The FCS playoffs 2010 are getting underway next week. By the time the FCS playoffs 2010 start, the latest round of the FBS playoff debate will reach a climax. As Oregon, Auburn, TCU and Boise State finish their battle for BCS position, the bowl subdivision will be settling things on the field. Since the former Division I-AA has a postseason bracket, they can accurately settle who their best team is. In a year where the top seeded team in the FCS playoffs has two losses, that is very useful.
The 20-team field was selected this morning, with the top 12 programs getting a bye week for the opening round. Only five teams are seeded, and all of them finished with a 9-2 record – a scenario that would cause the BCS to utterly blow up.
In this case, the FCS playoffs 2010 have Appalachian State as the No. 1 9-2 team, followed by William & Mary, Delaware, Montana State and Eastern Washington. In addition, Villanova, Stephen F. Austin, Southeast Missouri State, New Hampshire, Bethune-Cookman, Wofford and Jacksonville State got first-round byes.
The postseason begins on November 27 with four first-round matchups. Western Illinois visits Coastal Carolina for the right to take on Appalachian State, while South Carolina State or Georgia Southern will next take on William & Mary. Lehigh or Northern Iowa will get to face Delaware, as Robert Morris and North Dakota State clash to take on Montana State next.
On December 4, the FCS playoffs 2010 get under way in earnest, as the top seeds begin their quest. Fifth seeded Eastern Washington is set to face Southeast Missouri State, while Bethune-Cookman hosts New Hampshire, Wofford clashes with Jacksonville State, and defending champion Villanova visits Stephen F. Austin.
The quarterfinals will be held on December 10 and 11, with the semis on the 17’th and 18’th. After that, the national championship game will take place about three weeks later. Normally, it is held in mid-December, but this year, it is on January 7, 2011 in Frisco, Texas.
Ending the FCS playoffs 2010 so close to the BCS title game is a new move. Yet those who push for an FBS playoff system usually point to this one, as proof that it can work. Of course, if the major conferences ever agreed to a postseason, it likely wouldn’t have a 20 team field over five weeks.
Since there is no dominant team in the bowl subdivision this season, anyone can get on a hot streak and win it all. Appalachian State did win three straight titles from 2005-07, yet this is a brand new bunch of players. Defending champion Villanova needed to upset Delaware to get here, while 2009 runner up Montana didn’t even qualify.
While the BCS is often wide open, it doesn’t compare to the FCS contenders in 2010 – in more ways than one. Their championship race will begin in full this Saturday.
Sources
FCS Now- “2010 FCS Football Playoffs”
WZZM 13- “Top-seeded App State headlines playoff field”
