through November 12. A lot can happen between now and then, so the best thing Liberty can do is keep winning.
