2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season#NCAA Division I playoff bracket
{{short description|American college football season}}
{{for|the FCS season contested during fall 2020/spring 2021|2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAA Division I FCS season
| year = 2021
| image = NCAA logo.svg
| image_caption =
| number_of_teams = 128
| regular_season = August 28 – November 27
| playoffs = November 27 – December 18
| nc_date = January 8, 2022
| championship = Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
| champions = North Dakota State
| payton = Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington
| buchanan = Isaiah Land, DL, Florida A&M
}}
The 2021 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.
After the prior season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, resulting in some conferences canceling their seasons and significant rescheduling by other conferences, the 2021 season returned to its traditional fall scheduling. The season ended with a single-elimination tournament, with the championship game held on January 8, 2022 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won its ninth championship in eleven seasons, defeating Montana State, 38-10, for the title.
Notable headlines
- September 4 – In Kevin Kelley's debut as head coach of Presbyterian, Ren Hefley threw for 10 touchdowns in the Blue Hose's 84–43 win over NAIA member St. Andrews, breaking the previous FCS record of 9 first set in 1984 by Willie Totten of Mississippi Valley State and equaled in 2007 by Drew Hubel of Portland State. Blue Hose backup quarterback Tyler Huff added 2 TD passes to set a new Division I team record (for both FCS and FBS) of 12, surpassing the previous record of 11 thrown by David Klingler of Houston against Eastern Washington in 1990.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32148386/presbyterian-blue-hose-qb-ren-hefley-sets-fcs-td-pass-record-season-opener |title=Presbyterian Blue Hose QB Ren Hefley sets FCS TD pass record in season-opener |agency=Associated Press |website=ESPN.com |date=September 4, 2021 |access-date=September 4, 2021}}
- November 12 – The Utah Legislature approved changing the name of FCS member Dixie State University to Utah Tech University, effective in the 2022–23 academic year.{{cite news|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50281001/utah-legislature-passes-dixie-state-name-change |title=Utah Legislature passes Dixie State name change |first=Ashley |last=Imlay |publisher=KSL-TV |date=November 10, 2021 |accessdate=November 13, 2021}}
FCS team wins over FBS teams
September 2: UC Davis 19, Tulsa 17
September 3: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, No. 20 Washington 7
September 4: East Tennessee State 23, Vanderbilt 3
September 11: Duquesne 28, Ohio 26
September 11: Jacksonville State 20, Florida State 17
September 18: Incarnate Word 42, Texas State 34
September 18: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19
November 6: Rhode Island 35, UMass 22
November 13: Maine 35, UMass 10
Conference changes and new programs
- The Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had last played football in the 2012 season as an FBS league, reinstated football for the 2021 season at the FCS level.{{cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/2021/01/14/as-wac-conference-announces-addition-of-5-schools-frisco-based-southland-conference-left-in-no-mans-land/ |title=As WAC announces addition of 5 schools, Frisco-based Southland Conference left in no man’s land |first=Sam |last=Blum |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=January 18, 2021}}{{cite press release|url=https://wacsports.com/general/2020-21/releases/20210113xbg9zk |title=WAC Announces Expansion, Plans to Reinstate Football |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=January 15, 2021}} The ASUN Conference also announced in 2021 that it would sponsor FCS football in the future.
