Reclaiming the Dakota Marker from two-time defending national champion and rival South Dakota State put North Dakota State in familiar territory through Week 8 of the 2024 FCS season: Back at No. 1 in the polls. 

With its return to the top spot of the STATS FCS and AFCA Top 25, the most dominant dynasty ever in the Football Championship Subdivision is poised to hold home-field advantage through the Playoffs. Joining North Dakota State atop the first FCS Playoffs projections of 2024, undefeated Montana State is in position for one of the coveted top-two seeds in the bracket. 

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As always since the expansion of the tournament field to 24 teams, the top eight teams receive opening-round byes. They are designated below with their seeds in parantheses. The 2024 FCS Playfofs also mark the first in which entrants No. 9-16 are also seeded, foregoing the traditional 1st Round format of placing teams together based on regional proximity and with bids to host. 

The restructured bracket formation could make for some especially compelling 1st Round matchups, as depicted below. The following is not a forecast of the Playoffs when the bracket is officially announced on Sunday, Nov. 24. Rather, this is how the FCS Playoffs would look if the regular season ended now. 

Automatic Bids 

Big Sky: Montana State (2) 

Undefeated and largely untested, Montana State's seven wins against FCS opponents have been by no fewer than 17 points. The degree of difficulty for the Bobcats picks up in November, especially the final two weeks when they travel to UC Davis before facing rival Montana in the Brawl of the Wild. 

Big South/OVC: SEMO (6)

Among the bigger surprises of the 2024 FCS season is SEMO. The Redhawks are undefeated against FCS competition and already holds an important head-to-head win over UT-Martin in a 45-42 overtime thriller. 

The Big South/OVC championship and automatic playoff bid could come down to the final weekend when SEMO travels to face Tennessee State. 

CAA: Rhode Island 

Rhode Island has knocked on the door of the Playoffs in its pursuit of ending a near-four-decade postseason drought, but the Rams have been unable to land an at-large invitation. Claiming the Coastal Athletic Association championship and automatic bid takes out any of the guesswork for Jim Fleming's squad, and URI took a big step toward that goal with an impressive Week 8 win at New Hampshire. 

MVFC: North Dakota State (1) 

North Dakota State's win over South Dakota State in Week 8 positioned the Bison to be the No. 1 overall seed should they win out. NDSU has made it through a difficult schedule unscathed against FCS opponents, but face stiff tests in the final two weeks facing a Missouri State ineligible for the Playoffs as it transitions to FBS play next season; and South Dakota on the road. 

NEC: Duquesne 

Defending Northeast Conference champion Duquesne opened 2024 with a pair of lopsided losses to FBS opponents Toledo and Boston College, but the Dukes have since run off four straight wins. Their first two NEC wins over Long Island and Saint Francis were by 26 and 31 points. 

Patriot: Holy Cross

After losing the Patriot League crown to Lafayette last season, interrupting a run of four consecutive FCS Playoffs trips, Holy Cross has bounced back in 2024. The Crusaders are off to a 2-0 start in the Patriot League with a showdown at Lafayette on Oct. 26 looming. 

While Holy Cross' overall mark of 3-5 is wholly uninspiring, it's worth noting that the Crusaders' four FCS losses to Harvard, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Yale were by a combined 12 points. 

Pioneer: Drake

Defending Pioneer League champion Drake is undefeated in conference play after scrapping out tough wins over San Diego by two points, Butler by 10 and Presbyterian in overtime, 19-16. 

The Pioneer League automatic bid could come down to a tiebreaker, as Drake's fellow unbeaten in the conference, Dayton, does not play the Bulldogs in the regular season. 

Southern: Western Carolina 

Since enduring a roller-coaster start to its season, letting a prime opportunity at a power-conference upset of NC State slip away and losing close calls to Campbell and at Montana, Western Carolina is on a three-game winning streak. Most importantly for the Catamounts, those three wins all came in the SoCon against Wofford, The Citadel and Furman. 

All winning an unofficial South Carolina state title, WCU's championship chops really get tested in the final month. The Catamounts travel to Mercer in Week 9, host Chattanooga in Week 10, then travel to ETSU in Week 11. All three currently project as playoff teams or right on the bubble in ETSU's case. 

Southland: UIW 

Incarnate Word has been the best team in the Southland consistently for the last few years despite coaching and player turnover. However, an upset loss to Nicholls a season ago denied the Cardinals a postseason bid. 

With the SLC likely looking at getting only its automatic berth into the Playoffs again this year, UIW needs to hold its place atop the conference to return to the postseason. 

UAC: Tarleton (7) 

It's taken Tarleton little time since moving up from Div. II to make an impact in the FCS. The Texans are early pace-setters in the United Athletic Conference thanks to wins at North Alabama, an overtime nail-biter at Southern Utah and a 42-0 blowout of Utah Tech. 

Tarleton closes out its slate with a pair of home games that could shape up to be the two biggest games ever at Memorial Stadium: Abilene Christian and Central Arkansas. 

At-Large (By Conference) 

Big Sky: UC Davis (4), Montana, Idaho 

Always tough at the top, the Big Sky has three teams that could realistically receive 1st Round byes if the Playoffs began today. This exercise has Montana just outside of the top eight at No. 9. 

UC Davis, meanwhile, looks like a contender for the conference title and potential home-field advantage all the way to Frisco. The Aggies are 7-0 vs. the FCS with a win over Idaho. They close out bookending a home game vs. Montana State with road trips to Montana and Sacramento that may determine if UC Davis is headed for a 1st Round matchup or competing for a top seed. 

