The regular-season is complete, and now it’s time for the 2023 FCS Playoffs! The bracket, 10 automatic qualifiers, full 24 team field, and FCS Playoff Schedule were announced today by the NCAA.
Ten teams that won their respective conference championships move on to the 2023 FCS Playoffs as automatic qualifiers. Those teams are listed below:
- Montana – Big Sky
- Gardner-Webb – Big South-OVC
- Villanova – CAA (via tie-breaker)
- South Dakota State – MVFC
- Duquesne – NEC
- Lafayette – Patriot
- Drake – Pioneer
- Furman – Southern
- Nicholls – Southland
- Austin Peay – UAC
Below are the top eight seeds for the 2023 FCS Playoffs. The top eight teams receive a first-round bye and will host a second-round matchup on Saturday, Dec. 2:
1. South Dakota State
2. Montana
3. South Dakota
4. Idaho
5. UAlbany
6. Montana State
7. Furman
8. Villanova
The remaining 16 qualifiers (14 at-large) open the FCS Playoffs with a First-Round matchup on Saturday, Nov. 25. Below is the schedule for the first two rounds of the 2023 FCS Playoffs:
FIRST-ROUND GAMES (NOV. 25)
*All games ET and streaming via ESPN+.
Sac State at North Dakota – 1pm
Lafayette at Delaware – 2pm
NC Central at Richmond – 2pm
Chattanooga at Austin Peay – 3pm
Gardner-Webb at Mercer – 3pm
Nicholls at Southern Illinois – 3pm
Drake at NDSU – 3:30pm
Duquesne at Youngstown State – 5pm
SECOND-ROUND GAMES (DEC. 2)
*All games ET and streaming via ESPN+.
Duquesne/YSU at (8) Villanova – 12pm
NCCU/Richmond at (5) UAlbany – 12pm
UTC/Austin Peay at (7) Furman – 1pm
GWU/Mercer at (1) South Dakota State – 2pm
Sac State/UND at (3) South Dakota – 2pm
Drake/NDSU at (6) Montana State – 3pm
Lafayette/Delaware at (2) Montana – 9pm
Nicholls/SIU at (4) Idaho – 10pm
The FCS Championship Game for the 2023 season is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game will be nationally televised by ABC at 2:00pm ET.
FCS Playoff Bracket (PDF)