If the FCS Playoffs Started Today: Our 24-Team Bracket After Week 7

South Dakota State lost at North Dakota on Saturday, and Lehigh's 23-game regular-season winning streak ended at Cornell. Those two results reshape most of this bracket.

This is our second FCS playoff projection of 2026. It shows how we see the playoff picture if the season 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. Tarleton State is the new No. 1 in our poll, with 20 of 22 first-place votes and 548 points. Every 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. 17.

This week we also have the playoff committee's first top 10 of 2026, released Tuesday and based on games through Oct. 17. As far as Redshirt Sports knows, the committee doesn't use our poll, but our poll can be a good indicator. The committee's top eight are the same eight teams as our top eight, just in a different order. It has Montana State at No. 1, followed by Tarleton State, Youngstown State, Stephen F. Austin, South Dakota State, North Dakota, Northern Arizona and South Dakota. Austin Peay and Harvard are ninth and 10th, and Illinois State, Lehigh and Tennessee Tech received votes. Campbell, No. 10 in our poll, and the rest of the CAA were shut out. Since this bracket is about where teams would land if the season ended today, we used the committee's order for the top 10 seeds this week.

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, 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 (6-2, 4-1). The Lumberjacks beat Portland State 38-25 and still own the 49-44 win over Montana. Weber State is also 4-1, but Northern Arizona is higher in the poll and hosts the Wildcats on Nov. 14. Montana State is 3-1, and Montana fell to 3-2 with its home loss to Idaho.
• CAA: Campbell (6-1, 3-0). The Camels beat Towson 24-20, and their win at East Tennessee State and their only loss, 52-3 at Florida, are unchanged. Monmouth is 4-0 and Bryant is 3-0 in the league, but Campbell has the better résumé and is 10th in our poll, and Monmouth visits Campbell on Nov. 21. The committee left Campbell out of its top 10 and its others receiving votes, which matters for seeding but not for the automatic bid.
• Ivy: Harvard (5-0, 2-0). The Crimson beat Holy Cross 30-7 and own wins over Cornell and Colgate. Princeton (4-1, 2-0) visits Oct. 24.
• MVFC: Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1). The Penguins beat Northern Iowa 35-22 and are alone atop the Valley. North Dakota and South Dakota are 3-1, and South Dakota State fell to 2-1 with its loss in Grand Forks.
• NEC: LIU (3-5, 3-0). The Sharks won at Wagner 14-9 to go 3-0 in league play. Central Connecticut is 2-0 at 3-3 overall, and Robert Morris fell to 1-1 after losing 26-15 at home to New Haven. The standings decide this one.
• OVC: Southeast Missouri State (4-3, 2-0). The Redhawks beat Western Illinois 40-30. UT Martin is also 2-0, but SEMO has the better overall record.
• Patriot: Lehigh (6-1, 4-0). The loss at Cornell was out of conference, so the Mountain Hawks still lead the league. Colgate and Richmond are 3-1, and Colgate visits Bethlehem on Nov. 7.
• Pioneer: Marist (4-3, 3-0). The Red Foxes won 27-22 at Drake, and Butler lost 19-9 at home to Dayton. Marist is now the only Pioneer team without a league loss, and Butler visits Marist on Nov. 14.
• SoCon: East Tennessee State (5-2, 3-0). ETSU had a bye and is still the only SoCon team without a league loss. Tennessee Tech, Mercer and Chattanooga are 3-1, and Tennessee Tech visits ETSU on Oct. 31.
• Southland: Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 4-0). The Lumberjacks won 56-0 at Nicholls. Lamar's loss at Southeastern Louisiana leaves SFA as the only unbeaten team in the league. The two meet in Beaumont on Nov. 7.
• UAC: Tarleton State (7-0, 2-0). The Texans beat Central Arkansas 49-35, and they won at Austin Peay, Bowling Green and McNeese. Abilene Christian is 3-0 in the league, but it is 4-4 overall, and it plays at Tarleton on Nov. 7. Until then the No. 1 team in the poll gets the bid.

