The final weekend of the 2022 Football Championship Subdivision is upon us. With Selection Sunday now just hours away, we're setting the table heading into Last Call Saturday.
As a reminder, the FCS plays a 24-team tournament, with 11 automatic bids and 13 at-larges. The top eight teams will be seeded with first-round byes.
(All rankings reflect STATS Perform FCS Top 25.)
Here's how things stand in each FCS conference.
ASUN
Jacksonville State leads the ASUN at 4-0, but the Gamecocks are ineligible to reach the FCS playoffs as they prepare to join Conference USA next season. But wait, it gets more convoluted!
Central Arkansas (3-1) is the next team up, but the Bears face Jax State on Saturday. Austin Peay (3-2) has completed its ASUN schedule -- the Governors face Alabama on Saturday -- while Eastern Kentucky (2-2) gets 1-3 Kennesaw State. UCA, APSU, and EKU split their respective head-to-heads, so a 3-way tie at 3-2 would get messy.
But wait, it gets even more convoluted!!
As a 6-team conference (and, really, a 5-team conference), the ASUN shares its auto bid with the WAC. There, Abilene Christian is the clear winner. Keith Patterson's Wildcats are 4-0, clinching the WAC's outright title by defeating leaving-for-FBS Sam Houston last week. The consensus among FCS bracketologists is that ACU grabs the spot, though an ACU loss to 2-2 Stephen F. Austin plus a Central Arkansas win could change things... or perhaps not. At 5-5 overall, Central Arkansas isn't even listed as a bubble team in any projections.
After Saturday's games, the ACU (3-0 WAC) vs. SFA (2-1) WAC winner will be compared to either UCA (3-1 ASUN), Austin Peay (3-2) or Eastern Kentucky (2-2) in ASUN.
— Craig Haley (@CraigHaley) November 15, 2022
EKU has the highest power ranking, but needs to share the ASUN title to be involved in the inter-league comparison.
In: Abilene Christian
On the Bubble: Eastern Kentucky, Austin Peay
Big Sky
For starters, there's this.
🚨 THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WE'RE COMING TO BOZEMAN! 🚨
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 13, 2022
Next up, we are headed to the Brawl of the Wild rivalry game between @MontanaGrizFB and @MSUBobcats_FB! pic.twitter.com/Z7snIrtRAB
Saturday marks the 10th time TV's preeminent pre-game show visits an FCS campus, and the first to a Big Sky venue. And what a venue it will be.
On the field, No. 3 Montana State is a big favorite over 7-3 Montana. The Bobcats and No. 2 Sacramento State are tied atop the standings at 7-0 and, obviously, do not play each other. The only loss either side has suffered to date was MSU's loss to Oregon State back in September.
A Big Sky spokesman confirmed to FootballScoop that Sac State has already won the AQ tiebreaker in the event both teams win (or lose) this weekend. by virtue of the Hornets' No. 73 ranking in the current Sagarin ratings. The good news for Montana State: it doesn't matter, even a little bit. Both teams would be co-champions in the event they each finish 8-0 or 7-1, and both will be high seeds on Sunday, it's just a matter of how high. In fact, two sites have Sacramento State as their No. 1 overall. Weber State (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky) is also in the running for a national seed.
Montana is in the field with a win, while a loss drops them to the bubble. The Grizzlies are likely on the good side of the bubble, but on it nonetheless.
In: Sacramento State, Montana State, Weber State, Idaho
On the Bubble: Montana, UC Davis
Big South
This one's simple as it gets. The Big South is a one-bid league, and the winner of North Carolina A&T (4-0 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (4-0) on Saturday gets that bid.
In: North Carolina A&T/Incarnate Word winner
On the Bubble: None
CAA
No. 14 Elon served No. 11 Richmond (6-1) and 6-1 No. 8 William & Mary (6-1) their only conference losses but, alas, the Phoenix cannot win the CAA title. Elon is in the clubhouse at 6-2, and the Spiders host the Tribe on Saturday, so one of them is bound to finish 7-1. No. 18 New Hampshire (6-1) can forge a tie with a win over 2-5 Maine.
If Richmond beats W&M, the Spiders are CAA champs and the league's AQ by virtue of their Nov. 5 win over UNH. If William & Mary wins (and so does New Hampshire), things get messy: the tiebreaker would go to point differential; W&M is currently +67, UNH is +61. If that ended in a tie, the next tiebreaker would be "best combined conference ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed," per a CAA spokesman.
In: Richmond, William & Mary, New Hampshire, Elon, Delaware
On the Bubble: Rhode Island
Ivy League
The Ivy League does not participate in the FCS playoffs, but the title is still up for grabs. Yale (5-1) knocked off Princeton (5-1) last week, and can win the Ivy crown with a win over Harvard in The Game on Saturday; Princeton (4-1) can force a co-championship with a win over Penn.
