Automatic Bids

Weber St. (Big Sky)

Kennesaw St. (Big South)

Maine (CAA)

North Dakota St. (MVFC)

Duquesne (NEC)

Jacksonville St. (OVC)

Colgate (Patriot)

San Diego (Pioneer)

Wofford (Southern)

Nicholls St. (Southland)

At-Large Bids

Delaware (7-4)

E. Washington (9-2)

Elon (6-4)

Furman (6-4)

Indiana St. (7-4)

James Madison (8-3)

Montana St. (7-4)

Northern Iowa (6-5)

SE Missouri St. (8-3)

South Dakota St. (8-2)

Stony Brook (7-4)

Towson (7-4)

Wofford (8-3)

UC Davis (9-2)

Bubble Burst

Monmouth (8-3)

E. Kentucky (7-4)

Rhode Island (6-5)

Montana (6-5)

Next Four Out

North Dakota (6-5)

Lamar (7-4)

Incarnate Word (6-4)

Sacred Heart (7-4)

At-Large Breakdown

Colonial (5)

Big Sky (3)

Missouri Valley (3)

Southern (2)

Ohio Valley (1)

Previous Brackets

Week 11

Week 10

Week 9

Week 8

Week 7

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 2018 Final Bracket

Posted November 17, 2018 8:49 PM EST

Week 12: The Final Bracket

I feel oddly confident about the at-large field. The seeds, though...woof. I would not be surprised to see Maine as a seed in place of Colgate, JMU, or UC Davis.

Tune into ESPNU at 12:30 PM ET tomorrow to see the real deal! In the meantime, feel free to fire off questions on Twitter @NoBowls.

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.