2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season
{{Short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox NCAA Division I FCS season
| year = 2018
| image = NCAA logo.svg
| image_caption =
| number_of_teams = 125
| regular_season = August 25 – November 17
| playoffs = November 24 – December 15
| nc_date = January 5, 2019
| championship = Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
| champions = North Dakota State
| payton = Devlin Hodges, QB, Samford
| buchanan = Zach Hall, LB, Southeast Missouri State
}}
The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 5, 2019, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State claimed its second consecutive FCS title, and seventh in eight years, defeating Eastern Washington, 38-24.
Notable headlines
- June 13 – Major changes to redshirt rules in Division I football (both FBS and FCS) were approved by the NCAA Division I Council. From the 2018 season forward, players could participate in as many as four games in a given season while still retaining redshirt status.{{cite press release|url=https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-football-offer-more-participation-opportunities |title=DI football to offer more participation opportunities |publisher=NCAA |date=June 13, 2018 |access-date=July 27, 2018}}
- September 15 – Hurricane Florence caused unprecedented disruption to college football schedules. For FCS teams alone, the storm forced the cancellation of six games (Elon at William & Mary, Savannah State at Howard, Tennessee State at Hampton, Presbyterian at Stetson, Walsh (D-II) at Jacksonville, and Colgate at Furman) and the rescheduling of nine others.{{cite web|last1=Adelson|first1=Andrea |title=UNC, NC State, Va. Tech called due to Florence|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24644315/hurricane-florence-impacts-college-football-games-carolinas-virginia|publisher=ESPN|access-date=September 12, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Football Cancels Game against Stetson |url=http://www.gobluehose.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211771657&DB_OEM_ID=18100&_ga=2.208847514.90819769.1536855038-479974086.1516366204 |website=GoBlueHose.com |publisher=Presbyterian College |access-date=September 13, 2018}}{{cite web |title=NCAAF College Football Scores - FCS Week 3 |url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/scoreboard/_/group/81/year/2018/seasontype/2/week/3 |publisher=ESPN |access-date=September 14, 2018 }}
- October 27 – Central Connecticut's Aaron Dawson ran for 308 yards in the second half, a record for a half throughout Division I, and 361 yards overall to lead the Blue Devils to a 49–24 win over Wagner.{{cite news|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25101020/ccsu-aaron-dawson-sets-record-308-rushing-yards-half |title=CCSU's Aaron Dawson sets record with 308 rushing yards in a half |publisher=ESPN |date=October 27, 2018 |access-date=October 27, 2018}}
- November 17 – In the final game of his college career, Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges set a new FCS record for career passing yardage, surpassing late Alcorn State and NFL great Steve McNair in the Bulldogs' 38–27 win over East Tennessee State. Hodges finished his career with 14,584 yards.{{cite news|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25304719/devlin-hodges-samford-bulldogs-sets-fcs-career-passing-record |title=Devlin Hodges notches FCS mark with 14,584 career passing yards |publisher=ESPN |date=November 17, 2018 |access-date=November 17, 2018}}
FCS team wins over FBS teams
(FCS rankings from the STATS poll, FBS rankings from the AP poll.)
August 30: UC Davis 44, San Jose State 38
September 1: No. 18 Nicholls 26, Kansas 23 OT
September 1: Northern Arizona 30, UTEP 10
September 1: No. 19 Villanova 19, Temple 17
September 2: No. 14 North Carolina A&T 28, East Carolina 23
September 8: No. 22 Maine 31, Western Kentucky 28
September 22: No. 16 Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19
Conference changes and new programs
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| School | 2017 conference | 2018 conference |
|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:center;" | ||
| style="text-align:center;"
| Campbell | Pioneer | Big South |
| style="text-align:center;"
| Hampton | MEAC | FCS Independent |
| style="text-align:center;"
| Idaho | Sun Belt (FBS) | Big Sky |
| style="text-align:center;"
| Liberty | Big South | FBS Independent |
| style="text-align:center;" | Gulf South (D–II) | rowspan="2" | FCS Independent |
| style="text-align:center;" | Big Sky |
Conference standings
| cellpadding="5"
