Welcome to the HERO Sports FCS Mailbag. In partnership with FCS Football Fans Nation, we will ask for questions with a post on their Facebook page every Sunday and our FCS crew of Brian McLaughlin, Chase Kiddy and Sam Herder will give in-depth answers with these Thursday articles. They will also choose the best question and discuss it on the FCS Podcast that comes out Wednesday mornings.
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Adam Willey – What are your thoughts on the bracket? And do you take NDSU or the Field?
Brian: I just can't see "taking the field" this year. While I do think there are a handful of teams that can play the physical brand of ball needed to knock off the Bison, I just don't see it happening because of NDSU's senior core.
Chase: I would take North Dakota State.
Sam: Isn't it nuts that the selection show ended with the "NDSU or the field?" question. That seems like such a ridiculous question: "Do you think this team will win the title or one of the other 23 teams?" But that goes to show the standard the Bison have set. With all that said, I'm still taking NDSU over the field. We've hyped this team up all year, and if the Bison are as good as we say they are, they shouldn't have a problem getting it done again.
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Garrett Meyer – If Incarnate Word loses first round, will they still play lowa St on Dec 1?
Brian: Originally I thought that might happen, but Iowa State just announced Tuesday afternoon that it has signed on Drake — another FCS school, obviously, but one that is done with its regular season because it didn't make the playoffs. Also, Drake is an in-state school and actually used to play teams like Iowa and Iowa State, so it might even be a more historical fit.
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Matt Styles – Last year we saw a Weber St. team push JMU to the limit and a Kennesaw St. team play a close game against Sam Houston St. in the quarterfinals. Are there any unseeded teams you see this year who might burst onto the scene like those two did last year?
Brian: Keep your eye on Northern Iowa, Matt. This is always a tough program, it always plays a tough schedule and its kids know the playoffs well. You might see a spark out of them, even as a 6-win participant.
Chase: I wouldn’t feel comfortable picking JMU as a team to “burst onto the scene,” even if they are unseeded, so I’ll go in a different direction. I think Towson and Northern Iowa have potentially intriguing matchups with South Dakota State and UC Davis, respectively, so I would keep those two teams in mind. I also think Stony Brook could play Weber’s game if they get past SEMO, which could be interesting.
Sam: As far as bursting onto the scene, Towson might have a chance to do so. The potential second-round game at SDSU might be a sneaky good game and some may not be giving Towson a lot of credit heading into the playoffs because of the JMU game.
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Scott Moody – Which unseeded team on each side of the bracket is most likely to make a deep run in the playoffs?
Brian: I'll go with James Madison and a tie with Jacksonville State or Northern Iowa on the other side.
Chase: See answer above.
Sam: My three to watch out for are JMU, JSU and UNI. I actually wrote an article about this and that can be read here.
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Brandon Owens – With the 5OT game this past weekend, what are the chances KSU and JSU will face each other in Frisco for a rematch of The Border Battle?
Brian: I don't see that happening, Brandon. I don't see Kennesaw State getting past NDSU and though I do think Jacksonville State could win a couple, I don't see the Gamecocks going all the way. Percent change? Very low. But that was a helluva game last weekend.
Chase: 0.0001%. That’s not happening.
Sam: Very unlikely. Just because these two teams showed they are on an equal playing field doesn't make them all of a sudden the two best teams in the FCS. It either makes them better than some of us thought or not as good as some of us thought. But the game doesn't change my mind that NDSU and EWU/Weber have a great shot at meeting in Frisco.
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