CAA: Villanova, Richmond, William & Mary 

Villanova's blowout loss to Maine and Richmond's blowout win over Delaware helped flip the CAA on its head a week ago. The two teams that shared last year's conference title with UAlbany are near the front of a crowded race that also includes William & Mary. The Tribe face Richmond to end the regular season in what will be the Spiders' final CAA game before they join the Patriot League. 

MVFC: South Dakota State (3), South Dakota (5), North Dakota (8), Illinois State

A hard-fought loss at North Dakota State sends the 2022 and 2023 national champion South Dakota State into at-large territory, but hardly in any danger of slipping from the top eight. The Jackrabbits face a challenging final month, but that's standard in the loaded MVFC. 

South Dakota, meanwhile, can make major strides toward a top seed beginning in Week 9 when it visits SDSU. North Dakota also gets SDSU late in the season, hosting the Jackrabbits on Nov. 9. 

Illinois State hit a rough patch, losing lopsided decisions to NDSU and Missouri State, but the Redbirds are still firmly in the field. Their schedule sets up nicely to reach eight wins, which would be a slam dunk for playoff inclusion coming out of the MVFC. 

Southern: Mercer, Chattanooga

Mercer's 6-0 start came to a screeching halt in a 55-35 loss at Samford. The Bears now need to close out SoCon play strong against two fellow playoff contenders in Western Coarlina and East Tennessee State to get back into the SoCon title picture. 

Chattanooga is undefeated since falling to 0-3 with a loss to Mercer, including a win at ETSU that gives the Mocs the edge for an at-large playoff berth. 

UAC: Central Arkansas, Abilene Christian

After landing just one bid in its inaugural 2023 season — automatic berth winner Austin Peay — the United Athletic Conference could land as many as three teams in the Playoffs in 2024. 

Abilene Christian's shown its mettle as a threat to top-flight opponents, taking Idaho to the wire in a 27-24 matchup on Sept. 21 then beating then-No. 5 -ranked Central Arkansas two weeks later. A loss to North Alabama weighs heavy on ACU's resume, however, so the Wildcats may need to go no worse than 4-1 in its final five to make the field. 

Last Four In

Abilene Christian, Richmond, Chattanooga, Illinois State 

First Four Out  

ETSU, Tennessee State, UT-Martin, Stony Brook 

1st Round Matchups 

Drake at 9. Montana 

The Pioneer Football League champion has traditionally struggled in the postseason, a San Diego win over Cal Poly in 2016 the conference's lone playoff victory since gaining an automatic berth in 2013. 

Duquesne at 10. UIW

Like the PFL, NEC teams have not done well in the Playoffs. Duquesne is likely to draw one of the tougher opening-round pairings — in this case, a trip to San Antonio and a strong UIW side. 

Holy Cross at 11. Central Arkansas 

Holy Cross has played some playoff-caliber teams tough, so don't expect the Crusaders to be pushovers if they make the playoff field. Going to the purple-and-silver turf at Central Arkansas is a tough task, though. 

Illinois State at 12. Idaho

A marquee matchup between representatives of the MVFC and Big Sky Conference pits two teams that can solidify their resumes down the stretch and presumably play their way out of such a difficult 1st Round. Both the Redbirds and Vandals can just as easily play their out of the playoff altogether down the stretch. 

Chattanooga at 13. Villanova

Villanova's shocking loss in Week 8 at Maine knocked the Wildcats from jockeying for home-field advantage as far as the quarterfinals to clinging to one of the 1st Round spots with home-field advantage. 

The difference one game can make is dramatic, as this scenario pits Villanova in an opening-round showdown with a Chattanooga team coming on strong since a rocky start to 2024. Since beginning their winning streak, the Mocs have looked much more like the potential Frisco-bound team some anticipated seeing before the season. 

Richmond at 14. Mercer

Every week's result is meaningful, and especially at this time of year. We saw it a season ago in the SoCon when Furman's late loss to a struggling Wofford team knocked the Paladins form a potential top-two seeding all the way down to No. 7 and a quarterfinal trip to Montana.  

A stunning, lopsided loss to Samford in Week 8 marked Mercer's first loss of the season, knocked the Bears from atop the SoCon, and dropped them out of a potential opening-round bye. The setback also sets Mercer up with a tough 1st Round matchup, in this model drawing surging Richmond. The Spiders' blowout win over previously unbeaten Delaware sent notice that a Richmond team that finished both 2022 and 2023 strong en route to the Playoffs is built to do so once again. 

Western Carolina at 15. Rhode Island 

The current SoCon-leading Catamounts draw a difficult 1st Round matchup with the trip to Kingston to face CAA-leading Rhode Island. Western Carolina split its regular-season matchups with CAA teams, losing to Campbell but beating Elon thanks to a strong second half the following week. 

Of all the matchups currently presented, this might be the one most likely to change. It's especially improbable that the champions of two strong leagues with multiple bids like the SoCon and CAA would have their champions both out of the top eight, and in position to face each other in the 1st Round. 

Abilene Christian at 16. William & Mary

In its first-ever FCS Playoffs appearance, Abilene Christian travels to face a William & Mary program and head coach in Mike London well-acquainted with postseason football. This pairing reflects the nature of a restructured playoff, sending the central Texas-based Wildcats out to Virginia's Tidewater Region. 

What Are The Top Conferences In The FCS?

Curious about the top performers and strongest conference within the FCS ranks? We’ve got you covered.

See the FCS conferences ranked using a unique system that was originally developed for chess.

When Do The 2024 FCS College Football Playoffs Start?

The FCS playoffs begin on November 30, 2024.

The 2024 Division I FCS College Football Championship game will be played on January 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

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