2023 FCS playoff preview - Can anyone stop South Dakota State - ESPN

South Dakota State is making things look awfully easy in college football's second subdivision. After weathering one of the sport's most dynastic recent runs from a bitter rival — North Dakota State's nine FCS titles from 2011 to 2021 — the Jackrabbits finally had their moment, rolling to the 2022 national title. They've won 25 games in a row with only three one-score finishes. In their first season under Jimmy Rogers after John Stiegelmeier's retirement, they've barely been challenged.

The Jacks are an overwhelming favorite to win a second title in a row. At the start of the FCS playoffs, SP+ gives the Jacks a 57% chance of winning the title. That leaves just 43% for the other 23 teams.

Can anyone stop a runaway Jackrabbit? Twenty-three teams will try, and with the top eight seeds receiving a bye, 16 begin their playoff journeys Saturday.

Saturday's first-round games:

• Sacramento State at North Dakota (1 p.m.). SP+ projection: UND by 6.4

• NC Central at Richmond (2 p.m.). SP+ projection: Richmond by 4.8

• Lafayette at Delaware (2 p.m.). SP+ projection: Delaware by 8.9

• Gardner-Webb at Mercer (3 p.m.). SP+ projection: Mercer by 9.1

• Nicholls at Southern Illinois (3 p.m.). SP+ projection: SIU by 18.1

• Chattanooga at Austin Peay (3 p.m.). SP+ projection: APSU by 7.9

• Drake at North Dakota State (3:30 p.m.). SP+ projection: NDSU by 34.8

• Duquesne at Youngstown State (5 p.m.). SP+ projection: YSU by 19.2

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: The more you get to know college football's long tail, and the more you immerse yourself into things beyond the sport's 10-12 blue bloods, the better you feel about college football. The FCS playoffs are glorious, even if we think we know in advance who's going to