2011 FCS Playoffs: Bracket Unveiled, Sam Houston State No. 1

Unlike its big brother in the college football hierarchy, the FCS won’t be letting bowls decide which team is top-dog. Instead, the championship subdivision will embark on a six week journey towards a national championship, beginning with the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 26. A real, live playoff to decide a championship! Try not to get too excited.

Saturday features four matchups in a pigtail format. The winners will move on into the real bracket, while the losers head home. Next weekend, the heavy hitters will join in on the fun, after having what essentially amounts to a bye this weekend. To understand how this all works, be sure to check out the FCS playoff bracket, which was released last Sunday.

The 2011 FCS Playoffs Selection Show airs at 10 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPNU. Unlike the FBS division and their silly BCS rankings show, the FCS actually has a playoff system to better deal with the mess the BCS will have after what transpired on Saturday. The show will run down the list of who’s made the playoffs and where they line up in the bracket, much like March Madness but with football. What’s better than that? Arbitrary computer rankings and style points, apparently.

The projected top teams include Montana as the No. 5 seed, Georgia Southern as the No. 4 seed, Northern Iowa as the No. 3 seed, North Dakota State as your No. 2 seed, and the Sam Houston State Bearkats as the projected No. 1 seed. In the FCS playoff system, the top five ranked seeds all are granted a first round bye in the playoffs, so if these five projected teams are in fact the top five seeds they will play their first playoff game on December 3rd.