- Because WAC and ASUN programs reclassifying from Division II could not be counted toward the minimum of six members required for a conference champion to be an automatic qualifier (AQ) for the FCS postseason, the two conferences pooled their seven members with active FCS programs in 2021 (four WAC, three ASUN) to form the WAC–ASUN Challenge, a temporary league also referred to as the AQ7.{{cite press release|url=https://asunsports.org/sports/fball/2020-21/releases/20210223bff9nn |title=ASUN, WAC Conferences Announce Football Partnership for 2021 |publisher=ASUN Conference |date=February 23, 2021 |access-date=February 23, 2021}}{{cite press release|url=https://asunsports.org/sports/fball/2020-21/releases/20210222nmh2xm |title=From the Commissioner's Desk: @ASUN_Football Update |publisher=ASUN Conference |date=February 23, 2021 |access-date=February 23, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.krqe.com/sports/ncaa-football/fcs-college-football-2021-aq7-preview/ |title=FCS college football 2021: AQ7 preview |agency=Stats Perform |website=KRQE |date=August 20, 2021 |access-date=September 5, 2021}}
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| School | 2020-21 conference | 2021 conference |
|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:center;" | ||
| style="text-align:center;" | Southland | WAC–ASUN Challenge |
| style="text-align:center;" | MEAC | SWAC |
| style="text-align:center;" | Southland | WAC–ASUN Challenge |
| style="text-align:center;" | FCS Independent | WAC |
| style="text-align:center;" | Ohio Valley | WAC–ASUN Challenge |
| style="text-align:center;" | MEAC | SWAC |
| style="text-align:center;" | Ohio Valley | rowspan="2" | WAC–ASUN Challenge |
| style="text-align:center;"
| Lamar | Southland | |
| style="text-align:center;" | MEAC | Big South |
| style="text-align:center;" | FCS independent | Pioneer |
| style="text-align:center;" | MIAC (D-III) | Pioneer (FCS) |
| style="text-align:center;" | rowspan="2" | Southland | rowspan="2" | WAC–ASUN Challenge |
| style="text-align:center;" | ||
| style="text-align:center;" | FCS Independent | WAC |
{{notelist|group=schedule}}
Conference standings
| cellpadding="5"
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Big Sky Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Big South Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Colonial Athletic Association football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Ivy League football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Northeast Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Ohio Valley Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Patriot League football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Pioneer Football League standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Southern Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Southland Conference football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 WAC–ASUN Challenge football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{2021 Western Athletic Conference football standings}} |
Playoff qualifiers
= Automatic berths for conference champions =
= At large qualifiers =
= Abstentions =
Postseason
After the prior season's playoffs were reduced to a 16-team bracket, FCS returned to a 24-team bracket for this season: 11 of the teams were decided via automatic bids issued to conference champions (listed above) and 13 teams were determined via at-large bids; the top eight teams were seeded.{{cite web |url=https://herosports.com/fcs-football-predicting-2021-playoff-bracket-bzbz/ |title=Predicting The 2021 FCS Playoff Bracket |first=Sam |last=Herder |website=herosports.com |date=August 9, 2021 |access-date=September 5, 2021}}
