(STATS) – Would you take North Dakota State or the field? It’s one of the more interesting questions heading into the 24-team FCS playoffs, which begin with first-round games Saturday.
A STATS poll of over 1,000 voters earlier this week slightly favored the top-ranked Bison to repeat as national champions and claim what would be a record seventh FCS title in eight years. ESPN’s power index also favored the FCS dynasty with a 54 percent chance.
Confidence in the rest of the field has probably grew after the Missouri Valley Football Conference kingpin was placed in the stronger half of the bracket, including with two teams, James Madison and South Dakota State, that have had the most success against the Bison in recent seasons.
If coach Chris Klieman’s 11-0 team doesn’t finish off an unbeaten season, which underdog from the field will be the champ Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas?
SEEDED TEAMS
No. 2 seed Weber State (9-2): Like NDSU, the Wildcats will have home-field advantage through the semifinals as long as they keep advancing. They boast the Big Sky’s top-ranked defense and their record 13 players on the all-conference first team included five offensive and defensive linemen, a much-needed component of any team that would beat the Bison.
No. 3 seed Eastern Washington (9-2): With a huge senior class (27 players), the traditional Big Sky power is equipped for a deep playoff run. They boast some of the best offensive balance in the FCS plus a solid, if not underrated, defense. Many of their key players faced NDSU in 2016 and ’17, albeit in losses.
No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (10-1): The two-time Big South champ probably needs NDSU to be upset before the semifinals, which would keep them from playing at the Fargodome. In their first four seasons as an FCS start-up program, the Owls haven’t faced an opponent as strong as the Bison, but its Chandler Burks-led triple option offense would trouble just about everyone else.
No. 5 seed South Dakota State (8-2): The Jackrabbits barely lost at the Fargodome (21-17) on Sept. 29 and beat the Bison in 2016 and ’17, so they would have great confidence in facing their MVFC rival again. Mobile quarterback Taryn Christion is the one player in the field who consistently brings pause to the vaunted Bison defense.
UNSEEDED TEAMS
James Madison (8-3): The Dukes’ 2016 semifinal-round win at the Fargodome is NDSU’s only playoff loss in the last seven years, and the CAA Football power fell to the Bison 17-13 in last year’s national championship game, so coach Mike Houston’s roster boasts players who went toe-to-toe with the Bison. All of the other title contenders could use a Dukes’ upset in the quarterfinals.
UNI (6-5): The record doesn’t suggest great success is coming in the playoffs, but few would be surprised by it. The Panthers from the MVFC are battle-tested by one of the strongest schedules in the FCS, and their size and physical play counter the finesse of Eastern Washington and sixth-seeded UC Davis in their quadrant of the bracket.
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