Automatic Bids

E. Washington (Big Sky)

Coastal Carolina (Big South)

Villanova (CAA)

Bethune-Cookman (MEAC)

North Dakota St. (MVFC)

Wagner (NEC)

E. Illinois (OVC)

Colgate (Patriot)

Georgia Southern (Southern)

Central Arkansas (Southland)

At-Large Bids

Appalachian St. (8-3)

Cal Poly (9-2)

Illinois St. (8-3)

Lehigh (10-1)

Montana St. (10-1)

New Hampshire (8-3)

Old Dominion (10-1)

Richmond (8-3)

Sam Houston St. (8-3)

South Dakota St. (8-3)

Bubble Burst

Wofford (8-3)

Stony Brook (9-2)

N. Arizona (8-3)

Towson (7-4)

Next Four Out

Albany (9-2)

Youngstown St. (7-4)

The Citadel (7-4)

UT-Martin (8-3)

Past Brackets

Week 11

Week 10

Week 9

Week 8

Week 7

Week 6

Week 5

About

Since its inception in 2008, NoBowls has correctly predicted 88 of the 92 teams selected to participate in the FCS postseason. Resident bracketologist Erik Pitzer strives to provide weekly bias-free predictions heavily rooted in the same criteria set forth by the NCAA selection guidelines.

The Final Bracket

Posted November 18, 2012 at 12:05 AM EST

Update: Actual NCAA Bracket. Not a big surprise with my last two teams out (Wofford and Stony Brook) getting the nod over Lehigh and Richmond.

Week 12: It All Comes Down to This

Rest easy, auto-bids. Everyone else? Do your best to calm those nerves before ESPNU airs the selection show at 1:30 PM EST. It's supposed to be fun, right?

Quick Notes

• Wofford, Stony Brook? Eesh. It hurts to leave good teams out.

Sam's Cornhole Bags Team of the Week: Cal Poly
A win over fellow bubble team Northern Arizona on the final day earned Cal Poly a berth into the postseason. Mustang fans, order your green and gold cornhole bags at Sam's Cornhole Bags or use their team color generator to select from any other FCS team color combination! Check it out »

Breaking It Down

Selecting the Field
Every week's bracket is based on an "If the season ended today" mindset. The ten automatic bids are just that: automatic. Whichever team is atop the standings of each of the ten auto-bid conferences at the end of the week receives a bid. Expectedly, teams on top of conference standings early in the season often are not in the same spot come Selection Sunday. The other ten bids, the at-large selections, are simply the teams I believe to be the best remaining in the country. Keep in mind again this is not a prediction of what I think the brackets will look like in late November, but rather a collection of deserving teams week to week.

The Pairings
All first and second round match-ups in these brackets are my best attempts at mimicking what the committee would do with the chosen 20 teams while adhering to these rules:

• Seeding the top five teams and spacing them accordingly across the bracket
• Avoiding first round match-ups with teams from the same conference (Note: The round of 16 is now the "second round")
• Creating geographically-friendly match-ups that follow the NCAA's 400-mile limitations when possible
• Giving home field advantage to schools that historically have made winning bids

"This is garbage..."

Comments? I'm itching to hear your praise/raging hatred. Sound off to erik@nobowls.com and let me know what's on your mind.