(STATS) – Election Day has passed, but FCS teams are still campaigning for playoff bids.
There are two weekends of games remaining before the NCAA announces its 24-team field on Nov. 18. At stake are 10 automatic bids (Colgate and North Dakota State have secured two of them already) and 14 at-large bids.
Here are seven games on Saturday that impact the countless scenarios across the FCS:
Big South: No. 2 Kennesaw State (8-1, 4-0) at Monmouth (7-2, 3-0), noon
The last thing the playoff selection committee needs is another team in the playoff mix, but with an upset, Monmouth would move into first place. Kennesaw State will earn the automatic bid with a win, but a loss likely makes the Jacksonville State finale a must-win given the Owls’ strength of schedule.
CAA: No. 20 Towson (6-3, 4-2) at No. 7 Elon (6-2, 4-1), noon
It’s this simple in the crowded CAA: The winner should feel secure about being in the playoff field and the loser surely faces a difficult must-win next weekend, when Towson hosts James Madison and Elon travels to Maine.
Northeast: Sacred Heart (6-3, 4-0) at Duquesne (6-3, 3-1), 1 p.m.
Only one playoff team will come out of the NEC, and Sacred Heart will earn that right with a win, but Duquesne hopes to prevent it and create a tie atop the standings. It’s clear who defending champ Central Connecticut State, which also is 3-1 and hosts Duquesne next Saturday, is rooting for.
Southern: Samford (5-4, 4-2) at The Citadel (3-5, 3-4), 2 p.m.
Samford is trying to come back from an 0-2 start in conference to claim the automatic bid. Actually, the Bulldogs doing that seemingly improves the chance of the competitive SoCon gaining three playoff teams.
CAA: Rhode Island (5-4, 3-3) at James Madison (6-3, 4-2), 2 p.m.
James Madison, the 2016 FCS champion and 2017 national runner-up, probably clinches a playoff spot with a win, while a loss leads to the Dukes needing a must-win at Towson. URI is seventh in the CAA pecking order, but add a win over JMU to an earlier win over Delaware and the Rams’ playoff bid will have new life.
Southland: UIW (5-4, 5-2) at Central Arkansas (5-4, 4-3), 4 p.m.
The Southland is the only FCS conference race in which every team (and there are 11 of them) has at least two losses. Talk about “winning out” gets everybody in trouble, but UIW, which is part of a three-way tie for first with McNeese and Nichols, and Central Arkansas, which is one of four teams one game back in the standings, need to do that, and hope for losses by other top teams.
Big Sky: No. 4 UC Davis (8-1, 6-0) at No. 5 Eastern Washington (7-2, 5-1), 4:05 p.m.
The STATS FCS Game of the Week impacts the Big Sky title race, but also whether the conference can gain three seeds (which provides coveted byes in the first round). Third-ranked Weber State is the other possibility with these two teams and part of a three-way tie for second place behind UC Davis (also Idaho State).
25% Bonus via Western Union
