Two of the teams were 0-4 earlier this season. Another already has posted one-quarter the number of wins that it had in the previous 11 seasons combined. Oh yes, it’s time to start paying attention more to FCS postseason hopefuls that are under the radar.
With only three full weeks of the FCS football regular season remaining, it’s full steam ahead to postseason bids.
With some more than others, given what they’re trying to prove.
Sure, you’re noticing North Dakota State each week. Or the Montana programs. Yup, unbeatens Tennessee Tech and Harvard, too.
But there are other postseason hopefuls that you may not be focusing on enough.
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Scenario: Basically left for dead following an 0-4 start (three FBS losses) and another loss in its second OVC-Big South game, coach Jason Simpson’s team has a chance to be a conference champion for a fifth consecutive season and earn a third all-time FCS playoff bid.
Something to Prove: The Skyhawks (4-5, 4-1), who rallied for an overtime win at Eastern Illinois on Saturday, are the OVC-Big South’s only one-loss team behind first-place Tennessee Tech and are home for their next two games (Tennessee State and Charleston Southern). If they win those two games, their Nov. 22 visit to TTU would determine the automatic playoff bid.
Maine Black Bears
Scenario: Be honest, have you been paying attention to what’s happening in Orono, Maine? Yeah, we thought not. But the CAA Football program whose campus is the northernmost in the FCS has strung together five straight wins since an 0-4 start, and it could sneak away with a surprising playoff bid.
Something to Prove: The Black Bears have gone from finishing 12th in the CAA in total defense last year to No. 1 in coach Jordan Stevens’ fourth season. Up next is a trip to struggling Hampton. They then have a chance to add strong wins to their resume against the conference’s other two New England programs – Rhode Island and New Hampshire – which they haven’t defeated since 2021.
Lafayette Leopards
Scenario: Perhaps you lost track of the Leopards when they played a late-night game at Oregon State on Oct. 18 and followed up with an open week. Or maybe you weren’t taking a close look to begin with after they were picked fifth in the Patriot League’s preseason poll following a 2-4 mark last season.
Something to Prove: The Leopards hung 62 points on Bucknell, their highest total since a 64-0 win over Lehigh in 1944. Ah, their old rival – Lehigh. The most-played series in college football will turn 161 on Nov. 22, and Lafayette (6-3, 4-0) hopes to be in position for the playoff bid. A win over Colgate or at Richmond guarantees they will have their shot at home against the unbeaten Mountain Hawks.
Delaware State Hornets
Scenario: Delaware State went 24-94 (.203) from 2014 to last season and last won the MEAC championship in 2007, but the Hornets are tied with defending champion South Carolina State for first place and seemingly capable of pulling off a stunning title.
Something to Prove: In coach DeSean Jackson’s first season, the Hornets are 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the MEAC. Armed with the FCS’ No. 1 ranking in rushing yards per game, they stand wins at Morgan State and then at home over Howard and SCSU away from advancing to Atlanta for the Celebration Bowl.
PFL and Ivy Seek Multiple Playoff Bids
Scenario: As the two non-scholarship leagues of the FCS, we’ll group the Pioneer Football League and Ivy League together. The PFL has not gained an at-large playoff team since first receiving an automatic bid in 2013, and the Ivy League has an auto-bid for the first time this season after reversing an 80-year postseason ban. Both leagues seek to have multiple qualifiers.
Something to Prove (PFL): In the PFL, two-time defending champion Drake sits in first place again. The best-case scenario for the league would be for No. 25 Presbyterian (8-1, 4-1), which was upset by Dayton last weekend, to finish 11-1 and be an at-large candidate behind a Drake three-peat. Despite wins at the last two Southern Conference champions (Mercer and Furman), the Blue Hose’s strength of schedule has flaws with two sub-FCS wins that don’t count toward playoff consideration.
Something to Prove (Ivy): Harvard is rolling at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Ivy League. Yale and Penn are tied for second place, but Yale won the head-to-head meeting 35-13, so the best-case scenario for the new (but old) kid on the block to gain multiple playoff bids is for the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1) to win out and claim the automatic bid in a two-team tie for first place with Harvard, and the Crimson remaining unbeaten until that final rivalry game. They will probably have done enough by then to secure an at-large bid.
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