The end of the FCS regular season is upon us and teams are looking to move up in the rankings to have a higher seed in the playoffs or even potentially make the jump into the playoffs.
The playoffs consist of 24 teams, with the top eight receiving a first-round bye, with the ultimate goal of making it to Frisco and winning the championship.
The North Dakota State Bison are looking to making it back to Frisco and make it six out of seven years. Currently, the Bison are sixth in the FCS Coaches Poll. The Bison can possibly claim the number two spot with a win this next week.
The Bison are set to finish the regular season at Illinois State. With a win, NDSU will be the sole owner of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Cardinals more than likely will be knocked out of the top 25 and could even miss the playoffs with a loss.
James Madison, who knocked the Bison out in the semifinals last year and won at Frisco, is currently sitting at the top seed.
With their closest game of the season this past week, as of now, against the Richmond Spiders, the Colonials won by a one-score game of 20-13.
JMU will close out their season with a game against Elon, who is currently ranked 15th after falling from ninth with their lost this week.
Jacksonville State, Central Arkansas, Sam Houston State and South Dakota State are all ahead of the Bison in the FCS Coaches Poll.
JSU has lost two games this season, both coming from FBS schools LSU and Georgia Tech. The Gamecocks are set to take on the Tennessee State Tigers, who are 6-4 overall but are only 2-4 in the conference. The Tigers are shown they can play, hopefully, can keep momentum and an upset would be huge for the playoff rankings.
Central Arkansas has lost one game this season, to Kansas State and is set to finish out the season against the Abilene Christian Wildcats, who gave Sam Houston State a fit last week.
Sam Houston State only lost has come at the hands Central Arkansas. They are scheduled to face Houston Baptist as the Huskies are sitting at the bottom of the Southland conference.
SDSU lost two games, both coming from conference play, losing to Youngstown State and Northern Iowa. The Jackrabbits did defeat the Bison to help move them up in the rankings.
The Jackrabbits will close out their season against in-state rival South Dakota. The Coyotes are on a two-game losing streak and have lost three of their lost four games. A win will help the Coyotes move up in the rankings.
Looking at the MVFC, I can realistically see five teams make the playoffs. That shows just how strong the conference is and the level of competition these teams face. I see the Bison winning Saturday to claim the conference and move back up to at least four but have a valid argument to be the second seed.
A lot of teams don’t like the Bison, and there are always conspiracies about how the committee try to screw over the Bison. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen, and they treat all times fairly. JMU, Sam Houston, JSU, Central Arkansas and SDSU all have good claims to be seeded high and receive first-round byes, just need to look at the level of competition and don’t knock teams for a loss or two. Look at how they were able to come back from them and look at the season as a whole.