FCS Playoffs Betting Odds & Bracket: How to Watch & Wager On the 2021 College Football Championship

FCS Playoffs Betting Odds & Bracket: How to Watch & Wager On the 2021 College Football Championship article feature image
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Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: The North Dakota State Bison.

  • Playoff football will gloriously return to our television screens this weekend when the FCS kicks off its postseason on Saturday, April 24.
  • No. 2 seed Sam Houston will kick the tournament off at 12 p.m. ET, while No. 1 seed South Dakota State and historical powerhouse North Dakota State will take the field in separate matchups later in the day.
  • Check out how the tournament will work, along with updated odds for the playoffs below.

Playoff football is officially back.

The 2021 FCS Playoffs Selection Show took place on Sunday morning as the bracket for the spring championship was revealed.

THE BRACKET 😍🏆#FCSPlayoffs ➡️ https://t.co/0CXs30yPG4pic.twitter.com/Ho5ZuMDRQx

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) April 18, 2021

The field, which was cut down to 16 teams from the usual 24 this season, features 10 automatic qualifiers via conference championships and six at-large bids.  The top-four seeds include:

  1. South Dakota State (5-1), Missouri Valley
  2. Sam Houston (6-0), Southland
  3. James Madison (5-0), CAA
  4. Jacksonville State (9-2), Ohio Valley

The field also includes historical powerhouse North Dakota State, which has won eight of the last nine FCS titles and leads the country with eight national titles.

The first round of action begins on Saturday, April 24 when No. 2 Sam Houston hosts Monmouth at 12 p.m. ET.

Following that game, No. 3 James Madison (-15.5) will take on VMI while No. 4 Jacksonville State (-20.5) kicks off against Davidson at 2 p.m. ET.

Then, games start kicking off every half hour for an afternoon full of football. No. 1 South Dakota State (-24.5) faces Holy Cross at 3 p.m. ET, North Dakota State (-6.5) battles Eastern Washington at 3:30 p.m. ET, and Weber State-Southern Illinois (Weber State -4) and North Dakota-Missouri State (North Dakota -8) take place at 4 p.m. ET.

To round things out, Delaware (-19.5) will host Sacred Heart in the nightcap at 7 p.m. ET. All eight games can be seen on ESPN3.

The tournament continues with four quarterfinal games on May 1-2 before the semifinals on May 8. The semifinal games will be televised on ABC, ESPN, and/or ESPN2.

Finally, one team will reach spring football glory when the championship takes place on Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. ET in Frisco, Texas. The final game of the FCS Playoffs is set to be broadcast on ABC.

First Round FCS Playoffs Odds
12 p.m. ET#2 Sam Houston (-9.5) vs. Monmouth | O/U: 60.5 (via FanDuel)
2 p.m. ET#3 James Madison (-15.5) vs. VMI | O/U: 46.5
2 p.m. ET#4 Jacksonville State (-20.5) vs. Davidson | O/U: 42.5
3 p.m. ET#3 South Dakota State (-24.5) vs. Holy Cross | O/U: 45.5
3:30 p.m. ETNorth Dakota State (-6.5) vs. Eastern Washington | O/U: 56
4 p.m. ETWeber State (-4) vs. Southern Illinois | O/U: 47.5
4 p.m. ETNorth Dakota (-8) vs. Missouri State | O/U: 44.5
7 p.m. ETDelaware (-19.5) vs. Sacred Heart | O/U: 42.5
Odds as of Tuesday evening and via DraftKings.
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About the Author
Pete Ruden graduated from the University of Iowa in 2020 with a degree in journalism and mass communications and sports studies. He spent four years working at The Daily Iowan, the school's independent student newspaper, serving in sports reporting and editing roles. In addition to his work at The Action Network, Pete has written for Sports Illustrated's Hawkeye Maven and the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

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