We are down to eight teams in the 2018 FCS playoffs.
Like I did last week for the second round and two weeks ago when the field of 24 was announced, let's rank the favorites to win the national championship, this time 1-8. Keep in mind, matchups and future potential games play a big factor and this isn't a 1-8 ranking of the best teams in the playoffs.
[divider] MORE FCS PLAYOFFS
2nd Round Recap And Thoughts
Betting Favorites In The Quarterfinals [divider]
8. Colgate (No. 8)
The Raiders were the story of the second round, surprising the country (despite being the home and seeded team) with a 23-20 win over James Madison. They proved they belong as a seed. But now it's on to face the giants. No. 1 NDSU is a different beast. And the Bison are looked at as a 26.5-point favorite, which is an absurd amount for the quarterfinals. A Colgate win would be a stunner, followed by another tall task against SDSU/Kennesaw to reach Frisco.
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7. UC Davis (No. 6)
UC Davis' ground game and defense stepped up in the fourth quarter of a narrow 23-16 win against Northern Iowa. The Aggies will need their best performance of the season to top No. 2 EWU on the road. It'll be a return trip to Cheney, where the Aggies lost 59-20 on Nov. 10. The score was just 21-17 at halftime before the Eagles blew the doors off. Expect a much more competitive game on Saturday. But can UC Davis close the gap that much in a month?
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6. Maine (No. 7)
The Black Bears took their 3-point underdog status versus Jacksonville State and turned it into a 55-27 win. This game was never really close, and Maine showed some offensive explosion that many didn't know it had. The most Maine scored in a game before Saturday was 38 points. It was 42-14 at halftime on the Gamecocks. Now the Black Bears will have to travel across the country two weeks in a row if a trip to Frisco happens, starting with No. 2 Weber, where the Wildcats are 6-0 this year.
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5. Kennesaw State (No. 4)
The Owls will need a much better performance from the offensive line this week compared to the second-round game against Wofford and a much better showing from the secondary than the regular-season finale against JSU. No. 5 SDSU is looked at by many as the second-best team in the bracket. But the Jacks' run defense has been spotty this year. The last time they played an option team resulted in a 38-31 loss to Cal Poly early in 2016 (which might mean something or might mean nothing).
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4. South Dakota State (No. 5)
SDSU should like its ability to score points at KSU. And the Jacks looked strong up the middle of the defense earlier this season against NDSU while having guys like middle linebacker Christian Rozeboom and safety Brandon Snyder play very stout against the run. But trends do show SDSU struggles on the road. The Jacks haven't won an away playoff game since 2014. If they want their ultimate prize of a national title, they'll likely have to earn two road wins in a row to get there.
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3. Weber State (No. 2)
Weber looks to be the most balanced team in the playoffs outside of NDSU. The offense scored 48 points in the second-round win against SEMO while the special teams and defense remain lights out. It gets tougher from here, though. Maine comes in with a ton of confidence, and then it could be a rematch with EWU, who the Wildcats beat 14-6 at home in October. EWU is playing much better now than it was during that time, but so is Weber.
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2. Eastern Washington (No. 3)
The Eagles snapped back into things in the second half against Nicholls. The offensive explosion and tightening defense to close out the game is what makes them a popular pick to reach Frisco. But another half of lackluster play will be costly from here on out. UC Davis is coming to town with something to prove. And Weber/Maine would be a battle. The Eagles should feel confident about their path to Frisco. They're trending in that direction. Once there, we'll see how well they stack up with this next team.
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1. North Dakota State (No. 1)
The uproar from Fargo that NDSU will have to go through JMU and SDSU to reach Frisco is now 50 percent overblown. And it could be 100 percent overblown if Kennesaw is as good as its regular-season rankings. The Bison match up well with Colgate. They'd match up well with KSU. The potential Friday night semifinal game against growing rival SDSU will be a legendary game that, honestly, could go either way.
But this team proved again it goes to a whole new level once the playoffs hit with its performance against Montana State. And the Bison were already on a different level than the rest of the FCS this year. So yeah, while it's not a golden path to another national title, it is starting to look more obstacle-free as the bracket evolves.
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NEXT: Houston Leaving JMU, ECU His Next Destination
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