=Bowl game=
=NCAA Division I playoff bracket=
{{24TeamBracket-Byes2|compact=y|nowrap=y
| RD1=First Round
November 27
Campus sites
| RD2=Second Round
December 3/4
Campus sites
| RD3=Quarterfinals
December 10/11
Campus sites
| RD4=Semifinals
December 17/18
Campus sites
| RD5=National Championship
January 8
12:00 pm EST
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
| RD1-team1 =Stephen F. Austin
| RD1-score1=28
| RD1-team2 =Incarnate Word
| RD1-score2=35
| RD1-seed1=
| RD1-seed2=
| RD1-team3 ={{nowrap|UT Martin}}
| RD1-score3=32
| RD1-team4 =Missouri State
| RD1-score4=31
| RD1-seed3=
| RD1-seed4=
| RD1-team5 =Sacred Heart
| RD1-score5= 10
| RD1-team6 =Holy Cross
| RD1-score6=13
| RD1-seed5=
| RD1-seed6=
| RD1-team7 =UC Davis
| RD1-score7=24
| RD1-team8 =South Dakota State
| RD1-score8=56
| RD1-seed7=
| RD1-seed8=
| RD1-team9 =Florida A&M
| RD1-score9 =14
| RD1-team10 =Southeastern Louisiana
| RD1-score10=38
| RD1-seed9=
| RD1-seed10=
| RD1-team11 =Northern Iowa
| RD1-score11= 9
| RD1-team12 =Eastern Washington
| RD1-score12=19
| RD1-seed11=
| RD1-seed12=
| RD1-team13 =Davidson
| RD1-score13=21
| RD1-team14 =Kennesaw State
| RD1-score14=48
| RD1-seed13=
| RD1-seed14=
| RD1-team15 ={{nowrap|Southern Illinois}}
| RD1-score15= 22
| RD1-team16 =South Dakota
| RD1-score16= 10
| RD1-seed15=
| RD1-seed16=
| RD2-seed1 = 1
| RD2-team1 = Sam Houston State
| RD2-score1= 49
| RD2-team2 = Incarnate Word
| RD2-score2= 42
| RD2-seed3 = 8
| RD2-team3 = Montana State
| RD2-score3= 26
| RD2-team4 = UT Martin
| RD2-score4= 7
| RD2-seed5 = 5
| RD2-team5 = Villanova
| RD2-score5= 21
| RD2-team6 = Holy Cross
| RD2-score6= 16
| RD2-seed7 = 4
| RD2-team7 = Sacramento State
| RD2-score7= 19
| RD2-team8 = South Dakota State
| RD2-score8= 24
| RD2-seed9 = 3
| RD2-team9 = James Madison
| RD2-score9 = 59
| RD2-team10 = Southeastern Louisiana
| RD2-score10= 20
| RD2-seed11 = 6
| RD2-team11 = Montana
| RD2-score11= 57
| RD2-team12 = Eastern Washington
| RD2-score12= 41
| RD2-seed13 = 7
| RD2-team13 = East Tennessee State
| RD2-score13= 32
| RD2-team14 = Kennesaw State
| RD2-score14= 31
| RD2-seed15 = 2
| RD2-team15 = North Dakota State
| RD2-score15= 38
| RD2-team16 = {{nowrap|Southern Illinois}}
| RD2-score16= 7
| RD3-seed1 = 1
| RD3-team1 = Sam Houston State
| RD3-score1= 19
| RD3-seed2 = 8
| RD3-team2 = Montana State
| RD3-score2= 42
| RD3-seed3 = 5
| RD3-team3 = Villanova
| RD3-score3= 21
| RD3-seed4 =
| RD3-team4 = South Dakota State
| RD3-score4 =35
| RD3-seed5 = 3
| RD3-team5 = James Madison
| RD3-score5= 28
| RD3-seed6 = 6
| RD3-team6 = Montana
| RD3-score6= 6
| RD3-seed7 = 7
| RD3-team7 = East Tennessee State
| RD3-score7= 3
| RD3-seed8 = 2
| RD3-team8 = North Dakota State
| RD3-score8= 27
| RD4-seed1 = 8
| RD4-team1 = Montana State
| RD4-score1= 31
| RD4-seed2 =
| RD4-team2 = South Dakota State
| RD4-score2= 17
| RD4-seed3 = 3
| RD4-team3 = James Madison
| RD4-score3= 14
| RD4-seed4 = 2
| RD4-team4 = North Dakota State
| RD4-score4= 20
| RD5-seed1 = 8
| RD5-team1 = Montana State
| RD5-score1=10
| RD5-seed2 = 2
| RD5-team2 = North Dakota State
| RD5-score2=38
}}
Rankings
{{main|2021 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings}}
The top 25 from the Stats Perform and USA Today Coaches Polls.
