The FCS Playoff Committee released its top 10 ranking for the 2024 season on Wednesday, October 30, 2024. The rankings consider numerous data points including the Massey Ratings, ESPN’s Football Power Index, and KPI ratings but are not limited to only those. Additional metrics can be used such as strength of schedule and record with each committee member assigning their own weight to a specific metric. The goal was to use a mix of predictive and results-based metrics to provide a look at the top 10 teams a month before the FCS Playoffs start as told to Hero Sports
The Big Sky leads the way with 4 teams in the top 10 while the MVFC has 3 teams in the top 4. The Big South-OVC, Southern, and Southland are represented in the top 10 with one team each. North Dakota State finds itself in the top spot followed by Montana State and two more MVFC teams in South Dakota State and South Dakota. The Big Sky’s UC Davis rounded out the top 5. Southeast Missouri State, Idaho, Mercer, Incarnate Word, and Montana round out the top 10. The full top 10 is provided below.
The 2024 FCS regular season ends on Saturday, November 23 with FCS Playoff selections to take place the following day. The FCS Playoff Selection Show will be broadcast on Sunday, November 24 at 12:30 PM Eastern Time on ESPNU. The NCAA will seed 16 teams for the FCS Playoffs beginning with the 2024 season for the first time since 2000 but the first time since the expansion of the bracket in 2010. First-round games will take place on Saturday, November 30 at Campus Sites with the teams seeded 9 through 16 hosting an unseeded team. The top 8 seeds will have a first-round bye before hosting the winners of the 8 first-round games in the second round on Saturday, December 7.
The FCS Quarterfinals will be played on Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14 while the two semifinals will both take place on Saturday, December 21. The 2025 FCS Championship will take place on Monday, January 6, 2025, with the NCAA opting to move the game away from the weekend. The National Championship will be broadcast on ESPN starting at 7 PM Eastern Time.
Photo Credit to NCAA/NCAA Photos
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