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The FCS Playoffs and the SWAC Championship take center stage this week. The top 8 seeds in the playoff see action for the first time this postseason while Jackson State hosts Southern for the SWAC title at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 and the right to meet South Carolina State in the HBCU National Championship in the Cricket Bowl in Atlanta next week.
All eight of the second round games in the FCS playoffs will take place on Saturday, and 14 of the top 16 seeds remain. The only seeds to get bounced in the first round were 16-seed New Hampshire which was walloped 41-10 at home by UT-Martin, and 9-seed Richmond which fell 20-16 at home to Lehigh
By and large, the games in the first round were competitive. The second round is expected to be more lopsided as the top 8 seeds all host their opponent on a week's rest.
When the lines opened at the Sportbooks, only two games were under double-digit spreads (Villanova at UIW, and Illinois State at UC Davis). However, the picks based on the Congrove Computer Rankings has those two games, and two others, at 7.4 points or less (Rhode Island at Mercer, and Lehigh at Idaho.
One of the most compelling games seems to be unseeded UT-Martin at No. 1 seed and undefeated Montana State, especially after the Skyhawks rolled to a 41-10 win at 16-seed New Hampshire. UT-Martin won ever facet of that game by piling up 22 first downs to UNH's 6, and out-gaining the Wildcats 482-124 .It was a balanced attack with 236 yards rushing and 246 passing.
Unseeded Lehigh at 8-seed Idaho is also interesting after a 20-16 win at Richmond put the Leopards' defense on full display as they kept the Spiders out of the end zone on 3 of their four trips inside the 20.
All games December
All times Eastern
All on ESPN+
2 PM
(14) Montana (9-4) at (3) South Dakota State (10-2)
(11) Villanova (10-3) at (6) UIW (10-2)
(10) Rhode Island (11-2) at (7) MERCER (10-2)
3 PM
UT Martin (9-4) at (1) MONTANA STATE (12-0)
(13) Tarleton (10-3) at (4) SOUTH DAKOTA (9-2)
(15) Abilene Christian (9-4) at (2) NORTH DAKOTA STATE (10-2)
4 PM
(12) Illinois State at (5) UC DAVIS (10-2)
9 PM
Lehigh (9-3) at (8) IDAHO (9-3)
November 30 (all times eastern)
Bold Team Won, CAPS Team Home
UT Martin (9-4) 41, (16) NEW HAMPSHIRE (8-5) 10
Lehigh (9-3) 20, (9) RICHMOND (10-3) 16
(12) Illinois State (10-3) 35, SEMO (9-4), 27
Drake (8-3) 29, (13) TARLETON (10-3) 43
Tennessee State (9-4) 27, (14) MONTANA (9-4) 41
Eastern Kentucky (8-5) 17, (11) VILLANOVA (10-3) 22
CCSU (7-6) 17, (10) RHODE ISLAND (11-2) 21
Northern Arizona (8-5) 0, (15) ABILENE CHRISTIAN (9-4) 24
SEE: Odds, Computer picks, Scores
Home team on bottom
| 12/7 | 12/14 | 12/21 | C'ship (Frisco) (1/6, 7 PM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT-Martin 1 Montana St. |
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| Lehigh 8 Idaho |
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| 12 Illinois St. 5 UC Davis |
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| 13 Tarleton 4 So. Dakota |
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| 14 Montana 3 SDSU |
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| 11 Villanova 6 UIW |
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| 10 URI 7 Mercer |
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| 15 ACU 2 NDSU |
Southern topped Grambling 24-14 in the Bayou Classic in New Orleans, Florida A&M beat Alabama A&M 28-23 on Friday in Tallahassee, and Alabama State toppled D2 Tuskegee 34-6 on Thanksgiving Day in the 100th Turkey Day Classic at Alabama State.
FBS schools were 115-6 in FBS-FCS games this season, and are a cumulative 1,915-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there were 121 matchups scheduled between FBS and FCS schools with 119 playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
15 schools were not scheduled to play a FCS opponent. Of those fifteen schools, 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, were repeats from the list of schools in 2023 that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
MONTANA STATE - Won 12 straight overall. Won 6 straight road games. Won 8 straight conference games (tied with UIW, Richmond, and Jackson State).
Last: Won 34-11 at home over Montana on Saturday, November 23.
Next: No. 1 over-all seed in the FCS playoffs had a 1st-round bye. Hosts UT-Martin on Saturday, December 7.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - 27-game home winning streak.
Last: Won 45-9 at Missouri State on Saturday, November 23.
Next: No. 3 over-all seed in the FCS playoffs had a 1st-round bye. Hosts 14-seed Montana on Saturday, December 7.
NW STATE - Lost 20 straight over-all. Lost 10 straight home games (tied with Northern Colorado)
Last: Lost 62-24 at Houston Christian on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
NORTHERN COLORADO - Lost 10 straight at home (tied with NW State, LA).
Last: Lost 45-13 at Portland State on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T - Lost 16 straight conference games.
Last: Lost 31-21 at home to Elon on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
MURRAY STATE - Lost 18 straight road games. Lost 15 straight conference games (second to NC A&T).
Last: Lost 62-0 at Southern Illinois on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.