INDIANAPOLIS – The field of 24 teams competing for the 2017 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced Sunday by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee. Southern Conference champion and automatic qualifier Wofford is the No. 7 national seed and will receive a first-round bye. Furman and Samford earned at-large selections to the field.
The Southern Conference put multiple teams in the field for the third straight season and the 30th time in the last 36 seasons.
Wofford went 9-2 with a 7-1 SoCon mark during the regular season, winning its fifth league championship and first since 2012. The Terriers, making their second straight FCS playoff appearance, have been ranked in the top 10 nationally in all but the preseason national polls this season. Wofford earned a national seed and first-round bye for the first time since 2012. The Terriers will host either Elon or Furman at 2 p.m. Dec. 2. Wofford beat Furman 24-23 in both teams’ season opener on Sept. 2, intercepting a 2-point conversion attempt in the final minute of play to secure the win.
Furman went 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the league to earn its first FCS berth since 2013. The Paladins, who were picked seventh in the preseason SoCon poll but entered the final day of the regular season with a chance to clinch a share of the league title, won seven straight after opening the season 0-3 before wrapping up the regular season with a 26-20 loss at No. 13 Samford.
The Paladins will travel to Elon, North Carolina, for a Nov. 25 rematch against Elon, which beat Furman 34-31 on a field goal with five seconds left on Sept. 9. Neither team was ranked at the time but both have worked their ways into the national polls since then. The Phoenix went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Colonial, dropping its final two games to No. 16 New Hampshire and No. 1 James Madison.
Samford will also have a rematch in its first-round matchup, as the Bulldogs will hit the road to face Kennesaw State on Nov. 25. The Bulldogs, making their second straight FCS playoff appearance and third since 2013, topped Kennesaw State 28-23 to open the season on Aug. 31. Samford went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the SoCon this season, topping all three ranked FCS opponents it faced in No. 5 Wofford, No. 11 The Citadel and No. 24 Furman.
Kennesaw State is 10-1 and won the Big South with a 5-0 mark. The Owls, in just their third season of existence, are making their first FCS playoff appearance. KSU has won 10 straight since that season-opening loss to Samford and debuted in the national rankings on Oct. 30. The Samford/Kennesaw State winner advances to face No. 3 national seed Jacksonville State on Dec. 2.
Defending national champion James Madison University (11-0) tops the bracket as the No. 1 seed after winning the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes are making their fourth straight and 14th overall appearance in the championship.