Automatic Bids
UC Davis (Big Sky)
Kennesaw St. (Big South)
Towson (CAA)
North Dakota St. (MVFC)
C. Conn. St. (NEC)
Jacksonville St. (OVC)
Colgate (Patriot)
San Diego (Pioneer)
ETSU (Southern)
McNeese St. (Southland)
At-Large Bids
C. Arkansas (4-2)
Delaware (4-2)
E. Washington (5-2)
Elon (4-2)
Illinois St. (5-1)
James Madison (5-2)
Maine (4-2)
Missouri St. (4-2)
North Dakota (4-2)
Sam Houston St. (4-2)
South Dakota St. (4-1)
Stony Brook (5-2)
Weber St. (4-2)
Wofford (4-2)
Bubble Burst
Rhode Island (4-2)
Montana St. (4-2)
Chattanooga (5-2)
Idaho St. (4-2)
Next Four Out
Nicholls St. (4-3)
Northern Iowa (3-3)
South Dakota (3-3)
Campbell (5-1)
At-Large Breakdown
Colonial (5)
Missouri Valley (3)
Big Sky (2)
Southland (2)
Independents (1)
Southern (1)
Previous Brackets
Week 6
About
Since its inception in 2008, NoBowls has correctly predicted 169 of the 180 teams selected to participate in the FCS postseason. Resident bracketologist Erik Pitzer strives to provide weekly bias-free predictions heavily rooted in the same criteria set forth by the NCAA selection guidelines.
The Bracket: Week 7
Posted October 14, 2018 9:44 PM EST
Week 7: Sifting through the 2-loss teams
Upsets and early bubbles! Saturday did absolutely nothing to clear up the potential postseason picture.
Quick Notes
- Rhode Island probably belongs in the field right now, but it seemed a little wild and pointless to draw up a bracket with seven CAA teams.
- Seeds #1-5 seem rather straightforward to me, but seeds #6-8 were total toss-ups. Lots of arguments to be made after Elon and Eastern Washington got bit by the upset bug Saturday.
- Games to watch this weekend: ETSU at Wofford, Illinois State at North Dakota State, Montana State at Weber State, Rhode Island at Stony Brook
Breaking It Down
Selecting the Field
Every week's bracket is based on an "If the season ended today" mindset. The 10 automatic bids are just that: automatic. Whichever team is atop the standings of each of the 10 auto-bid conferences at the end of the week receives a bid. Expectedly, teams on top of conference standings early in the season often are not in the same spot come Selection Sunday. The other 14 bids, the at-large selections, are simply the teams I believe to be the best remaining in the country. Keep in mind again this is not a prediction of what I think the brackets will look like in late November, but rather a collection of deserving teams week to week.
The Pairings
All first and second round match-ups in these brackets are my best attempts at mimicking what the committee would do with the chosen 24 teams while adhering to these rules:
- Seeding the top eight teams and spacing them accordingly across the bracket
- Avoiding first round match-ups with teams from the same conference
- Creating geographically-friendly match-ups that follow the NCAA's 400-mile limitations when possible
- Giving home field advantage to schools that historically have made winning bids
"This is garbage..."
Comments? I'm itching to hear your praise/raging hatred. Sound off to erik@nobowls.com and let me know what's on your mind.