FCS Playoffs 2018: Underdogs steal show in quarterfinals
By Zach Bigalke
An initial look at the FCS semifinals
The two semifinals in the 2018 NCAA Division I football playoffs offer plenty of intrigue as the 24-team playoff winds down to its final four. Defending champion North Dakota State continues to look like the overwhelming favorite to win yet another FCS national championship.
But they first have to get through the one team that has given them more fits than any other opponent in the past half-decade, South Dakota State. This will be the eighth time in the past five years that the rival members of the Missouri Valley will square off on the football field.
South Dakota State lost 21-17 against the Bison earlier this year in Missouri Valley play, but beat North Dakota State last year in a 33-21 takedown for the Dakota Marker. And in 2016, the Jackrabbits took down North Dakota State 19-17 at the Fargodome before losing in their quarterfinals rematch in the playoffs.
There is plenty of intrigue on the other side of the bracket as well. Eastern Washington won the first FCS championship game held in Frisco, Texas after more than a decade in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Eagles have failed to return to the championship ever since. Their comeback against UC Davis affords a chance to host Maine on the red turf.
The Black Bears are playing in their first FCS semifinal in school history, and they travel across the country to do so. Will that impact their chances of getting to Frisco?
Next. What an 8-team playoff would look like in 2018. dark
You certainly won’t want to miss the action on December 14 and 15, even as the start of the FBS bowl season falls on Saturday. Stay tuned as we preview the two semifinal contests later this week.