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Big Sky Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Big South Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Colonial Athletic Association football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Ivy League football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Northeast Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Patriot League football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Pioneer Football League standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Southern Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Southland Conference football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2018 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings}} |
Conference summaries
=Championship games=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:50px"|Conference
!style="width:120px"| Champion !style="width:100px"| Runner-up ! style="width:60px;"|Score !style="width:200px"|Offensive Player of the Year !style="width:200px"|Defensive Player of the Year !style="width:200px"|Coach of the Year |
|---|
| SWAC
| Alcorn State | Southern | 37–28 | Noah Johnson | De’Arius Christmas | Fred McNair |
=Other conference winners=
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| Conference
!Champion !Record !Offensive Player of the Year !Defensive Player of the Year !Coach of the Year |
|---|
| Big Sky
| Eastern Washington | 9–2 (7–1) | Jake Maier | Jay-Tee Tiuli | Aaron Best |
| Big South
| 10–1 (5–0) | Chandler Burks | Anthony Gore, Jr. | Brian Bohanon |
| CAA
| Maine | 8–3 (7–1) | Tom Flacco | Jimmy Moreland | Joe Harasymiak |
| Ivy
| 10–0 (7–0) | John Lovett | Isiah Swann | Bob Surace |
| MEAC
| 9–2 (6–1) | Caylin Newton | Darryl Johnson Jr. | Sam Washington |
| MVFC
| 11–0 (8–0) |Easton Stick | Jabril Cox |
| NEC
| 8–3 (5–1) | A. J. Hines | Cam Gill | Mark Nofri |
| OVC
| 8–3 (7–1) | Marquis Terry | Zach Hall | Tom Matukewicz |
| Patriot
| Colgate | 9–1 (6–0) | James Holland, Jr. | T. J. Hill | Dan Hunt |
| Pioneer
| 9–2 (8–0) | Anthony Lawrence | Nathan Clayberg |
| Southern
| East Tennessee State | 8–3 (6–2) | Isaiah Mack | Randy Sanders |
| Southland
| 6–4 (6–2) | Jazz Ferguson | B. J. Blunt | Eric Morris |
{{reflist|group=a}}
Playoff qualifiers
=Automatic berths for conference champions=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
!Conference !Team ! data-sort-type="number" |Appearance !Last bid !Result | ||||
| Big Sky Conference | Weber State | 7th | 2017 | Quarterfinals (L – James Madison) |
| Big South Conference | Kennesaw State | 2nd | 2017 | Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State) |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Maine | 8th | 2013 | Second Round (L – New Hampshire) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | North Dakota State | 9th | 2017 | National Champions (W – James Madison) |
| Northeast Conference | Duquesne | 2nd | 2015 | First Round (L – William & Mary) |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Jacksonville State | 9th | 2017 | Second Round (L – Kennesaw State) |
| Patriot League | Colgate | 11th | 2015 | Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State) |
| Pioneer Football League | San Diego | 4th | 2017 | Second Round (L – North Dakota State) |
| Southern Conference | Wofford | 9th | 2017 | Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State) |
| Southland Conference | Nicholls | 5th | 2017 | First Round (L – South Dakota) |
=At large qualifiers=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
!Conference !Team ! data-sort-type="number" |Appearance !Last bid !Result | ||||
| rowspan=3| Big Sky Conference | Eastern Washington | 13th | 2016 | Semifinals (L – Youngstown State) |
| UC Davis | 1st | – | ||
| Montana State | 9th | 2014 | First Round (L – South Dakota State) | |
| rowspan=5| Colonial Athletic Association | Delaware | 16th | 2010 | Championship Game (L – Eastern Washington) |
| Elon | 3rd | 2017 | First Round (L – Furman) | |
| James Madison | 15th | 2017 | Championship Game (L – North Dakota State) | |
| Stony Brook | 4th | 2017 | Second Round (L – James Madison) | |
| Towson | 3rd | 2013 | Championship Game (L – North Dakota State) | |
| rowspan=2| Missouri Valley Football Conference | Northern Iowa | 20th | 2017 | Second Round (L – South Dakota State) |
| South Dakota State | 8th | 2017 | Semifinals (L – James Madison) | |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Southeast Missouri State | 2nd | 2010 | Second Round (L – Eastern Washington) |
| Southern Conference | East Tennessee State | 2nd | 1996 | Quarterfinals (L – Montana) |
| rowspan=2| Southland Conference | Incarnate Word | 1st | – | |
| Lamar | 1st | – |
=Abstentions=
Postseason
=Bowl game=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" |
| Date
!Game !Site !Television !Participants !Affiliations !Results |
|---|
| December 15
