Live updates for the 2023 FCS football playoffs
Recapping the first round of the FCS playoffs
FCS playoff action returned as the first round of the tournament kicked off Saturday, Nov. 25 with a full slate of games. Check out the results below:
- Sacramento State 42, North Dakota 35
- Delaware 36, Lafayette 34
- Richmond 49, North Carolina Central 27
- Chattanooga 24, Austin Peay 21
- Mercer 17, Gardner-Webb 7
- Southern Illinois 35, Nicholls 0
- North Dakota State 66, Drake 3
- Youngstown State 40, Duquesne 7
The winners of the first round games face awaiting opponents in the second round next Saturday, Dec. 3. Here are the matchups:
All times Eastern. All games airing on ESPN+ unless otherwise listed.
- 12 p.m. | Youngstown State at No. 8 Villanova
- 12 p.m. | Richmond winner at No. 5 UAlbany
- 1 p.m. | Chattanooga winner at No. 7 Furman
- 2 p.m. | Mercer winner at No. 1 South Dakota State
- 2 p.m. | Sacramento State at No. 3 South Dakota
- 3 p.m. | North Dakota State winner at No. 6 Montana State
- 9 p.m. | Delaware winner at No. 2 Montana
- 10 p.m. |Southern Illinois winner at No. 4 Idaho | ESPN2
Click or tap here for the full bracket
Game-winning field goal sends Chattanooga to the second round
Chattanooga Clayton Crile kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give Chattanooga the 24-21 win over Austin Peay. The Mocs trusted Crile with the game and he redeemed himself after going 0-2 (one kick was blocked) to start the game. Click or tap here for complete stats from the game.
AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE!!!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kMf4jG3eZd
— Chattanooga Football (@GoMocsFB) November 25, 2023
With the win, Chattanooga advances to play No. 7 Furman in the second round of the playoffs next week.
Mercer wins first FCS playoff game
Mercer made its first FCS playoff appearance in 2023 and it picked up its first FCS playoff win, 17-7 over Gardner-Webb. Mercer quarterback Carter Peevy broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and from there, the defense did the rest. Mercer grabbed three interceptions in the win. Click or tap here for complete stats from the game.
Carter Peevy 72-yards to the house‼️ @TruistNews@Cpeev7 has wheels! 💨
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 25, 2023
Q2 | 9:18
Mercer 14, Gardner-Webb 0#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/WUuW5L9MV1
With the win, Mercer advances to play No. 1 South Dakota State in the second round of the playoffs next week.
Richmond handles North Carolina Central
Richmond defeated North Carolina Central 49-27. The Spiders fell behind 20-7 in the second quarter before scoring four straight touchdowns to take a 35-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
While North Carolina Central quarterback Davius Richard would score his fourth touchdown of the day to make it a one-possession game with 9:54 to play, two Richmond standouts Jerry Garcia Jr. and Savon Smith scored late touchdowns to put the game away. Richmond's 49 points in the win are the most it's ever scored in an FCS playoff game. Click or tap here for complete stats from the game.
With the win, Richmond advances to play No. 5 UAlbany in the second round of the playoffs next week.
Delaware rallies to beat Lafayette
Delaware fell down 28-7 in the second quarter with its third-string freshman quarterback in the first round against Lafayette. After a touchdown before halftime, the Blue Hens pulled off a comeback for the ages.
Delaware scored four straight touchdowns to grab a 33-28 lead in the fourth quarter behind three touchdowns from quarterback Nick Minicucci. However, Lafayette didn't go away quietly, with running back Jamar Curtis scoring a go-ahead touchdown — his fourth — with 07:25 to play. The Blue Hens responded with a 13-play, 73-yard drive to kick a game-winning field goal. Click or tap here for complete stats from the game.
With the win, Delaware advances to play No. 2 Montana in the second round of the playoffs next week.
Sacramento State outlasts North Dakota in shootout
Sacramento State defeated North Dakota 42-35 in a high-scoring battle. The Hornets came out strong taking a 28-14 lead into halftime. However, the Fighting Hawks fought back with 14 straight points in the third quarter to tie the game at 28 entering the final frame.
After the schools traded scores to start the fourth quarter, Sacramento State quarterback Kaiden Bennett continued his big day with a clutch fourth quarter drive. Bennett went 3-for-3 passing for 40 yards and ran for 19 yards before scoring a go-ahead four-yard touchdown run. That would be all she wrote as the Hornets held on for the game. Click or tap here for complete stats from the game.
Bennett completed 77 percent of his passes, gained 333 total yards and scored three touchdowns in the win. With the victory, Sacramento State advances to play No. 3 South Dakota in the second round of the playoffs next week.
Pair of wild touchdowns highlight early slate
Two wild touchdowns from North Carolina Central and Delaware highlight the 2 p.m. games.
North Carolina Central scored the longest touchdown of the FCS playoffs — so far — as quarterback Davius Richard found wide receiver Devin Smith for a 91-yard touchdowns.
ALL THE WAY 🤯#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @NCCU_Football pic.twitter.com/Xe9oJZuQey
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 25, 2023
Delaware running back Marcus Yarns got a direct snap, dropped the ball and then scooped it up and found the end zone for a one-yard score.
Exactly how they drew it up...right 🤷♂️#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @Delaware_FB pic.twitter.com/PqaEmzrywr
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 25, 2023
Sacramento State-North Dakota halftime update
The first game of the 2023 FCS playoffs has reached halftime. Sacramento State leads North Dakota 28-14 after two quarters. Sacramento State quarterback Kaiden Bennett has 104 passing yards and 105 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. The Hornet defense grabbed a key interception from Ben Ahio.
