(STATS) – FCS fans will get an extra treat Halloween night, but it will have to last longer this year.
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee will have a top-10 ranking of playoff contenders revealed during halftime of the ESPN2 broadcast of Ball State at Toledo on Oct. 31.
The ranking helps to build excitement toward the 24-team playoff field, which will be announced Nov. 18 on ESPNU (12:30 p.m. ET).
It will be the only in-season ranking released by the selection committee. That’s down from two sets released during the regular season last year and three during the committee’s first-ever reveal in 2016. While this year’s ranking can have bearing on the final bracket, there are three weeks of additional action in between.
The playoffs consist of 10 conference champions which receive automatic bids and 14 spots that go in as at-large selections. Eight teams are seeded and receive byes for the first round Nov. 24. All games are played at campus sites except for the championship Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas.
Top-ranked North Dakota State is the defending champion and is seeking a record seventh FCS title this season.