|Mercedes-Benz Stadium |ABC |North Carolina A&T Aggies (9–2) |North Carolina A&T 24 |
=NCAA Division I playoff bracket=
{{24TeamBracket-Info|nowrap=y
| RD1=First Round
November 24
Campus sites
ESPN3
| RD2=Second Round
December 1
Campus sites
ESPN3
| RD3=Quarterfinals
December 7/8
Campus sites
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3
| RD4=Semifinals
December 14/15
Campus sites
ESPN2
| RD5=National Championship
| RD1-seed1=
| RD1-team1 = Montana State
| RD1-score1 =35
| RD1-seed2 =
| RD1-team2 = Incarnate Word
| RD1-score2 =14
| RD1-seed3=
| RD1-team3= James Madison
| RD1-score3=20
| RD1-seed4=
| RD1-team4= Delaware
| RD1-score4=6
| RD1-seed5=
| RD1-team5= Wofford
| RD1-score5= 19
| RD1-seed6=
| RD1-team6= Elon
| RD1-score6= 7
| RD1-seed7=
| RD1-team7= Towson
| RD1-score7= 10
| RD1-seed8=
| RD1-team8= Duquesne
| RD1-score8= 31
| RD1-seed9=
| RD1-team9= SE Missouri State
| RD1-score9= 28
| RD1-seed10=
| RD1-team10= Stony Brook
| RD1-score10= 14
| RD1-seed11=
| RD1-team11= Jacksonville State
| RD1-score11=34
| RD1-seed12=
| RD1-team12= ETSU
| RD1-score12=27
| RD1-seed13=
| RD1-team13 = Nicholls
| RD1-score13 = 49
| RD1-seed14=
| RD1-team14 = San Diego
| RD1-score14 = 30
| RD1-seed15=
| RD1-team15= Northern Iowa
| RD1-score15= 16
| RD1-seed16=
| RD1-team16= Lamar
| RD1-score16= 13
| RD2-seed1= 1
| RD2-team1= North Dakota State
| RD2-score1= 52
| RD2-seed2 =
| RD2-team2 =Montana State
| RD2-score2 =10
| RD2-seed3 = 8
| RD2-team3 = Colgate
| RD2-score3 = 23
| RD2-seed4=
| RD2-team4=James Madison
| RD2-score4= 20
| RD2-seed5= 4
| RD2-team5= Kennesaw State
| RD2-score5= 13
| RD2-seed6=
| RD2-team6= Wofford
| RD2-score6= 10
| RD2-seed7= 5
| RD2-team7= South Dakota State
| RD2-score7= 51
| RD2-seed8=
| RD2-team8= Duquesne
| RD2-score8=6
| RD2-seed9= 2
| RD2-team9= Weber State
| RD2-score9= 48
| RD2-seed10=
| RD2-team10= SE Missouri State
| RD2-score10= 23
| RD2-seed11= 7
| RD2-team11= Maine
| RD2-score11= 55
| RD2-seed12=
| RD2-team12= Jacksonville State
| RD2-score12= 27
| RD2-seed13= 3
| RD2-team13= {{nowrap|Eastern Washington}}
| RD2-score13= 42
| RD2-seed14 =
| RD2-team14 = Nicholls
| RD2-score14 = 21
| RD2-seed15= 6
| RD2-team15= UC Davis
| RD2-score15= 23
| RD2-seed16=
| RD2-team16= Northern Iowa
| RD2-score16= 16
| RD3-seed1=1
| RD3-team1= North Dakota State
| RD3-score1=35
| RD3-seed2= 8
| RD3-team2= Colgate
| RD3-score2=0
| RD3-seed3= 4
| RD3-team3= Kennesaw State
| RD3-score3= 17
| RD3-seed4=5
| RD3-team4= South Dakota State
| RD3-score4=27
| RD3-seed5= 2
| RD3-team5= Weber State
| RD3-score5= 18
| RD3-seed6= 7
| RD3-team6= Maine
| RD3-score6= 23
| RD3-seed7= 3
| RD3-team7= {{nowrap|Eastern Washington}}
| RD3-score7= 34
| RD3-seed8= 6
| RD3-team8= UC Davis
| RD3-score8= 29
| RD4-seed1=1
| RD4-team1=North Dakota State
| RD4-score1=44
| RD4-seed2=5
| RD4-team2=South Dakota State
| RD4-score2=21
| RD4-seed3= 7
| RD4-team3= Maine
| RD4-score3=19
| RD4-seed4= 3
| RD4-team4= {{nowrap|Eastern Washington}}
| RD4-score4=50
| RD5-text1=January 5 – Toyota Stadium (ESPN2)
| RD5-seed1=1
| RD5-team1=North Dakota State
| RD5-score1=38
| RD5-seed2=3
| RD5-team2=Eastern Washington
| RD5-score2=24
}}
Pre-season international exhibitions
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:100px"|Date
!style="width:130px"|Name !style="width:150px"|Location !style="width:130px"|NCAA team !style="width:130px"|Hosting Team ! style="width:60px;"|Score |
|---|
| May 26, 2018
|Drake-China Ambassadors Bowl |China All-Stars |77–0 |
Kickoff games
One kickoff game was played during "Week Zero" on August 25:
- FCS Kickoff (Cramton Bowl, Montgomery): North Carolina A&T defeated Jacksonville State, 20–17
Awards and honors
=Walter Payton Award=
- The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding offensive player. Finalists:
- Chandler Burks (QB), Kennesaw State
- Devlin Hodges (QB), Samford
- Easton Stick (QB), North Dakota State
=Buck Buchanan Award=
- The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the year's most outstanding defensive player. Finalists:
- Zach Hall (LB), Southeast Missouri State
- Dante Olson (LB), Montana
- Derick Roberson (DE), Sam Houston State
=Jerry Rice Award=
- The Jerry Rice Award is given to the year's most outstanding freshman.
- Winner: Josh Davis (RB), Weber State
=Coaches=
Coaching changes
=Preseason and in-season=
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2018. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2018, see 2017 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| School
!Outgoing coach !Date !Reason !Replacement |
|---|
| Stephen F. Austin
| August 6 | Resigned | Jeff Byrd (interim) |
| Jackson State
| October 28 | Fired | John Hendrick{{efn|group="In-season coaching"|Interim for remainder of season; interim tag removed on November 28, 2018.}} |
{{notelist|group="In-season coaching"}}