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You may say the 2024 FCS playoff bracket went to form, given our predictions correctly picked who would fill the top-eight seeds and the 24 overall spots. But there was a notable fallout from the actual pairings, and we’re reacting to them.
The 2024 FCS playoff bracket isn’t just one team versus the field, like in a number of recent years.
Montana State … North Dakota State … two-time defending champion South Dakota State … yeah, you have company – each other and a few more realistic national title contenders in the 2024 FCS playoff bracket, announced on Sunday.
Here are five reactions to the 24-team pairings followed by the playoff schedule.
Bison Win Selection Sunday
After Saturday’s games, there wasn’t any question Montana State (12-0) would earn the No. 1 seed as the FCS’ only unbeaten team. The intrigue centered on which of the three Missouri Valley Football Conference champions – North Dakota State (10-2), South Dakota (9-2) and South Dakota State (10-2) – would receive the No. 2 seed and be guaranteed home-field advantage through the semifinal round.
They were so close in the regular season that the three games between them were decided by a combined eight points.
NDSU, which beat SDSU on Oct. 19, but lost at USD on Saturday, was installed at No. 2. There was no right or wrong answer, but the Bison may have won out on the head-to-head win over the two-time defending national champion Jackrabbits, and the two South Dakota programs having each played a sub-FCS team, which doesn’t count with the selection committee.
It Will Be MVFC and Big Sky … Again
One of the storylines of the FCS championship game this past January revolved around other conferences needing to close the growing gap to the Big Sky and MVFC. It marked the third straight title game in which the participants came only from those two conferences (more specifically, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Montana and Montana State).
The scenario seems destined again, as the top five seeds are part of the Big Sky and MVFC. Those five are a combined 29-1 at home – UC Davis lost by two points to Montana State on Nov. 16 – so the likely quarterfinals and semifinals will go through their stadiums.
Playoff Field Not as Regional
A move to 16 seeds instead of eight has decreased some of the regional feel to the playoffs. Three of the eight games are within the 400-mile bus trip limit: Central Connecticut State at Rhode Island; Lehigh at Richmond; and Illinois State (the No. 12 seed, but unable to host) at Southeast Missouri.
Neither the first nor second round will pit conference teams against each other, but there could be a familiar game on Dec. 7: South Dakota State hosting Montana in a rematch of the 2023 championship game (SDSU won 23-3).
The conference matchups may be saved for the quarterfinals and beyond.
FCS Playoff Bracket a Bit Different Mix
The Southern and Southland conferences usually have strong representation in the playoff field, but neither had an at-large candidate with fewer than five losses, and that cost them extra teams beyond their automatic qualifiers, No. 6 seed UIW (Southland) and No. 7 seed Mercer (SoCon).
It opened the door for the Big South-OVC and United Athletic Conference, which in recent years formed as joint FCS leagues, to have a trio of qualifiers each. It was warranted as the Big South-OVC had a four-way share of the title, landing Southeast Missouri, UT Martin and Tennessee State in the field, and the UAC was strong with two first-time qualifiers, champion Abilene Christian and Tarleton State (playoff-eligible for the first time), plus surging Eastern Kentucky.
And the Pick …
Looking back to a never-too-early top-10 ranking within days of the 2023 championship game, the first five teams were from the Dakotas and Montana. Hah, surprise, surprise.
Montana State has made itself a deserving No. 1 seed, but the national championship pick in January was North Dakota State, so let’s keep it. Under first-year coach Tim Polasek and behind quarterback Cam Miller’s lead on the field, the Bison seek to hit double figures with what would be a record 10th all-time FCS title.
The Pairings
2024 NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
(Campus sites until championship game)
(All times EST; games on ESPN+ unless noted)
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, Nov. 30
- No. 12 seed Illinois State (9-3) at Southeast Missouri (9-3), noon
- Central Connecticut State (7-5) at No. 10 seed Rhode Island (10-2), noon
- UT Martin (8-4) at No. 16 seed New Hampshire (8-4), 1 p.m.
- Lehigh (8-3) at No. 9 seed Richmond (10-2), 2 p.m.
- Eastern Kentucky (8-4) at No. 11 seed Villanova (9-3), 2 p.m.
- Drake (8-2) at No. 13 seed Tarleton State (10-2), 3 p.m.
- Northern Arizona (8-4) at No. 15 seed Abilene Christian (8-4), 3 p.m.
- Tennessee State (9-3) at No. 14 seed Montana (8-4), 10:15 p.m. (ESPN2)
SECOND ROUND
Saturday, Dec. 7
- Tennessee State-Montana winner at No. 3 seed South Dakota State (10-2), 2 p.m.
- Eastern Kentucky-Villanova winner at No. 6 seed UIW (10-2), 2 p.m.
- CCSU-Rhode Island winner at No. 7 seed Mercer (10-2), 2 p.m.
- UT Martin-New Hampshire winner at No. 1 seed Montana State (12-0), 3 p.m.
- Drake-Tarleton State winner at No. 4 seed South Dakota (9-2), 3 p.m.
- Northern Arizona-Abilene Christian winner at No. 2 seed North Dakota State (10-2), 3 p.m.
- Illinois State-Southeast Missouri winner at No. 5 seed UC Davis (10-2), 4 p.m.
- Lehigh-Richmond winner at No. 8 seed Idaho (9-3), 9 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14
Second-round winners
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, Dec. 21
Quarterfinal-round winners, noon and 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, Jan. 6
Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
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