If the FCS Playoffs Started Today: Our 24-Team Bracket After Week 6

Northern Arizona took the Big Sky lead from Montana on Saturday, and Tarleton State left Clarksville with the UAC bid in hand. Those two results shape most of this bracket.

This is our first FCS playoff projection of 2026. We are at the halfway point of the regular season, so this is how we see the playoff picture if it ended today: the automatic qualifiers, at-larges, seeds, first-round pairings and first four out, all anchored to the Redshirt Sports FCS Top 25. Plenty can still move, and the games most likely to move it are at the bottom, under what changes this by November.

The poll is the starting point, not the answer. South Dakota State is No. 1 again, with 22 of 23 first-place votes and 574 points, and it is the No. 1 seed. Every other bid had to hold up on three questions: who actually leads each automatic-bid race, who a team has beaten, and how badly it lost when it lost. Records are through games of Oct. 10.

How the field works

The bracket has 24 teams: 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-larges. The top 16 are seeded, and the top eight get first-round byes. Seeds 9 through 16 host the eight unseeded teams in the first round. The NCAA pairs those games mostly by geography and keeps conference opponents apart in the first round unless they did not meet in the regular season. Selection Sunday is Nov. 22. The first round is Nov. 28, and the title game is Jan. 11 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.

The automatic-bid leagues are the Big Sky, CAA, Ivy, MVFC, NEC, Big South-OVC, Patriot, Pioneer, SoCon, Southland and UAC. The Ivy League joined the playoffs in 2025, and its champion gets the bid again this year.

Projected automatic qualifiers

• Big Sky: Northern Arizona (5-2, 3-1). The Lumberjacks beat Montana 49-44 in Flagstaff and won 38-31 at Idaho State. Montana, Weber State and Cal Poly are also 3-1, but Northern Arizona has the head-to-head win over the Grizzlies, and that is the race that matters. Montana State is 2-1 after its loss at Idaho.
• CAA: Campbell (5-1, 2-0). The Camels' win at East Tennessee State still holds up, and their only loss was 52-3 at Florida. Monmouth is 3-0 in the league, but Campbell has the better résumé, and Monmouth visits Campbell on Nov. 21.
• Ivy: Harvard (4-0, 2-0). The Crimson beat Cornell 41-29 on Saturday and own a 20-17 win over Colgate. Princeton visits Oct. 24.
• MVFC: South Dakota State (5-1, 2-0). The Jackrabbits beat Youngstown State and Illinois State, and their only loss was at Northwestern. Northern Iowa is also 2-0, but the Jacks play at North Dakota on Saturday with the better résumé.
• NEC: Robert Morris (3-3, 1-0). The Colonials lost 28-27 at Morgan State on Saturday, and Long Island is 2-0 in the league at 2-5 overall. Robert Morris has the better team and the better record.
• Big South-OVC: Southeast Missouri State (3-3, 1-0). Gardner-Webb lost 21-7 at home to Eastern Illinois and fell to 1-1. SEMO is the best of the 1-0 teams, and it plays at Eastern Illinois on Oct. 24.
• Patriot: Lehigh (6-0, 4-0). The Mountain Hawks beat Fordham 34-0. Colgate is 3-0 and visits Bethlehem on Nov. 7.
• Pioneer: Butler (5-1, 2-0). The Bulldogs beat San Diego 41-10 and won at Valparaiso. Marist is also 2-0, but it is 3-3 and lost 41-28 to Columbia on Saturday. Butler plays at Marist on Nov. 14.
• SoCon: East Tennessee State (5-2, 3-0). ETSU won 34-16 at The Citadel and is still the only SoCon team without a league loss. Tennessee Tech visits Oct. 31.
• Southland: Stephen F. Austin (6-0, 3-0). Lamar is also 3-0, and the two meet in Beaumont on Nov. 7. Until then the unbeaten team gets the bid.
• UAC: Tarleton State (6-0, 1-0). The Texans won 40-32 at Austin Peay, and they also won at Bowling Green and McNeese. North Alabama and Abilene Christian are still alive in the league standings, and Tarleton finishes at North Alabama on Nov. 21.

