North Dakota State will begin its march for an unprecedented sixth consecutive Football Championship Subdivision championship as the favorites.
The Bison earned the top seed in the 24-team FCS playoff bracket, which was released Sunday. That No. 1 seed earns them the week off; they’ll host the winner of Saturday’s Cal Poly-San Diego tilt on Dec. 3.
The remaining top seeds went as follows:
2. Eastern Washington
3. Jacksonville State
4. James Madison
5. Sam Houston State
6. The Citadel
7. North Dakota
8. South Dakota State
First-round games this weekend are:
Villanova vs. St. Francis (Pa.) -- winner faces South Dakota State
Chattanooga vs. Weber State -- winner faces Sam Houston State
New Hampshire vs. Lehigh -- winner faces James Madison
Youngstown State vs. Samford -- winner faces Jacksonville State
Wofford vs. Charleston Southern -- winner faces The Citadel
Richmond vs. North Carolina A&T -- winner faces North Dakota
Central Arkansas vs. Illinois State -- winner faces Eastern Washington
The Bracket.
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 20, 2016
#FCSPlayoffs ➡️ https://t.co/XEb5LXWn3P pic.twitter.com/pXEoqJtEXS
The FCS Championship will be played Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas (noon ET, ESPN2).