(STATS) – Make it to the second round of the FCS playoffs – the Sweet 16 – and no team should be overlooked.
To some degree, Maine, Montana State and UC Davis have fallen into that scenario this year.
It has more to do with the teams surrounding them in the original 24-team bracket than their terrific accomplishments.
Here’s why this trio of teams are not getting their just due:
Maine
Let’s face it, Orono, Maine, is not a media mecca, so that doesn’t often put the Black Bears in the national conversation. The surprise champion in CAA Football is seeded seventh, but the focus on its side of the bracket has been with the other seeds because they’re all from the Big Sky Conference (Weber State, Eastern Washington and UC Davis). While the Black Bears (8-3) are getting healthy at the right time and welcoming a southern opponent (Jacksonville State) to the cold – two distinct advantages – it didn’t help for CAA talk that its teams went a porous 1-4 in the first round.
Montana State
Everybody was complaining about North Dakota State’s portion of the draw before the selection show even ended. The Bison possibly could face their toughest opponents in recent years, James Madison in the quarterfinals and South Dakota State in the semifinals, just to get to the championship game, let alone there are other top teams that could make for a difficult run to another national title. It made the second-round game an afterthought. That’s barely changed in the last two weeks, even though Montana State (8-4) will arrive at the Fargodome on a four-game winning streak.
UC Davis
The sixth-seeded Aggies (9-2) are enjoying their best Division I season, but they’ve never played in the FCS playoffs before (they were once a Division II power) and their 59-20 loss to Eastern Washington three weeks ago still resonates. Most picks of a Big Sky team reaching Frisco, Texas, are Eastern Washington or Weber State. Plus, the Aggies were always staring at a potential second-round game with UNI, which has come to fruition. Coming out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, UNI is often viewed as an unseeded team that go on a playoff roll.
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