The 13 at-larges

1. Youngstown State (5-2). The Penguins beat South Dakota 47-28, won at Southern Illinois and won 57-24 at Indiana State on Saturday. Their losses were by seven at South Dakota State and at Kentucky.
2. Montana State (5-1). The Bobcats won at Nevada and beat Northern Arizona 28-14. The 35-34 loss at Idaho is still the worst loss on any seed line here.
3. Montana (5-2). The Grizzlies lost 49-44 at Northern Arizona after losing 52-17 at Oregon State. The 62-22 win at UC Davis keeps them in the top eight.
4. South Dakota (5-2). The Coyotes beat Southern Illinois 31-10. They lost at Youngstown State and at Boise State.
5. Lamar (5-1). The Cardinals beat Incarnate Word 38-35 for their third Southland win. Their only loss was at Louisiana, and their win at Idaho looks better every week.
6. Austin Peay (5-2). The Govs' only losses are at Vanderbilt and at home to Tarleton, and neither hurts their at-large case. They beat Gardner-Webb, UT Martin and New Haven and won at West Florida.
7. North Dakota (5-2). The Fighting Hawks lost 24-17 at Northern Iowa. Their other loss was at Nebraska, and they host South Dakota State on Saturday.
8. UC Davis (4-2). The Aggies beat Eastern Washington 49-38. They lost 62-22 at home to Montana and 56-10 at SMU, and they are the softest résumé among the seeds.
9. Tennessee Tech (5-1). The Golden Eagles beat Furman 20-15. They beat Monmouth and won at Chattanooga and Wofford, and the 44-20 loss at Western Carolina is still their only loss.
10. Monmouth (4-2). The Hawks are 3-0 in the CAA after beating Sacred Heart, winning at UAlbany and edging Towson. They also won at Dartmouth. A second CAA team gets in over a third SoCon team or a fifth Big Sky team.
11. Illinois State (4-2). The Redbirds won 28-24 at Northern Illinois and beat Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois. They are 0-2 in the MVFC after losing 28-21 at Northern Iowa and 31-14 at home to South Dakota State, but neither loss was a collapse, and the Northern Illinois win is as good as anything else on the bubble.
12. Colgate (4-2). The Raiders lost 20-17 at Harvard and 13-10 at Central Michigan, and they won at Villanova and Fordham. With Richmond's loss at Fordham, Colgate is the Patriot League's second team.
13. Northern Iowa (3-2). The Panthers beat Illinois State 28-21 and North Dakota 24-17. They also lost 34-24 at Eastern Washington, which is 2-5, and 55-0 at Iowa. They are in by a thin margin, and they play at Youngstown State on Saturday.

Why Harvard and Tennessee Tech are the last two seeds

Harvard is No. 15 in our poll, is 4-0, and beat Colgate. That is enough for the No. 15 seed, one spot behind Campbell.

Tennessee Tech takes No. 16. The Golden Eagles are 5-1 and No. 16 in the poll. Lehigh is the Patriot League's only seed.

Illinois State takes the last spot. The Redbirds are No. 17 in the poll and get the bid over Idaho State, which lost at home to Cal Poly on Saturday and is 1-2 in the Big Sky. That gives the MVFC six teams, the same number it sent in 2025.

Who is out on purpose

• Richmond (5-2). The Spiders lost 20-14 at Fordham, which is 2-5. Their only other loss was 73-0 at NC State, and their best win is by three over Georgetown. That is not an at-large résumé.
• Morgan State (5-1, No. 25). The Bears won at Villanova and beat Robert Morris, but the MEAC champion goes to the Celebration Bowl.

Full projected field

Seeds 1-8 (first-round byes):

• No. 1 South Dakota State (MVFC, automatic qualifier)
• No. 2 Tarleton State (UAC, automatic qualifier)
• No. 3 Youngstown State (MVFC)
• No. 4 Stephen F. Austin (Southland, automatic qualifier)
• No. 5 Montana State (Big Sky)
• No. 6 Lehigh (Patriot, automatic qualifier)
• No. 7 Northern Arizona (Big Sky, automatic qualifier)
• No. 8 Montana (Big Sky)

Seeds 9-16 (first-round hosts):

• No. 9 South Dakota (MVFC)
• No. 10 Lamar (Southland)
• No. 11 Austin Peay (UAC)
• No. 12 North Dakota (MVFC)
• No. 13 UC Davis (Big Sky)
• No. 14 Campbell (CAA, automatic qualifier)
• No. 15 Harvard (Ivy, automatic qualifier)
• No. 16 Tennessee Tech (SoCon)

