For the 48th straight season, FCS football will have a national playoff, but for the first time, the field of 24 will travel the Road to Nashville (Tennessee). Eleven bids go to automatic qualifiers.
With the regular season well into its November stretch run, teams have begun to clinch automatic bids to 2025 FCS playoffs.
The Ivy League is participating in the playoffs for the first time this season, so 11 of the 24 spots are automatic qualifiers that go to conference champions.
Following are the AQs clinched and some of the other conference scenarios.
FCS Playoff Automatic Bids (Qualifiers)
Missouri Valley: North Dakota State (10-0, 7-0), the outright conference champion. It marks the Bison’s 16th straight playoff appearance.
Southern: Mercer (8-1, 7-0), having clinched at least a share of the conference title. It marks the Bears’ third straight playoff appearance.
Conference Bids to Be Determined
Big Sky: Montana (10-0, 6-0) and Montana State (8-2, 6-0) are tied for first place. Montana State, last year’s conference champ, concludes its season by hosting third-place UC Davis next Saturday and visiting Montana on Nov. 22. The Grizzlies play at struggling Portland State next Saturday.
CAA Football: Rhode Island (8-2, 6-0) has sole possession of first place following a win at Elon and Monmouth’s first conference loss to New Hampshire. Villanova is 6-1, while Maine and Monmouth are 5-1 each.
Ivy League: Harvard (8-0, 5-0) sits in first place and plays second-place Yale (6-2, 4-1) on Nov. 22. If Yale defeats Princeton next weekend, The Game rivalry will determine the Ivy’s first automatic playoff bid.
NEC Football: Central Connecticut State (7-3, 5-0) has clinched at least a share of its second straight title and can add the automatic bid with a win or a Duquesne loss in either team’s final two games.
OVC-Big South: Tennessee Tech (10-0, 7-0) has clinched a share of the title, but if UT Martin (5-5, 5-1) defeats Charleston Southern next Saturday, the Skyhawks’ matchup at TTU on Nov. 22 will determine the automatic playoff bid. The Golden Eagles would clinch the bid with a UTM loss to Charleston Southern.
Patriot League: Lehigh (10-0) and Lafayette (7-3) are both 5-0 in league games. Their 161st all-time meeting on Nov. 22 will determine the automatic playoff bid.
Pioneer League: Drake (6-3, 5-1) remains alone in first place even with a loss to St. Thomas (7-3, 5-2) because Davidson earned its first league win against Presbyterian (8-2, 4-2), which now sits in a third-place tie with Dayton (6-3, 4-2) and San Diego (6-3, 4-2).
Southland: Stephen F. Austin (8-2, 6-0) will have at least a share of first place after Week 11 depending on the outcome of Southeastern Louisiana (7-2, 5-0) at Lamar (7-2, 4-1) on Saturday.
UAC: Abilene Christian (6-4, 5-1) owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Tarleton State (9-1, 5-1) should they finish in a tie for first place on Nov. 22. Third-place Southern Utah (5-5, 4-2) defeated ACU and lost to Tarleton.
NCAA FCS Playoffs
The 24-team NCAA FCS playoffs are composed of 11 conference champions that have automatic bids and 13 at-large bids selected by a playoff committee, with the pairings set to be announced on Nov. 23 (noon p.m. ET, ESPNU).
For more FCS coverage, follow on social media at X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
Punch the Ticket: FCS Playoff Automatic Bids and Conference Champions Opta Analyst.
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