INDIANAPOLIS – The field of 24 teams competing for the 2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced Sunday by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee. Southern Conference champion and automatic qualifier Wofford is joined in the field by fellow SoCon champion ETSU, which earned an at-large selection.
The Southern Conference put multiple teams in the field for the fourth straight season and the 31st time in the last 37 seasons.
Wofford went 8-3 with a 6-2 SoCon mark during the regular season, winning a share of its sixth league championship and its second straight. The Terriers, making their third straight FCS playoff appearance and ninth overall, have been ranked in the top 15 nationally all season, peaking at No. 4. Wofford won four of its last five games, capping the regular season with a 45-21 win over Presbyterian on Saturday.
The Terriers will host Elon on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Gibbs Stadium. The Phoenix, which earned its second straight at-large selection and will make its third FCS playoff appearance, went 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon was ranked as high as fifth nationally this season.
The Wofford/Elon winner will advance to play No. 4 national seed Kennesaw State (10-1) on Dec. 1.
Like Wofford, ETSU also went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in league play, winning a share of its first-ever SoCon title after being picked eighth of nine teams in the preseason polls by both the coaches and media. The Bucs, whose six conference wins came by a combined 16 points, will be making their second FCS postseason appearance and first since 1996.
ETSU, which has been nationally ranked for the last seven weeks, will head to Jacksonville, Alabama, to take on Ohio Valley Conference champion Jacksonville State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. The Gamecocks, ranked as high as No. 4 this season, finished the regular season 8-3 overall and 7-1 in the OVC.
The winner of that contest will advance to face No. 7 national seed Maine (8-3) on Dec. 1.
Defending national champion North Dakota State (11-0) tops the bracket as the No. 1 seed after winning the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison have won six of the last seven national titles.
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