Unseeded:

• East Tennessee State (SoCon, automatic qualifier)
• Robert Morris (NEC, automatic qualifier)
• Butler (Pioneer, automatic qualifier)
• Southeast Missouri State (Big South-OVC, automatic qualifier)
• Monmouth (CAA)
• Colgate (Patriot)
• Northern Iowa (MVFC)
• Illinois State (MVFC)

Bids by conference: MVFC 6, Big Sky 4, Southland 2, SoCon 2, UAC 2, CAA 2, Patriot 2, Ivy 1, NEC 1, Big South-OVC 1, Pioneer 1.

Projected pairings

We paired each first-round game by distance and kept conference opponents apart. Each winner plays at the matching top-eight seed in the second round.

• Southeast Missouri State at No. 16 Tennessee Tech. Winner at No. 1 South Dakota State.
• Colgate at No. 9 South Dakota. Winner at No. 8 Montana.
• Illinois State at No. 13 UC Davis. Winner at No. 4 Stephen F. Austin.
• Butler at No. 12 North Dakota. Winner at No. 5 Montana State.
• Robert Morris at No. 14 Campbell. Winner at No. 3 Youngstown State.
• East Tennessee State at No. 11 Austin Peay. Winner at No. 6 Lehigh.
• Northern Iowa at No. 10 Lamar. Winner at No. 7 Northern Arizona.
• Monmouth at No. 15 Harvard. Winner at No. 2 Tarleton State.

East Tennessee State at Austin Peay and SEMO at Tennessee Tech are short trips, and Monmouth at Harvard is a bus ride. ETSU can't go to Tennessee Tech, Monmouth can't go to Campbell, and neither Northern Iowa nor Illinois State can go to either Dakota school. That sends Northern Iowa to Lamar and Illinois State to UC Davis, the two open hosts outside the MVFC. Butler at North Dakota and Colgate at South Dakota are the shortest trips left for the other two.

First four out

1. Idaho State (4-2). The Bengals won at Utah State and at Southern Utah. Their losses were by seven to Northern Arizona and 25-24 to Cal Poly, both at home, and they are 1-2 in the Big Sky. They play at Montana on Nov. 15.
2. Mercer (5-2). The Bears beat Western Carolina 17-14 and won 54-3 at VMI. The home loss to Furman, which is 2-5, keeps them behind East Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.
3. Stony Brook (4-2). The Seawolves are 2-0 in the CAA after winning at Towson, and they won at Fordham. The loss at Delaware State still hurts. They visit Campbell on Nov. 7.
4. Bryant (4-2). The Bulldogs beat Princeton and are 2-0 in the CAA, but they lost 28-13 at Brown on Saturday.

Next out: Richmond, Princeton, Weber State, Cal Poly and North Alabama.

Key calls in this projection

• Big Sky: Northern Arizona gets the automatic bid on its head-to-head win over Montana. Montana and Montana State are both at-large seeds.
• Pioneer and Big South-OVC: Butler gets the bid over Marist, and Southeast Missouri State gets it over Gardner-Webb. Both picks follow the standings.
• Last spots: Northern Iowa and Illinois State both get in, giving the MVFC six bids. Idaho State, the Big Sky's fifth team, is the first team out after its home loss to Cal Poly.
• Patriot: Colgate is the league's second team, ahead of Richmond. Lehigh is the only Patriot seed.
• Seeding: The top 16 follow the Redshirt poll, with Tarleton at No. 2, Northern Arizona ahead of Montana and Harvard seeded at No. 15.

What changes this by November

• Oct. 17: South Dakota State at North Dakota, and Northern Iowa at Youngstown State. A Northern Iowa loss puts its spot at risk.
• Oct. 24: Princeton at Harvard. The Ivy bid and the No. 15 seed both ride on it.
• Oct. 31: Tennessee Tech at East Tennessee State. The winner will probably take the SoCon bid.
• Nov. 7: Stephen F. Austin at Lamar, and Colgate at Lehigh. One settles the Southland bid. The other could give the Patriot League a new champion.
• Nov. 21: Montana at Montana State, and Monmouth at Campbell. The Big Sky race and the CAA bid are both still open.