Bobcats still No. 1 to FCS playoff committee

The Division I Football Championship Committee had its midseason meeting this week and decided: The defending champion Montana State Bobcats aren’t going anywhere.

The Bobcats, 6-1 and ranked No. 3 in the media and coaches polls after a 56-20 win at Eastern Washington, top the committee’s first Top-10 rankings, which were released a little after noon on Tuesday in ESPN2’s College Football Live. 

The committee used results through Oct. 17; these in-season rankings offer a snapshot of where the committee thinks the top eight seeds (and first-round byes) will land. 

The playoff bracket will be seeded down to 16, increasing the importance of the last two teams ranked by the committee. 

Two Big Sky teams are among the top 7: Northern Arizona, which fell to MSU 28-14 on Sept. 26 before winning its last three — including a 49-44 win over then-No. 2 Montana on Oct. 10 — is No. 7. 

The 24-team FCS playoff bracket will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 22, the day after the 126th Brawl of the Wild between the Montana Grizzlies and Bobcats, in Bozeman. 

Here are the rankings: 

Rk. School    W-L

1. Montana State    6-1 

2. Tarleton State    7-0 

3. Youngstown State    6-2 

4. Stephen F. Austin    7-0 

5. South Dakota State    5-2 

6. North Dakota    6-2 

7. Northern Arizona    6-2 

8. South Dakota    6-2 

9. Austin Peay    6-2 

10. Harvard    5-0 

Also receiving votes: Illinois St. (5-2), Lehigh (6-1), Tennessee Tech (6-1).