Defending champion North Dakota State has secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, leading a record-tying six teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Bison, who finished the season with an impressive 12-0 record, are set to make their 16th consecutive appearance in the playoffs.
The 24-team playoff field comprises 11 automatically qualifying conference champions and 13 at-large selections. The first round begins on Saturday, where unseeded teams will face off against those seeded from 9 to 16, primarily based on geographical proximity. The championship game is scheduled for January 5, 2025, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
North Dakota State has been a powerhouse in FCS football, having claimed 10 of the last 14 national titles. Their latest triumph came after a dominating victory against St. Thomas-Minnesota, where they won 62-7, extending their winning streak to 16 games.
The playoffs feature a diverse lineup, with Montana State earning the No. 2 seed after defeating rival Montana 31-28 to secure the Big Sky Conference championship. Montana, with an 11-1 record, is the No. 3 seed, while Tarleton State of the United Athletic Conference holds the No. 4 seed with a record of 11-1. The remaining top seeds include Lehigh (12-0), Mercer (9-2), Stephen F. Austin (10-2), and UC Davis (8-3).
The top eight seeds receive a first-round bye and will host their second-round matches. Notably, the Ivy League joins the playoffs for the first time this year, with Yale earning an automatic bid after defeating Harvard 45-28 for the Ivy title. Harvard also qualified as an at-large team.
The first-round matchups include several exciting games: Illinois State (8-4) at Southeastern Louisiana (9-3), Central Connecticut State (8-4) at Rhode Island (10-2), Harvard (9-1) at Villanova (9-2), North Dakota (7-5) at Tennessee Tech (11-1), New Hampshire (8-4) at South Dakota State (8-4), Drake (8-3) at South Dakota (8-4), Lamar (8-4) at Abilene Christian (8-4), and Yale (8-2) at Youngstown State (8-4).
As the playoffs approach, anticipation builds for what promises to be an exhilarating postseason in college football.
