As the FBS winds down the final version of its BCS system, the FCS is set to commence its Playoffs. Now in its 35th year, it's a pretty good model. So good, in fact, that the tournament is expanding to 24 teams this year.

The FCS seeds eight teams, all of whom get the benefit of a bye week while the first round is played. From there, the higher seed will have home field advantage until the Jan. 4 national championship game in Frisco, Texas, home of the MLS' FC Dallas. That home edge is a major boost to teams like No. 1 seed North Dakota State and No. 5 Maine, whose home field advantages are renowned across the country.

The favorite Cheap Jerseys

North Dakota State wins. They got five consecutive wins over FBS opponents and the last two national titles. They been there before, and nothing this season has suggested that they can get there again. If you heard of any FCS program the last few years, you heard of the Bison. They the Alabama Crimson Tide of the FCS postseason, and anyone else looking to figure into the mix will be an underdog.

This year, they won 24 21 at the Big 12's Kansas State and then beat up on most of their opponents the rest of the way. USA Today computer ranker Jeff Sagarin has the Bison ranked 25th among all Division I teams, ahead of six FBS schools currently ranked in the BCS' top 25. The Bison are known most of all for their defense, and this year they've allowed only 11.5 points per game. Senior quarterback Brock Jensen, last year's FCS postseason MVP, commands a run heavy offense that ranks No. 23 in yardage. 5 Maine? The Black Bears have never hosted a Playoffs game in Orono, but they will this season, when either Lafayette or New Hampshire treks up. They have one of the CAA top quarterbacks in Marcus Wasilewski (68.9 completion percentage) and a veteran team that could be their best in recent memory. If the 10 2 Black Bears ever had a shot, it was this season.

Fellow CAA squad No. 7 Towson entered the season with much higher expectations than Maine's, but they lost a bit of their cachet along the way. Even so, at 10 2, they have to be considered dangerous, and junior tailback Terrence West (1,865 yards rushing) has the talent to play at Cheap Hats any level. They won hesitate to try and ride West all the way to Frisco.

No. 3 Eastern Washington burst onto the scene just a few years ago, as they took a step forward from a good Big Sky program to one of the FCS elites. It is no surprise that they back, and they have the experience to hang around next month. Their offensive firepower is as good as anyone's (ask Oregon State), and they proven that they can play with the best in this field.

No. 2 Eastern Illinois scores points, grabbing everyone attention with a decisive win over FBS San Diego State early on. They have just one loss, to potential MAC champion NIU. The only other one loss team in the bracket is unseeded Wholesale Snapbacks Hats Fordham.

No. 8 Montana is a tough one to predict. They were rocked by a Northern Arizona team that didn't have any business beating them, but then narrowly lost to Eastern Washington late in the season. They stuttered in recent years, but they will be a tough out for North Dakota State should they match up in the quarterfinals.

Why the FCS Playoffs Wholesale Stitched Jerseys matter

by Brian Ewart

You have watched mid week MACtion. You will watch a bowl game named after a pizza chain, and you go to a big open air church to worship the gridiron on Saturday afternoons. You love college football.

While the FCS doesn hand out any crystal footballs and won crown the best team in the land, the other Division I postseason is still worth watching. The FCS champion has received votes in every final AP poll since 2009 (thanks Ray Ratto!) and will likely do so again. That champion probably will have knocked off a team from the FBS at some point this season there were 15 of those upsets this season and that isn a fluke.

In 2010, FCS James Madison knocked off a Virginia Tech team that would eventually find itself in the Orange Bowl. A year earlier, Villanova narrowly beat a Temple team that won nine games.

The talent gap isn as big as you think. Top FCS teams often bring on players who transfer out of FBS programs. Players like Fordham QB Michael Nebrich (UConn) and Delaware QB Trent Hurley (BGSU), bolster FCS rosters with FBS talent. Other athletes just fall through the cracks think of former Villanova running back Brian Westbrook, UMass Victor Cruz or Eastern Illinois Tony Romo as recent examples.

Offenses and defenses use similar schemes, and the pace of the game should look almost exactly the same to the viewer. This is meaningful and exciting football, where every team has more than just a minor bowl to play for. It isn't the SEC or the Big Ten, but every team left has a chance to win it all.

The dark horses NFL Jerseys Cheap

No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana NFL Jerseys Wholesale is perhaps the hottest team in the country, having beaten three top 25 (and two Playoffs) teams in the last four weeks. There's a lot of be said for playing well at the right time, and they certainly are. It's their first Playoffs appearance though, so how they handle the big stage remains to be seen.

You might argue that No. 6 McNeese St. is the best team that the Southland Conference has to offer, except for the 41 7 shellacking that SE Louisiana handed them, at home nonetheless. Still, the Cowboys can put up points in bunches with quarterback Zach Adkins at the helm of a balanced attack.

Some FCS fans may be wondering if Sam Houston State was given an at large bid on reputation. The Bearkats have made the FCS Championship two years in a row, and while they sputtered at the end of the regular season with two straight losses, they know how to win at this time of year.

Bethune Cookman gets it done with defense, boasting the No. 2 overall defense in the country. Not many teams at this level rely on their defensive unit.

Fordham hasn looked the same without quarterback Michael Nebrich, but the Rams have really turned the corner this season and should have enough in the tank to take on NEC champions Sacred Heart. The Walter Payton Award (an FCS version of the Heisman) candidate came back on Saturday to throw for 395 yards and five touchdowns, proving that he is ready for the postseason challenge. The Rams have not lost with a healthy Nebrich in the lineup, and they have a chance to surprise everyone this postseason.