Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: The North Dakota State Bison.
Playoff football is back.
The 2021 FCS Playoffs Selection Show took place on Sunday morning as the bracket for the spring championship was revealed.
THE BRACKET 😍🏆#FCSPlayoffs ➡️ https://t.co/0CXs30yPG4 pic.twitter.com/Ho5ZuMDRQx
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) April 18, 2021
The field, which was cut down to 16 teams from the usual 24 this season, features 10 automatic qualifiers via conference championships and six at-large bids. The top-four seeds include:
- South Dakota State (5-1), Missouri Valley
- Sam Houston (6-0), Southland
- James Madison (5-0), CAA
- Jacksonville State (9-2), Ohio Valley
The field also includes historical powerhouse North Dakota State, which has won eight of the last nine FCS titles and leads the country with eight national titles.
The first round of action begins on Saturday, April 24 when No. 2 Sam Houston hosts Monmouth at 12 p.m. ET.
Following that game, No. 3 James Madison will take on VMI while No. 4 Jacksonville State kicks off against Davidson at 2 p.m. ET.
Then, games start kicking off every half hour for an afternoon full of football. No. 1 South Dakota State faces Holy Cross at 3 p.m. ET, North Dakota State battles Eastern Washington at 3:30 p.m. ET, and Weber State-Southern Illinois and North Dakota-Missouri State take place at 4 p.m. ET.
To round things out, Delaware will host Sacred Heart in the nightcap at 7 p.m. ET. All eight games can be seen on ESPN3.
The tournament continues with four quarterfinal games on May 1-2 before the semifinals on May 8. The semifinal games will be televised on ABC, ESPN, and/or ESPN2.
Finally, one team will reach spring football glory when the championship takes place on Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. ET in Frisco, Texas. The final game of the FCS Playoffs is set to be broadcast on ABC.
Odds have not been posted for the playoffs as of Sunday afternoon. This post will be updated as odds become available.
