FCS Playoff 1st Round Results & 2nd Round Match-ups

People who want a D-I Tournament / Playoff should know … there already is one. The FCS has a 24 team playoff which began last weekend, 11/30/13. Eight teams received a Bye into the second round while 16 teams squared off in eight games. Here are the results of the first round and what’s up next in the 2nd round!

Lafayette, 5-7 overall / 4-1 in conference play, winner of the Patriot League traveled to New Hampshire, a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) runner-up @ 8-4 / 6-2. The Leopards (Lafayette) basically were handed their lunch by the Wildcats, a 45-7 whipping!. New Hampshire now moves on to Orono, Maine, to take on the CAA Champ, the Maine Bears 10-2 / 7-1, who had a first round bye, ….. on the Bears home field, Alfond Stadium! These teams played the last week of the season and New Hampshire handed Maine their only conference loss, 24-3!

Bethune-Cookman (10-3 / 7-1) a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) located in Daytona Beach, FL traveled to Conway, South Carolina to  challenge, Coastal Carolina, (11-2 & 4-1), the winner of the Big South Conference! B-C was out-scored by CC, 48-24! Coastal Carolina now heads west, to take on Montana, 10-2 / 6-2 from the Big Sky Conference, @ Grizzly Stadium!

Tennessee State 10-3 / 6-2 from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) took on Butler, 9-4 / 7-1, champions of the Pioneer Conference, in Indianapolis @ the Butler Bowl! Tennessee State pounded the Bulldogs, 31-0. Up next for TSU is Eastern Illinois, 11-1 / 8-0, the OVC Champs, the Tigers will travel to Charleston, Il and play the Panthers on their home field, O’Brian Stadium! These teams met earlier in the year at LP Field, a game won by EIU, 34-16!

Sacred Heart (10-3 & 4-2), Northeast Conference Champion battled Fordham (12-1 / 5-1), from the Patriot League. The Pioneers fell to the Rams, 37-27 and now, Fordham heads to Towson, Maryland to take on the University of Towson (10-2 / 6-2), who tied for 2nd place in the CAA. 

Furman (8-5 / 6-2) from the Southern Conference, located in Greendale, South Carolina challenged in-state rival, South Carolina State (9-4 / 7-1) A MEAC Team from Orangeburg, South Carolina! The Furman Paladins outscored the SC St. Bulldogs, 14-3 in the 3rd quarter and went on to win by a margin of 10, 30-20! Next up for the Paladins is a cross country trip to two-time defending FCS champ, North Dakota State (11-0 & 8-0) from the Missouri Valley (MVC)!

Southern Utah (8-5 / 5-3) a Big Sky Affiliate headed south and a little East to play Sam Houston State (9-4 / 4-3) a powerhouse from the Southland Conference. San Houston had their way with the out-manned Thunderbirds, 51-20!  The Bearkats now head for Louisiana, to take on SE Louisiana (10-2 / 7-0), the champions of the Southland conference! In a game played earlier this year, Sam Houston State lost to the Lions, 34-21, turnovers were the difference in the game, as the Lions forced the Bearkats to give the ball up on 3 occasions while not dropping the rock at all!

South Dakota State (9-4 / 5-3) from the MVC took on Northern Arizona (9-3 / 7-1) from the Big Sky Conference. The game was tied at half 7 all, but it was all Jackrabbits in the second half, as they scored 19 unanswered point to win pulling away, 26-7! SD State now heads west to take on another Big Sky Team, Eastern Washington, (10-2 / 8-0) the Champions of the Big Sky Conference! Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona did not meet on this year’s conference schedule … so no common opponent to use for comparison!

Samford (8-5 / 6-2) from the Southern Conference (SOCON) traveled to Jacksonville, Alabama to take on Jacksonville State (10-3 / 5-3) from the OVC! A bad idea, as the J-State Gamecocks hammered the Bulldogs, 55-14! The Gamecocks now head for Lake Charles, LA to take on McNeese State (10-2 / 6-1), the 2nd place Team of the Southland Conference!

This is a great Tournament and to well kept of a secred! Make sure you work some of there games into your TV football schedule … I think you will be surprised by the high quality of play!

Enjoy the Games!

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