The 13 at-larges

1. Montana State (6-1). The Bobcats won at Nevada, beat Northern Arizona 28-14 and won 56-20 at Eastern Washington on Saturday. The 35-34 loss at Idaho is their only loss.
2. South Dakota State (5-2). The Jackrabbits beat Youngstown State and Illinois State. Their losses are at Northwestern and 21-10 at North Dakota, and they are still a top-five team in our poll and on the committee's list.
3. North Dakota (6-2). The Fighting Hawks beat South Dakota State 21-10. The Jackrabbits were No. 1 in our poll at the time. Their losses were 24-17 at Northern Iowa and at Nebraska.
4. South Dakota (6-2). The Coyotes won 48-20 at Murray State and beat Southern Illinois 31-10. They lost at Youngstown State and at Boise State.
5. Austin Peay (6-2). The Govs won 24-10 at West Georgia. Their only losses are at Vanderbilt and at home to Tarleton, and they beat Gardner-Webb, UT Martin and New Haven and won at West Florida.
6. Tennessee Tech (6-1). The Golden Eagles beat Eastern Kentucky 49-20. They beat Monmouth and Furman and won at Chattanooga and Wofford, and the 44-20 loss at Western Carolina is still their only loss.
7. Montana (5-3). The Grizzlies lost 42-35 at home to Idaho, which is 2-5. Their other losses were 49-44 at Northern Arizona and 52-17 at Oregon State. The 62-22 win at UC Davis keeps them in the field.
8. Illinois State (5-2). The Redbirds won 35-14 at Southern Illinois and 28-24 at Northern Illinois. Their losses, 28-21 at Northern Iowa and 31-14 to South Dakota State, were not collapses.
9. Lamar (5-2). The Cardinals lost 34-31 at Southeastern Louisiana. Their win at Idaho still holds up, and their other loss was at Louisiana.
10. Mercer (6-2). The Bears won 31-21 at Samford and own wins over Western Carolina, at VMI and at Abilene Christian. The home loss to Furman is the blemish.
11. Monmouth (5-2). The Hawks are 4-0 in the CAA after winning 42-21 at New Hampshire, and they also won at UAlbany and at Dartmouth. A second CAA team gets in.
12. Weber State (5-3). The Wildcats beat Idaho State 27-20 to go 4-1 in the Big Sky, tied with Northern Arizona for the league lead. That record is enough to get the Big Sky's fourth bid.
13. Southeastern Louisiana (4-3). The Lions beat Lamar 34-31 on Saturday and won 38-35 at UL Monroe. They are 2-2 in the Southland after losses to Houston Christian and at UT Rio Grande Valley, and they also lost at South Alabama. They play at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.

Why Lamar and Campbell are the last two seeds

Lamar takes No. 15. The Cardinals are 5-2 and No. 16 in our poll, and they are the Southland's second team behind Stephen F. Austin. Their win at Idaho still holds up.

Campbell takes No. 16. The Camels are No. 10 in our poll and 6-0 against FCS teams, but the committee didn't have them in its top 10 or among its others receiving votes. We kept the CAA champion seeded, but at the bottom of the seed line. Lehigh moves up to No. 13 after receiving votes from the committee, even after the loss at Cornell.

Southeastern Louisiana takes the last spot. The Lions are No. 22 in the poll, two spots behind Northern Iowa, but they are 4-3 to the Panthers' 3-3, they beat Lamar and they won at an FBS team in UL Monroe. That gives the Southland three teams and leaves the MVFC with five.

Who is out on purpose

• Richmond (5-2). The Spiders had a bye and are 3-1 in the Patriot. Their losses are 20-14 at Fordham and 73-0 at NC State. That is not an at-large résumé.
• Morgan State (5-2). The Bears lost 25-16 at Tennessee State and fell out of our poll. The MEAC champion goes to the Celebration Bowl.

Full projected field

Seeds 1-8 (first-round byes):

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

Seeds 9-16 (first-round hosts):

• No. 9 Austin Peay (UAC)
• No. 10 Harvard (Ivy, automatic qualifier)
• No. 11 Tennessee Tech (SoCon)
• No. 12 Illinois State (MVFC)
• No. 13 Lehigh (Patriot, automatic qualifier)
• No. 14 Montana (Big Sky)
• No. 15 Lamar (Southland)
• No. 16 Campbell (CAA, automatic qualifier)

Unseeded:

• East Tennessee State (SoCon, automatic qualifier)
• LIU (NEC, automatic qualifier)
• Marist (Pioneer, automatic qualifier)
• Southeast Missouri State (OVC, automatic qualifier)
• Mercer (SoCon)
• Monmouth (CAA)
• Weber State (Big Sky)
• Southeastern Louisiana (Southland)

Bids by conference: MVFC 5, Big Sky 4, SoCon 3, Southland 3, UAC 2, CAA 2, Ivy 1, Patriot 1, NEC 1, 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.

