The FCS playoffs have eliminated 20 teams, and just four remain. No. 1 overall seed North Dakota State beat rival South Dakota State in a quarterfinal on Saturday, joining a semifinal round that’ll also include James Madison, Youngstown State, and Eastern Washington.
2016 FCS playoffs scores and bracket update: North Dakota State headlines semifinal round
The FCS playoffs are now as big as the FBS Playoff.
The Bison will play JMU in Fargo, N.D., next Friday or Saturday, while Bo Pelini’s YSU will meet No. 2 seed EWU in Cheney, Wash. Game times haven’t yet been announced, but one will happen on Friday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2) and the other on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU). Both will be streamable on WatchESPN.
NDSU had to avert a bit of trouble, as rival SDSU took a 10-0 lead on the Bison in the first quarter of that game. (The Jacks had upset the Bison earlier in the year, at the same stadium.) NDSU scored the next 36 points, though, and won 36-10.
Youngstown State needed double-overtime to beat Wofford at home, but the Penguins eventually came through with a game-sealing stop. EWU destroyed Richmond, 38-0, and James Madison’s 65-7 demolition of Sam Houston State on Friday night was comprehensive.
Every team who’s here deserves it, and three of the four (all but Youngstown State) are coming off pretty significant blowouts. Next weekend should bring us some really good football, and the subplot of NDSU hunting for a sixth national championship in a row only makes it zestier. JMU looks like a brutally tough outing for the Bison, though.
The semifinal winners will play for the national title on Jan. 17 in Frisco, Texas (noon ET, ESPN). This has been a compelling playoff so far, but it’s resulted in three of the four top seeds getting to exactly the point they were supposed to reach. Now it’s best-on-best, with YSU as the relative Cinderella still in the hunt. This should be fun.
Via the NCAA, here’s a full bracket after the quarterfinals:
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