FCS Bracketology: Predicting The 2023 FCS Playoff Bracket

Predicting the 2023 FCS Playoff bracket ahead of the official bracket release on Sunday

The final week of the FCS regular season was filled with chaos as multiple potential seeds and bubble teams suffered shocking losses.

Below we make our predictions for the seeds, at-large bids, and bubble teams for the 2023 FCS Playoffs. This is our projection of what the committee's selections will be on Sunday.

The official bracket will be announced Nov. 19 at 11:30 a.m. CT on ESPNU. 

Auto-Bids:

Big Sky: Montana
Big South-OVC: Gardner-Webb
CAA: Villanova
MVFC: South Dakota State
NEC: Duquesne
Patriot: Lafayette
Pioneer: Drake
SoCon: Furman
Southland: Nicholls State
UAC: Austin Peay

Seeds: 

1. South Dakota State (11-0, 8-0 MVFC)
2. Montana (10-1, 7-1 Big Sky)
3. South Dakota (9-2, 7-1 MVFC)
4. UAlbany (9-3, 7-1 CAA)
5. Idaho (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky)
6. Villanova (9-2, 7-1 CAA)
7. Furman (9-2, 7-1 SoCon)
8. North Dakota State (8-3, 5-3 MVFC)

At-Large Bids:

South Dakota (Seed)
UAlbany (Seed)
Idaho (Seed)
North Dakota State (Seed)
Montana State (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky)
Delaware (8-3, 6-2 CAA)
Mercer (8-3, 6-2 SoCon)
Richmond (8-3, 7-1 CAA)
North Carolina Central (9-2, 7-1 MEAC)
Southern Illinois (7-4, 4-4 MVFC)
North Dakota (7-4, 5-3 MVFC)
UC Davis (7-4, 5-3 Big Sky)
UT Martin (8-3, 5-1 Big South-OVC)
Sacramento State (7-4, 4-4 Big Sky)

Bubble Teams:

Youngstown State (7-4; 5-3 MVFC)
Western Carolina (7-4; 5-3 SoCon)
Chattanooga (7-4; 6-2 SoCon)
Holy Cross (7-4; 5-1 Patriot)
Incarnate Word (9-2; 6-1 Southland)
Central Arkansas (7-4; 4-2 UAC)
Eastern Illinois (8-3; 4-2 Big South-OVC)

Projected First-Round Matchups:

Mercer at Austin Peay (Winner vs. No. 1 South Dakota State)
Nicholls State at UT Martin (Winner vs. No. 8 North Dakota State)
Duquesne at Delaware (Winner vs. No. 4 UAlbany)
North Dakota at Sacramento State (Winner vs. No. 5 Idaho)
UC Davis at Montana State (Winner vs. No. 3 South Dakota)
Lafayette at Richmond (Winner vs. No. 6 Villanova)
Drake at Southern Illinois (Winner vs. No. 2 Montana)
North Carolina Central at Gardner-Webb (Winner vs. No. 7 Furman)

FCS Playoff Schedule:

First Round: Nov. 25
Second Round: Dec. 2
Quarterfinals: Dec. 8-9
Semifinals: Dec. 15-16
FCS National Championship: Jan. 7 (1 p.m. CT, ABC)

FCS Football Playoff Picture: Nov. 15 (Week 12)