Interestingly, Harvard (4-2) and Penn (4-2) can also force a co-championship, but only if both teams win. Uninterestingly, the Ivy League does not seem terribly interested in breaking ties and there's no auto bid on the line, so there's no need to dive into who would emerge from a 4-way tie at 5-2. Handing out four championship trophies in an 8-team league would be The Most Ivy League Thing ever.
MEAC
The MEAC also does not participate in the FCS playoffs. North Carolina Central has already clinched the MEAC title and the league's spot in the Celebration Bowl.
Missouri Valley
No one in college football -- FCS or otherwise -- will have a better weekend than South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits are in the clubhouse at 10-1 (their only loss: 7-3 to Iowa in Week 1), with an MVFC title in hand, the only drama remaining whether their No. 1 poll ranking will match the committee's opinion on Sunday. In the meantime, though, SDSU can kick its feet up and enjoy an early Thanksgiving weekend before getting back to work.
Elsewhere, No. 4 North Dakota State will be a national seed, No. 16 North Dakota is in the field... and that's it. Youngstown State is on the bubble with a win over Southern Illinois, but it's the back end of the bubble.
In: South Dakota State, North Dakota State, North Dakota
On the Bubble: Youngstown State
Northeast
Saint Francis (6-0) at Merrimack (6-0) will decide the NEC title, but it won't decide the AQ. Merrimack is ineligible as it reclassifies from Division II, which allowed the Red Flash to wrap up the AQ all the way back on Oct. 29.
In: Saint Francis
On the Bubble: None
Ohio Valley
Southeast Missouri State (4-0) and UT Martin (4-0) are undefeated in OVC play and somehow don't play each other. If both teams win -- SEMO faces 1-3 Murray State; UTM gets 1-4 Eastern Illinois -- the Ohio Valley AQ would come down to a coin flip.
That's a perilous thing for the OVC as a whole, since 8-2 SEMO has a strong argument to get in the field regardless of heads or tails, while 6-4 UT-Martin would need to win the toss to get in the field. Can you imagine being a bubble team and your playoff fate lying on the flip of a coin in a conference you're not even in?
In: Southeast Missouri State
On the Bubble: UT-Martin
Patriot League
No. 6 Holy Cross has clinched the league title and seems safe for a national seed with a win. No. 21 Fordham is firmly on the bubble, despite its only losses coming 59-52 to possible MAC champion Ohio and 53-52 to Patriot League champion Holy Cross.
In: Holy Cross
On the Bubble: Fordham
Pioneer Football League
St. Thomas wins the conference outright with a victory at Butler, but cannot compete in the FCS playoffs as it reclassifies from Division III. Because of that, we've got our second win-or-stay home game of the weekend -- Dayton at Davidson.
In: Dayton/Davidson winner
On the Bubble: None
SoCon
No. 9 Samford has clinched the SoCon title, by virtue of its 34-27 win over No. 12 Furman back on Oct. 1. No. 15 Chattanooga is also in the field. No. 19 Mercer likely needs to win at Samford to get in the field.
In: Samford, Furman, Chattanooga
On the Bubble: Mercer
Southland
Southeastern Louisiana (4-1) has the inside track for the SLC AQ, but No. 5 Incarnate Word (4-1) has an outside shot at a top eight seed. Northwestern State, meanwhile, is 4-6 overall, but 4-1 in SLC play.
By Saturday night, the Demons could be 4-7 and nowhere close to the 24-team field, or they could be 5-6 and automatically in the field. All it'd take is a win over UIW and a SELA loss to 3-7 Nicholls.
In: Southeastern Louisiana, Incarnate Word
On the Bubble: None
SWAC
As John Brice expertly detailed on our site, 10-0 Jackson State is playing for an undefeated season capped by a Celebration Bowl -- nothing more, nothing less. The 10th-ranked Tigers have won the SWAC East and will likely face Prairie View A&M from the West. PVAMU meets 1-6 Mississippi Valley State on Saturday. In the event the Panthers somehow lose to the Delta Devils, Southern, Texas Southern and Alcorn State can all forge a tie. Prairie View is 5-2 in SWAC play, the other three are 4-3.
The SWAC Championship is set for Dec. 3 in Jackson, and the Celebration Bowl is Dec. 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
WAC
See: ASUN.
So, there you have it. I have 23 teams in the field and nine on the bubble, with quite possibly the flip of a coin deciding the 24th team in the field.
The bracket will be announced Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), and the race to dethrone 4-time defending fall champion North Dakota State begins Nov. 26. The FCS National Championship is Saturday, Jan. 8 in Frisco, Texas (2 p.m. ET, ABC).