Last Four In: Lamar, SE Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota State
First Four Out: North Dakota, Southern Illinois, Lafayette, Austin Peay
The last day of the FCS regular season provided plenty of excitement. Yale and Abilene Christian stole a couple bids and the bubble got pretty small in the end. The Ivy League should get two bids in their first ever year in the playoffs. However, it is difficult to project how a 9-1 Harvard team will be viewed by the committee. The 7-5 teams are completely left out. North Dakota has a really nice resume and lost in their finale to South Dakota State in overtime. If the committee decided to let a 7-5 team from a better conference into the field, it would likely be North Dakota. Southern Illinois, Northern Arizona, Sacramento State and William & Mary are the other 7-5 teams from multi-bid conferences who will hold out some hope of making the field of 24. Lamar backed their way into the final spot, but will be looking over their shoulder.
Bids By Conference
Big Sky: Montana, Montana State*, UC Davis
Big South / Ohio Valley: Tennessee Tech*
Coastal: Monmouth, New Hampshire, Rhode Island*, Villanova
Ivy: Harvard, Yale*
Missouri Valley: Illinois State, North Dakota State*, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Youngstown State
Northeast: Central Connecticut State*
Patriot: Lehigh*
Pioneer: Drake*
Southern: Mercer*
Southland: Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin*
UAC: Abilene Christian*, Tarleton State
