Weekend Preview: Chase To The Playoffs Heats Up

November 7, 2022 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

For most FCS schools, this is the penultimate weekend of college football.

That means we're less than two weeks away from the end of the season and a final weekend that will feature some of the greatest rivalries in the sport, followed by the 2022 Playoff Bracket announcement.

November 19th marks the date for "The Game" with Yale at Harvard, "The Brawl of the Wild" with Montana at Montana State, the Florida Classic in Orlando between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, and the one simply called "The Rivalry" with Lehigh at Lafayette.  You'll have to wait a week for the Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern as it takes place on Thanksgiving weekend Saturday in New Orleans.

Sunday, November 20th is the date for the FCS Playoff selection show on ESPNU at 12:30 p.m. ET. The field will be comprised of 24 schools with 11 automatic bids to conference champions, and 14 at-large bids determined by the same committee that will seed the teams. Those bids go to champions of the ASUN/WAC Alliance, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, MVFC, NEC, OVC, Patriot, Pioneer, SoCon and Southland.

The SWAC, MEAC and Ivy League do no receive an auto bid, but can receive an at-large bid.

Champions of the MEAC and SWAC meet annually in the Celebration Bowl which will take place in Atlanta on December 17 at Noon.

Additionally, Jacksonville State, Lindenwood, Merrimack, Sam Houston, St. Thomas, Stonehill, Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Commerce and Utah Tech are all ineligible.

These teams have already clinched their conference bid:
MVFC: South Dakota State
NEC: St. Francis (PA)
Patriot: Holy Cross

The Big Sky and SoCon are the only conference AQ bids that could be determined this week.

The Big Sky can be decided this week if Sacramento State wins at Portland State on Friday, and Idaho loses at home to UC Davis on Saturday. The computer has that exact situation taking place as it favors the Hornets to win and the Vandals to lose.

The SoCon can only be decided this week if Samford beats Chattanooga AND Furman beats Mercer. If those scenarios unfold, Samford clinches the crown. The computer favors Chattanooga and Mercer to win those games.

The OVC is down to SEMO and UT-Martin.

The Southland still has three teams in contention: NW State, La. (4-0), UIW (4-1), and SE Louisiana (3-1).

SEE: Schedule and Picks

FCS vs. FBS

There will be 119 FBS vs. FCS matchups this season with App State, Army and Marshall each playing two such games, and 116 other FBS schools playing one apiece.

Lamar visits New Mexico State this Saturday. The final FBS-FCS matchups occur on November 19 with Austin Peay at Alabama, Utah Tech at BYU, ETSU at Mississippi State, and North Alabama at Memphis.

The FBS is 106-8 (.930) vs. the FCS this year, and 1,680-148 (.919) since we began tracking this in 2003.

Here are the FCS wins in 2022:
September 2: William & Mary 41, Charlotte 24
September 3: Delaware14, Navy 7
September 10: Weber State 35, Utah State 7
September 10: Incarnate Word 55, Nevada 41
September 10: Holy Cross 37, Buffalo 31
September 10: Eastern Kentucky 59, Bowling Green 57 (7 OT's)
September 17: Southern Illinois 31, Northwestern 24
September 24: Sacramento State 41, Colorado State 10

Streaks - Current FCS Longest

PRINCETON - won 10 straight over-all
Last: Won 17-14 at home vs. Dartmouth on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Visits Yale on Saturday, November 12.

MONTANA STATE - Won 17 straight home games.
Last: Won 41-13 at Northern Arizona on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Visits Cal Poly on Saturday, November 12.

SACRAMENTO STATE - Won 17 straight conference games, won 9 straight road games.
Last: Won 33-30 at Weber State on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Visits Portland State on Friday, November 11.

WESTERN ILLINOIS - Lost 11 straight over-all.
Last: Lost Lost 56-17 at home to North Dakota State on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Hosts Indiana State on Saturday, November 12.

WAGNER - Lost 19 straight road games.
Last: Lost 50-10 at Stonehill on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Hosts Sacred Heart on Saturday, November 12.

PRESBYTERIAN - Lost 15 straight conference games.
Last: Lost 52-28 at home to Dayton on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Visits Stetson on Saturday, November 19.

HOUSTON CHRISTIAN - Lost 9 straight home games.
Last: Lost 73-20 at Incarnate Word on Saturday, November 5.
Next: Hosts McNeese State on Saturday, November 12.