=Pre-season polls=
| style="vertical-align:top;"
| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=2| Stats Perform |
| Ranking
!Team |
|---|
| 1
| align=left| Sam Houston State (39) |
| 2
| align=left| James Madison (8) |
| 3
| align=left| South Dakota State (4) |
| 4
| align=left| North Dakota State |
| 5
| align=left| Delaware |
| 6
| align=left| Weber State |
| 7
| align=left| Southern Illinois |
| 8
| align=left| North Dakota |
| 9
| align=left| Montana |
| 10
| align=left| Jacksonville State |
| 11
| align=left| Eastern Washington |
| 12
| align=left| Montana State |
| 13
| align=left| Monmouth |
| 14
| align=left| Central Arkansas |
| 15
| align=left| Southeastern Louisiana |
| 16
| align=left| Villanova |
| 17
| align=left| VMI |
| 18
| align=left| Chattanooga |
| 19
| align=left| Kennesaw State |
| 20
| align=left| Austin Peay |
| 21
| align=left| Northern Iowa |
| 22
| align=left| Nicholls |
| 23
| align=left| UC Davis |
| 24
| align=left| Missouri State |
| 25
| align=left| North Carolina A&T |
|
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!colspan=2| USA Today Coaches |
| Ranking
!Team |
|---|
| 1
| align=left|Sam Houston State (18) |
| 2
| align=left|James Madison (9) |
| 3
| align=left|North Dakota State |
| 4
| align=left|South Dakota State (1) |
| 5
| align=left|Delaware |
| 6
| align=left|Weber State |
| 7
| align=left|North Dakota |
| 8
| align=left|Jacksonville State |
| 9
| align=left|Montana |
| 10
| align=left|Southern Illinois |
| 11
| align=left|Montana State |
| 12
| align=left|Monmouth |
| 13
| align=left|Central Arkansas |
| 14
| align=left|Eastern Washington |
| 15
| align=left|Villanova |
| 16
| align=left|Northern Iowa |
| 17
| align=left|Southeastern Louisiana |
| 18
| align=left|Chattanooga |
| 19
| align=left|VMI |
| 20
| align=left|Kennesaw State |
| 21
| align=left|UC Davis |
| 22
| align=left|Richmond |
| 23
| align=left|Nicholls |
| 24
| align=left|North Carolina A&T |
| 25
| align=left|Austin Peay |
|}
=Final rankings=
| class="wikitable" |
| |Rank
!colspan'"1"|Coaches' Poll{{cite web|title=[FCS Poll] North Dakota State ends 2021 at No. 1 in the AFCA Top 25|url=https://www.afca.com/north-dakota-state-ends-2021-at-no-1-in-the-afca-top-25/|publisher=AFCA|access-date=January 10, 2022}} |
|---|
| 1
| North Dakota State (14–1) (50) | North Dakota State (14–1) (24) |
| 2
| Montana State (12–3) | Montana State (12–3) |
| 3
| James Madison (12–2) | James Madison (12–2) |
| 4
| South Dakota State (11–4) | Sam Houston State (11–1) |
| 5
| Sam Houston State (11–1) | South Dakota State (11–4) |
| 6
| Montana (10–3) | Montana (10–3) |
| 7
| Eastern Washington (10–3) | East Tennessee State (11–2) |
| 8
| Villanova (10–3) | Villanova (10–3) |
| 9
| East Tennessee State (11–2) | Eastern Washington (10–3) |
| 10
| Sacramento State (9–3) | Kennesaw State (11–2) |
| 11
| Kennesaw State (11–2) | Sacramento State (9–3) |
| 12
| Incarnate Word (10–3) | UT Martin (10–3) |
| 13
| UT Martin (10–3) | Incarnate Word (10–3) |
| 14
| Missouri State (8–4) | Missouri State (8–4) |
| 15
| Southeastern Louisiana (9–4) | Southeastern Louisiana (9–4) |
| 16
| Southern Illinois (8–5) | UC Davis (8–4) |
| 17
| UC Davis (8–4) | Southern Illinois (8–5) |
| 18
| South Dakota (7–5) | Stephen F. Austin (8–4) |
| 19
| Holy Cross (10–3) | Jackson State (11–2) |
| 20
| Dartmouth (9–1) | South Dakota (7–5) |
| 21
| Stephen F. Austin (8–4) | Princeton (9–1) |
| 22
| Jackson State (11–2) | Holy Cross (10–3) |
| 23
| Northern Iowa (6–6) | Dartmouth (9–1) |
| 24
| Princeton (9–1) | Florida A&M (9–3) |
| 25
| Florida A&M (9–3) | Northern Iowa (6–6) |
Kickoff games
The regular season began with three games on Saturday, August 28:
- Indiana State 26, Eastern Illinois 21
- MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta: North Carolina Central 23, Alcorn State 14
- San Jose State (FBS) 45, Southern Utah 14
Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the Stats Perform Poll.
