You thought college football was over, but for the bowls?
First of all, please respect our troops: I’ll see you bright and early for the Army/Navy game tomorrow.
Secondly, the FCS is here to help. Here are the quarterfinals, three of which are tonight (Friday Night Lights, without the invested crowds in some cases). If there’s a number by a team it’s that team’s seed.
Northern Iowa @ #2 James Madison (7 PM EST, ESPN2)
Weather: 30’s, Rain
The Shenandoah Valley is pulling out all the stops for this one, unleashing what looks to be some awful weather that should make the game a beautiful mess (though JMU does have field turf). Unfortunately for the Dukes, this doesn’t seem like it will help them.
Northern Iowa’s offense is kind of bad. Their defense, though, is really good. They just held perennial power South Dakota State to ten points. They’ve held opponents to single digits in four of their fourteen games.
Again, though: UNI’s offense is kinda bad. Averaging 17 points per game against FBS foe and FCS Playoff-qualifying foes. Not good. Might need a lot of rain to reach their first semifinals since 2008.
James Madison, on the other hand, has a very good offense. They’ve topped 30 in all but two games. They’ve topped 40 in eight games. They’ve topped 50 in four games. They’ve topped 60 twice. They are an intimidating crew, and while their defense isn’t bad, it’s done pretty well for itself too.
The Dukes looked like they could be the Clemson to North Dakota State’s Alabama as recently as two seasons ago. Now, they’re trying to make last year appear an aberration.
Austin Peay @ #5 Montana State (8 PM EST, ESPN3)
Weather: Not snowing, so who cares
You can only find this game online, which is fine, because it isn’t going to snow like you’d hope an outdoor game in Bozeman in the middle of December would.
Austin Peay is the FCS’ Cinderella. The Governors (way ahead of Adam Silver on that one) are in their first playoff ever, and they’ve started it with back-to-back stompings. I have no idea if Furman was supposed to beat them (I’ve already forgotten), but Peay won by 36. I do know Sacramento State was a heavy favorite, and Peay won that by a 14 that wasn’t that close.
Montana State will not be scared. They’re on the hunt, in theory (the winner of this game plays North Dakota State, assuming no apocalyptic events in Fargo), for their first national championship since 1984. Last year, they got wrecked in the second round by NDSU. This year, they’re hoping to get wrecked in the semifinals by NDSU.
#6 Montana @ #3 Weber State (10 PM EST, ESPN2)
Weather: WINTER STORM WARNING YES YES YES
The perfect backdrop for a Christmas party (hopefully my roommate’s fiancée agrees). Two favorites of The Barking Crow in action.
On one side, our beloved Beekeepers, those well-behaved boys from Utah. Their hearts have been broken two years in a row in this round: by JMU in 2017, who went on to lose to NDSU by merely four in the championship, and by Maine last year, who lost by many, many points to Eastern Washington the next week. If you thought UNI had a good defense, wait until you see Weber State’s: it’s also pretty good but probably not as good as UNI’s, so you’re gonna think UNI’s is great.
It’s a Big Sky rematch, and Montana beat Weber State in Missoula in the prequel, 35-16. The climate’s going to be different, though, and our beloved Griz (they’re beloved because Missoula is neat and the name Griz is fun and how can you not like anything having to do with Montana) may struggle in the snow. We just don’t know. They did score 73 points last week, though, which I’m just learning now (possibly for the second time), so snow can presumably only do so much. Winner plays the UNI/JMU winner. I’m authentically excited.
Illinois State @ #1 North Dakota State (12 PM EST but on Saturday, ESPN)
Weather: Fargodome.
Illinois State is a respectable team. They made the playoff out of the Missouri Valley, which is an impressive feat. Their offense is bad, though. Worse than UNI’s. The last time they played North Dakota State, they only got a field goal. This projects to be a massacre.
There’s little to say about North Dakota State except that they’re better than most FBS teams including possibly entire non-Clemson portion of the ACC.
