LAST FOUR IN: Eastern Washington, Chattanooga, Northern Iowa, South Dakota
FIRST FOUR OUT: Nicholls, Lehigh, McNeese, Monmouth
Not very many would have thought that Eastern Washington or Chattanooga would be holding onto one of the last branches to stay on the bracket tree (sorry for the pun, but I like them), but that’s exactly where they are. Despite two of the tougher non-conference schedules, they are, in fact, 0-2. And even for recent FCS royalty, sometimes a rebellion overthrows the throne.
That’s not to say they’re on their way out, there’s a lot of season left to go. The bottom line is though, the margin for error is not what it once was. The best news for teams like these is that there are still conference automatic bids to play for. And for everyone besides Wofford (who’s 2-0 in the SoCon), very few conference games have been played.
The bracket welcomes back Northern Iowa this week, not that it was all because of what they did, but partially by what others did to those in front of them. Another welcome goes to South Dakota, who along with New Hampshire (safely in), became the fifth and sixth FCS teams to beat FBS opponents in 2017. Lehigh falls off the tree for now, dropping to 0-2. Nicholls also slips off after giving Texas A&M all they could handle. For reference, had South Dakota not beaten Bowling Green, Nicholls would have kept their spot, it’s that close.
The big winner, obviously is the Missouri Valley, who now jump to an incredible six bids! Like has been mentioned before, this is likely to change once conference play starts and the inevitable cannibalization feeding frenzy begins in the country’s heartland. The Patriot and Southland each give up a bid, as noted above.
Big Sky (2): North Dakota*, Eastern Washington
Big South (1): Charleston Southern*
Colonial (4): James Madison*, Villanova, New Hampshire, Richmond
Missouri Valley (6): North Dakota State*, South Dakota State, Youngstown State, Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, South Dakota
Northeast (1): Duquesne*
Ohio Valley (2): Jacksonville State*, Tennessee State
Patriot (1): Colgate*
Pioneer (1): San Diego*
Southern (4): Wofford*, Samford, Chattanooga, The Citadel
Southland (2): Sam Houston State*, Central Arkansas
* League Champion and automatic bid
