The FCS now has five of its conferences settled, in terms of automatic playoff bids. But the five that aren't resolved yet? Well, bring the magnifying glass for the fine print … check that, bring your attorney … because some of these leagues really might get down to the nitty gritty this weekend before we know who is in the playoffs. Take a look.
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PLAYOFF PICTURE: After Week 11[divider]
BIG SKY
Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Weber State are the eligible teams left.
- If there’s a three-way tie, Weber State will earn the auto bid to the FCS Playoffs. Weber State the tie breaker over the Eagles and the Aggies fell to Eastern Washington.
- If UCD and WSU are tied, the UC Davis earns the auto bid because the two teams did not play each other and the tiebreaker would be decided by Sagarin rankings.
- If UCD and EWU are tied, EWU gets it due to head-to-head
- If EWU and WSU are tied, WSU gets it due to head-to-head
IF by chance we end up with a four-way tie at 6-2 between Idaho State, Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Weber State…Eastern Washington gets the AQ[divider]
BUBBLE TEAMS: Which could rise up this week?
CAA
Maine would earn the CAA’s automatic bid with a win over Elon on Saturday. If Elon wins, below are the various tiebreaker scenarios at 6-2.
- Maine wins the outright CAA championship and automatic bid with a victory over Elon
- Maine and JMU at 6‐2: Maine gets the automatic bid if New Hampshire finishes above William & Mary in the final standings. JMU gets the automatic bid if W&M finishes above UNH in the standings
- Maine and Towson at 6‐2: Maine gets the automatic bid based on its head‐to‐head win over Towson
- Maine, JMU, Stony Brook at 6‐2: Maine and JMU beat Towson but Stony Brook lost to Towson, eliminating SBU from the tiebreaker. Maine gets the automatic bid if New Hampshire finishes above William & Mary in the standings. JMU gets the automatic bid if W&M finishes above UNH in standings
- Maine, JMU, Delaware at 6‐2: Delaware gets the automatic bid based on its win over Elon. Maine and JMU lost to Elon
- Maine, JMU, Stony Brook, Delaware at 6‐2: Maine, JMU and Delaware beat Towson, but Stony Brook lost to Towson, eliminating SBU from the tiebreaker. Delaware gets the automatic bid based on its win over Elon and Maine and JMU’s losses to Elon
- Maine, Towson, Stony Brook at 6‐2: The only common opponents between the three schools are Villanova and UAlbany and all three went 2‐0. The automatic bid would go to the highest ranked team in the final Sagarin Ratings*.
- Maine, Towson, Delaware at 6‐2: Towson and Delaware beat Elon, but Maine lost to Elon, eliminating Maine from the tiebreaker. Delaware gets the automatic bid based on its head‐to‐head win over Towson.
- Maine, Towson, Stony Brook, Delaware at 6‐2: The only common opponents between the four schools are Villanova and UAlbany and all four went 2‐0. The automatic bid would go to the highest ranked team in the final Sagarin Ratings*.
*Final Sagarin ratings won’t be available until the morning of Sunday, November 18.[divider]
TOP FCS CROWDS: Guess who leads?
NORTHEAST
- Duquesne controls its own destiny and can secure the bid by winning at Central Connecticut.
- Central Connecticut can secure the bid by defeating Duquesne coupled with a Saint Francis win over Sacred Heart.
- Sacred Heart can secure the bid by defeating Saint Francis coupled with a Central Connecticut win over Duquesne.[divider]
SOUTHERN
Southern Conference football AQ scenarios entering final week of play:
- If ETSU wins, it gets the AQ at 7-1 in SoCon play, regardless of what anyone else does.
- If ETSU and Furman both lose, ETSU and Wofford finish tied at 6-2. Wofford won head-to-head and gets the AQ.
- If ETSU loses and Furman wins, that creates a three-way tie at 6-2. The group each went 1-1 against each other. The next team in the standings would be Samford at 5-3, and all three lost to Samford. All three beat the remaining teams in the league, so the tiebreaker goes to fewest points allowed in conference play. Furman is currently 16 points clear of Wofford for the AQ. If Furman surrenders more than 16 points, Wofford would get the AQ. If Furman and Wofford end up tied at 175 points allowed, Furman would win the AQ by virtue of its head-to-head win over Wofford.
And … then next rung of the tiebreaker, should it go to this:
- ETSU (6-1 SoCon) vs. Samford; 179 points allowed in SoCon play
- Wofford (6-2) vs. Presbyterian (completed SoCon play); 175 points allowed in SoCon play
- Furman (5-2) at Mercer; 159 points allowed in SoCon play[divider]
FCS RECORD: Can Devlin Hodges Pass Air McNair This Saturday?
SOUTHLAND
- Should Nicholls defeat Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday night, the Colonels will share the 2018 Championship and will earn the NCAA automatic bid due to its head-to-head victory against UIW.
- Should Southeastern Louisiana win the game, UIW will win the outright championship and gain the NCAA automatic bid.[divider]
MCLAUGHLIN: Let's Do The FCS Schedule This Way