• Mercer at No. 16 Campbell. Winner at No. 1 Montana State.
• East Tennessee State at No. 9 Austin Peay. Winner at No. 8 South Dakota.
• Monmouth at No. 13 Lehigh. Winner at No. 4 Stephen F. Austin.
• Southeast Missouri State at No. 12 Illinois State. Winner at No. 5 South Dakota State.
• Weber State at No. 14 Montana. Winner at No. 3 Youngstown State.
• Southeastern Louisiana at No. 11 Tennessee Tech. Winner at No. 6 North Dakota.
• Marist at No. 10 Harvard. Winner at No. 7 Northern Arizona.
• LIU at No. 15 Lamar. Winner at No. 2 Tarleton State.

Monmouth at Lehigh and Marist at Harvard are short trips, and East Tennessee State at Austin Peay and SEMO at Illinois State stay in the region. ETSU and Mercer can't go to Tennessee Tech, Monmouth can't go to Campbell, and Southeastern Louisiana can't go to Lamar, which it beat on Oct. 17. That sends Southeastern Louisiana to Tennessee Tech. Weber State and Montana are both in the Big Sky, but they don't play each other this season, so the rules allow the matchup, and it saves everyone a cross-country flight. Mercer at Campbell and LIU at Lamar fill the last two spots.

First four out

1. Northern Iowa (3-3). The Panthers beat Illinois State and North Dakota, but they lost 35-22 at Youngstown State on Saturday. They also lost 34-24 at Eastern Washington, which is 2-6, and 55-0 at Iowa. At .500, they are the first team out.
2. Abilene Christian (4-4). The Wildcats won 31-28 at North Alabama and lead the UAC at 3-0. Three of their four losses came to Lamar, Stephen F. Austin and Mercer, all ranked in our poll, and the other was at Texas Tech. Still, 4-4 is not an at-large record. Their path is the UAC bid, and they play at Tarleton on Nov. 7.
3. UC Davis (4-3). The Aggies fell to No. 24 after a 38-17 loss at Southern Utah. They also lost 62-22 at home to Montana and 56-10 at SMU.
4. Colgate (4-3). The Raiders lost 27-17 at home to Georgetown. Their other losses were 20-17 at Harvard and 13-10 at Central Michigan. They visit Lehigh on Nov. 7.

Next out: Princeton, Richmond, Bryant and Idaho State.

Key calls in this projection

• Big Sky: Northern Arizona gets the automatic bid over Weber State, which is also 4-1. The Lumberjacks are higher in our poll and host Weber State on Nov. 14.
• UAC: Tarleton State gets the bid over 3-0 Abilene Christian until the two meet on Nov. 7.
• NEC, Pioneer and OVC: LIU, Marist and Southeast Missouri State all get bids because they lead their league standings. Robert Morris and Butler, last week's picks, both lost.
• Last spots: Weber State and Southeastern Louisiana get in, giving the Big Sky four bids and the Southland three. Northern Iowa is the first team out.
• Seeding: The top 10 seeds follow the committee's first top 10, with Montana State at No. 1 and Tarleton at No. 2. The committee's three teams receiving votes, Tennessee Tech, Illinois State and Lehigh, take Nos. 11-13 in our poll order. Campbell drops from No. 10 to No. 16 after the committee shut out the CAA.

What changes this by November

• Oct. 24: North Dakota at South Dakota, and Princeton at Harvard. One reshapes the MVFC seeds. The other could decide the Ivy bid.
• Oct. 31: Tennessee Tech at East Tennessee State. The winner will probably take the SoCon bid.
• Nov. 7: Stephen F. Austin at Lamar, Abilene Christian at Tarleton State, and Colgate at Lehigh. Each one could settle an automatic bid.
• Nov. 14: Weber State at Northern Arizona, and Butler at Marist. One could decide the Big Sky bid. The other could decide the Pioneer bid.
• Nov. 21: Montana at Montana State, and Monmouth at Campbell. The Big Sky seeds and the CAA bid are both still open.