- Week 3
- No. 3 James Madison defeated No. 9 Weber State, 37–24 (Stewart Stadium, Ogden, Utah)
- Week 5
- No. 6 Eastern Washington defeated No. 4 Montana, 30–24 (Roos Field, Cheney, Washington)
- No. 5 North Dakota State defeated No. 10 North Dakota, 16–10 (Alerus Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota)
- Week 6
- No. 8 Southern Illinois defeated No. 2 South Dakota State, 42–41 OT (Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, South Dakota)
- Week 10
- No. 4 Montana State defeated No. 5 Eastern Washington, 23–20 (Roos Field, Cheney, Washington)
- No. 9 South Dakota State defeated No. 2 North Dakota State, 27–19 (Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, South Dakota)
- Week 11
- No. 7 Eastern Washington defeated No. 6 UC Davis, 38–20 (UC Davis Health Stadium, Davis, California)
- Week 12
- No. 6 Montana defeated No. 3 Montana State, 29–10 (Washington–Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, Montana)
Upsets
This section lists instances of unranked teams defeating ranked teams during the season.
=Regular season=
During the regular season, 33 unranked teams have defeated a ranked team.
- September 4, 2021:
- Furman 29, No. 25 North Carolina A&T 18
- September 11, 2021:
- Merrimack 35, No. 24 Holy Cross 21
- September 25, 2021
- Holy Cross 45, No. 20 Monmouth 15
- Eastern Kentucky 35, No. 19 Austin Peay 27
- UT Martin 34, No. 9 Jacksonville State 31
- October 2, 2021
- Elon 20, No. 22 Richmond 7
- The Citadel 35, No. 18 VMI 24
- October 9, 2021
- Idaho State 27, No. 7 UC Davis 17
- South Dakota 20, No. 13 North Dakota 13
- Youngstown State 41, No. 16 Missouri State 33
- October 16, 2021
- Dartmouth 38, No. 23 New Hampshire 21
- Chattanooga 21, No. 10 East Tennessee State 16
- Sacramento State 28, No. 5 Montana 27
- Stony Brook 34, No. 14 Delaware 17
- Towson 28, No. 12 Rhode Island 7
- October 22, 2021
- Columbia 19, No. 25 Dartmouth 0
- October 23, 2021
- Weber State 35, No. 2 Eastern Washington 34
- Illinois State 20, No. 15 South Dakota 14
- McNeese State 28, No. 16 Incarnate Word 20
- October 30, 2021
- William & Mary 31, No. 4 Villanova 18
- Maine 45, No. 24 Rhode Island 24
- November 5, 2021
- Dartmouth 31, No. 20т Princeton 7
- November 6, 2021
- Portland State 30, No. 24 Weber State 18
- Delaware 24, No. 20т William & Mary 3
- Illinois State 17, No. 13 Northern Iowa 10 OT
- Stephen F. Austin 31, No. 25 Eastern Kentucky 17
- November 13, 2021
- Alcorn State 31, No. 24 Prairie View A&M 29
- Furman 37, No. 21 VMI 31
- Mercer 10, No. 22т Chattanooga 6
- November 20, 2021
- Southeast Missouri State 31, No. 13 UT Martin 14
- Nicholls 45, No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana 42
- Youngstown State 35, No. 17 Southern Illinois 18
- Elon 43, No. 25 Rhode Island 28
Coaching changes
=Preseason and in-season=
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2021. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2021, see 2020 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Team
!Outgoing coach !Date !Reason !Replacement |
|---|
| Stetson
| May 7, 2021 |
| Colgate
| {{sortname|Dan|Hunt|dab=American football}} | May 17, 2021 | {{sortname|Stan|Dakosty}} |
| LIU
| {{sortname|Bryan|Collins}} | June 29, 2021 | {{sortname|Jonathan|Gill|dab=American football}} (interim) |
| Alabama State
| {{sortname|Donald|Hill-Eley}} | November 1, 2021 | {{sortname|Travis|Pearson}} (interim) |
| Jacksonville State
| {{sortname|John|Grass|dab=American football}} | November 6, 2021 | {{sortname|Maxwell|Thurmond}} (interim) |
| Grambling State
| {{sortname|Broderick|Fobbs}} | November 15, 2021 | {{sortname|Terrence|Graves|dab=American football}} (interim) |