AUTOMATIC BIDS

Montana (Big Sky)

Villanova (CAA)

Florida A&M (MEAC)

Northern Iowa (MVC)

E. Kentucky (OVC)

Colgate (Patriot)

Elon (Southern)

McNeese St. (Southland)

AT-LARGE BIDS

Appalachian St. (2-2)

Cal Poly (2-2)

Holy Cross (4-0)

Massachusetts (3-1)

New Hampshire (4-0)

Richmond (4-0)

S. Illinois (3-1)

William & Mary (4-1)

BUBBLE BURST

South Dakota St. (3-1)

Stephen F. Austin (3-1)

South Carolina St. (3-1)

Montana St. (3-1)

NEXT FOUR OUT

E. Illinois (4-1)

James Madison (2-2)

Furman (3-2)

Weber St. (2-3)

WEEKLY INDEX

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Final Bracket

The Bracket: Week 5

(1) Richmond
Richmond, VA
Elon
Appalachian St.
Boone, NC
William & Mary
(4) Montana
Missoula, MT
Cal Poly
McNeese St.
Lake Charles, LA
Florida A&M
(2) Villanova
Villanova, PA
Colgate
Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
Holy Cross
(3) Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA
New Hampshire
S. Illinois
Carbondale, IL
E. Kentucky

Posted October 5, 2009 12:25 AM

Breaking It Down

Selecting the Field
Every week's bracket is based on an "If the season ended today" mindset. The eight automatic bids are just that: automatic. Whichever team is atop the standings of each of the eight 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 eight 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 round match-ups in these brackets are my best attempts at mimicking what the committee would do with the chosen 16 teams while adhering to these rules:

• Seeding the top four 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.