Semifinals (Dec. 17/Dec. 18)
No. 3 JMU at No. 2 NDSU, 8:15 pm CT (ESPN2) - Friday
SDSU at No. 8 Montana State, 1 pm CT (ESPN2) - Saturday
number represents tournament seed, not national ranking
Semifinal Notebook (PDF)
The Power 5
In the past 11+ playoffs (2010-21), five leagues (Big Sky, CAA Football, MVFC, Southern and Southland) have combined to win 213 of 253 total games. The MVFC has 79 of those 213 wins (37 percent).
Against the FCS
Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have combined to go 23-4 against non-conference FCS teams this year. All four losses are to ranked FCS teams, all of which made the 2021 playoff field.
Against the Rest
The league is 127-81 in the NCAA FCS playoffs. Included in that overall record is a .500 or better performance against 10 of the 11 conferences faced.
Title Games, Consecutive Years
In the spring, South Dakota State extended the MVFC’s FCS-record to 10-straight title game appearances for the league. The CAA (5 in a row), OVC (4-straight) and SoCon (4 appearances in a row) are next on the list.
10 -- MVFC (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20-21)
5 -- CAA (2006, 07, 08, 09, 10)
4 -- OVC (1979, 80, 81, 82)
4 -- SoCon (1998, 99, 00, 01)
3 -- Big Sky (1994, 95, 96)
3 -- Big Sky (2008, 09, 10)
3 -- Southern (1991, 92, 93)
3 -- SoCon (2005, 06, 07)
Road Warriors
In the history of the FCS playoffs (since 1978) only 29 teams have won more than one road game in the playoffs during a single season, including SDSU this year. The Jacks are tied for the national lead with six road wins. Only one team (JMU in 2004) has won as many as three road playoff games the same year. The Dukes won the national title. Notably, home teams are 71.2 percent winners in the history of the playoffs (451-182), but MVFC schools have won 38.4 percent of the time in its road playoff games.
Dominance By Decade
The MVFC is 79-37 (.681) since 2010 in the playoffs -- which includes 15 intra-conference games (meaning the league is 64-22 against teams from other leagues). Only the CAA (51-42) and Southland (28-26) have a record above .500 during that span.
All-Time Semifinal Trips
Here’s a look at the leaders, by conference, since 1978 (first year of the playoffs).
33 - Big Sky Conference
31 - CAA Football
30 - Missouri Valley Football Conference
29 - Southern Conference
19 - Southland Conference
17 - Independents
10 - Ohio Valley Conference
Same-Season Semifinalists
Only six leagues have sent two teams to the semifinals in the same season, including the MVFC this year. The CAA has done it an FCS-record seven times, followed by the MVFC with six.
CAA (2004) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010) (2013) (2020)
MVFC (1999) (2014) (2016) (2017) (2018) (2021)
SoCon (1983) (1987) (2000) (2001) (2005)
Big Sky (1981) (1990) (1994) (2019)
OVC (1979)
Southland (1995)
Into the Semifinals
North Dakota State is making its 10th FCS semifinal appearance. The Bison advanced to an FCS-record nine straight semifinals from 2011-2019. NDSU is one of only three teams to reach the semis at least nine times.
Consecutive FCS Semifinal Appearances
9 - North Dakota State, 2011-2019
6 - Marshall, 1991-1996
5 - Georgia Southern, 1998-2002
4 - Eastern Kentucky, 1979-1982
4 - Youngstown State, 1991-1994
Most FCS Semifinal Appearances
13 - Georgia Southern
11 - Montana
10 - North Dakota State
8 - Delaware
8 - Youngstown State
Recent Playoff Success
The Missouri Valley Football Conference is 115-64 during the past 24+ years in the FCS playoffs (since 1997). That includes 17 intra-conference matchups, meaning the league is 98-47 against teams from other leagues during that span. An MVFC team (Illinois State-1; North Dakota State-8; South Dakota State-1; Youngstown State-1) has played in the FCS championship game for 10-straight tournaments, an FCS record.
76 Wins in Last 10+ Tourneys
Since 2011 (last 10+ championships), MVFC teams have won 76 tournament games and own 8 national titles. CAA Football is next best, with 45 total wins, followed by the Big Sky (30), the Southland (28), and Southern (16).
MVFC Earns Record Six Berths
For the first time in Conference history, six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have earned bids into the 24-team FCS playoff field. North Dakota State is the lone MVFC team to receive a seed as the Bison earned the No. 2 overall seed and will receive a first-round bye. Only one other conference in NCAA history has received six bids in a single playoff (CAA in 2018). The MVFC had received as many as five bids four times previously (2014, 2015, 2017, and this past spring). The Big Sky Conference also earned a league-record five bids for the first time.
Playoff Scorecard
Valley Football schools have combined to go 6-4 in the 2021 playoffs, which includes two intraconference matchups (the league is 4-2 against non-MVFC teams). The six wins are the most of any conference in the 2021 playoffs.