The penultimate weekend of regular season action has come to a close and now, with just one game left on most everyone’s slate, it’s do-or-die for several teams across the country. Week 12’s results knocked
some out of playoff contention, kept some others alive and made next Sunday another absolute stress-fest for a few more. Here’s what we learned from the FCS after another exciting day.
Harvard is a Quarterfinal Team
It took a last-second 53-yard field goal but Harvard survived an upset bid from Penn on Saturday to go to 9-0 on the year. Barring a slip up to Yale next week, the Crimson should take the Ivy League’s auto bid and go in as an undefeated. They certainly would have to be considered strongly for a first-round bye and top eight seed in that scenario and it’s not a stretch to think that whoever they might end up welcoming in for that second-round game would be gettable. Harvard will be one of the more battle-tested teams in the tournament and ought to have a pretty nice path to at least a quarterfinals appearance if it can handle business in The Game. That would be quite a feat for the Ivy in its first year in the postseason.
The CAA Will Send Five to the Playoffs
Don’t look now but the CAA is chock full of teams that might be playoff-bound. Shoo ins like Rhode Island and Monmouth each won big again to improve to 9-2 overall and will not have to sweat it out come next Sunday. Villanova, too, should be in the boat after picking up its eighth win in thrilling overtime fashion over Stony Brook on Saturday. A handful of others in the league, however, made the playoff bubble a crowded place. William & Mary blasted Hampton to go to 7-4 and New Hampshire did the same thing to Bryant to pull itself to a similar record. The Tribe and the Wildcats both will have winnable games next weekend and if they both can get it done, it sure looks like they’d be headed for the postseason.
Lehigh Is a Bracket-Buster
Sitting at 11-0 with a big game against Lafayette looming, Lehigh is on the cusp of a perfect regular season and entering the playoffs as likely a top four national seed. The Mountain Hawks are as complete a team as any right now and they will not be an easy out for whoever they end up seeing down the line. It likely would not be until the quarterfinals or beyond, but this Lehigh team might have what it takes to land a haymaker to one of the big boys if they get the chance. Whether it be a Montana team, NDSU or Tarleton State, the Mountain Hawks are not someone that one of the usual heavy-hitters will want to see come through its doors if it comes down to it. Don’t be totally shocked if they give one of those squads a run or… maybe… even take one down entirely.
Joel Taylor Should be an Eddie Robinson Finalst
We are still a few weeks out before the national media announces its 2025 individual award recipients and finalists. When they do, though, West Georgia head man Joel Taylor should be among those on the list. What he has done in his second year… and the Wolves’ second ever year as a Division I program… is truly incredible and Saturday was another example. UWG blanked Utah Tech in its finale to nab its eighth win of the year and fifth in UAC play. Due to NCAA rules, Taylor’s team cannot qualify for the playoffs this year or next still but that aside, to win eight games while playing in arguably the third-best FCS conference this early on in their DI tenure, is remarkable. Taylor is building something really special down in Carrollton and he should get his roses when the time comes.
South Dakota State Was Fool’s Gold All Along
Nobody has fallen harder from grace over the last month than South Dakota State. Yet another loss piled on for the Jackrabbits over the weekend with a 35-21 defeat against Illinois State and now the once 7-0 Jacks are 7-4 and might have just played themselves out of the playoffs entirely. It has become abundantly clear that Chase Mason was keeping the whole thing together at quarterback and without him SDSU is utterly lost. If that is indeed all it took to make this team a contender then they weren’t ever going to compete for a national title to begin with. Yes, they did get that big win at Montana State early on but other than that, this Jackrabbits team really didn’t do a whole lot to move the needle. Now with an absolute must-win game at North Dakota around the corner, its hard to see this ending well for SDSU.