Big man INT 🥹@SacHornetsFB’s defense steps up on the road #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/iCOtKaT7JT
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) November 25, 2023
Click or tap here for live stats and scores from the game. See the first half stats below.
🎥 First touchdown of the FCS playoffs
Sacramento State scored the first points of the 2023 FCS playoffs as quarterback Kaiden Bennett ran in for a one-yard touchdown.
Early start 💪#FCS x 🎥 ESPN+ / @SacHornetsFB pic.twitter.com/AD3bWepF4h
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 25, 2023
🗓️ First round FCS playoffs: Schedule, scores, how to watch
The FCS playoffs begin on Saturday, Nov. 25 with eight first round games starting at 1 p.m. ET. See a complete game schedule below.
| Game (Click for Live Stats) | Time (ET) | Location | WATCH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento State 42, North Dakota 35 | 1 p.m. | Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND |
ESPN+ |
| Delaware 36, Lafayette 34 | 2 p.m. | Delaware Stadium Newark, DE |
ESPN+ |
| Richmond 49, North Carolina Central 27 | 2 p.m. | Robins Stadium Richmond, VA |
ESPN+ |
| Chattanooga 24, Austin Peay 21 | 3 p.m. | Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN |
ESPN+ |
| Mercer 17, Gardner-Webb 7 | 3 p.m. | Five Star Stadium Macon, GA |
ESPN+ |
| Southern Illinois 35, Nicholls 0 | 3 p.m. | Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL |
ESPN+ |
| North Dakota State 66, Drake 3 | 3:30 p.m. | Fargodome Fargo, ND |
ESPN+ |
| Youngstown State 40, Duquesne 7 | 5 p.m. | Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH |
ESPN+ |
Here's some quick facts to know about each game.
- Sacramento State at North Dakota
- North Dakota is 6-0 at home this year, winning nearly 80% of its games at the Alerus Center all time.
- However, Sacramento State has won its last two games in Grand Forks in 2013 and 2017.
- Lafayette at Delaware
- Lafayette running back Jamar Curtis is fourth in the FCS with 1,333 rushing yards.
- Delaware is 12-4 in first round FCS playoff games, only using once in the 21st century.
- North Carolina Central at Richmond
- North Carolina Central is 3-0 against CAA opponents this season.
- Richmond enters the FCS playoffs on a six-game win streak.
- Chattanooga at Austin Peay
- When Chattanooga takes the field in the playoffs, its last win will have came 35 days prior.
- Austin Peay quarterback Mike DiLiello has thrown for 3,057 yards, the third-most in the FCS.
- Gardner-Webb at Mercer
- Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb was the quarterbacks coach at Mercer from 2014-2017.
- Mercer is making its first ever FCS playoff appearance.
- Nicholls at Southern Illinois
- Nicholls head coach Tim Rebowe was an assistant coach on Nicholls staff when the Colonels played Southern Illinois in their two prior meetings in 1995 and 1997.
- Southern Illinois has the fourth-best total defense at 284.1 yards allowed per game and the seventh-best scoring defense in the FCS at 17.27 points per game.
- Drake at North Dakota State
- Drake is 0-2 against MVFC teams this year, getting outscored by an average margin of 55.5 points. However, the Bulldogs hold a 2-1 all-time series lead over North Dakota State.
- This is the first time North Dakota State is playing in the first round of the FCS playoffs (in the fall) since 2010.
- Duquesne at Youngstown State
- Duquesne is making its third FCS playoff appearance all-time and its win in 2018 is one of two FCS playoff wins by an NEC program (Wagner in 2012).
- Youngstown State is making its first FCS playoff appearance since advancing to the 2016 FCS Championship game.
Up next
The winners of the first round games face awaiting opponents in the second round next Saturday, Dec. 2. Here are the matchups:
All times Eastern. All games airing on ESPN+.
- 12 p.m. | Youngstown State at No. 8 Villanova
- 12 p.m. | Richmond winner at No. 5 UAlbany
- 1 p.m. | Chattanooga winner at No. 7 Furman
- 2 p.m. | Mercer winner at No. 1 South Dakota State
- 2 p.m. | Sacramento State at No. 3 South Dakota
- 3 p.m. | North Dakota State winner at No. 6 Montana State
- 9 p.m. | Delaware winner at No. 2 Montana
- 10 p.m. |Southern Illinois winner at No. 4 Idaho
9 NFL prospects to watch in the first round of the FCS playoffs
Before the FCS playoffs starts, let's look at some FCS players who could go from playing on Saturday to playing on Sundays. Here are some NFL prospects to watch in the first round of the playoffs.
FCS bracket predictions 🔮
The 2023 FCS football playoff bracket is in. NCAA Digital's Stan Becton predicts the bracket team by team from the first round through the championship.
2023 NCAA Division I Football Championship Field Announced
The field of 24 teams competing for the 2023 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee.
MORE: See more on the 2023 FCS playoff field selections
The 2023 championship field consists of 10 automatic qualifiers and 14 at-large qualifiers. Team pairings are determined primarily according to geographical proximity.
Teams from the same conference will not be paired for first round games. (except for teams from the same conference that did not play against each other during the regular season; such teams may play each other in the first round).
Click or tap here to view the bracket
Bottom half of bracket revealed
The bottom half of the FCS playoff bracket has been revealed. The following at-large teams earned a spot in the top half of the bracket:
- Sacramento State
- North Dakota
- North Dakota State
- Chattanooga
- Delaware
Top half of the bracket revealed
The top half of the FCS playoff bracket has been revealed. The following at-large teams earned a spot in the top half of the bracket:
- Mercer
- Youngstown State
- North Carolina Central
- Richmond
- Southern Illinois
