The Central Connecticut State football team will make its third-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs, as the Blue Devils will travel to No. 10 Rhode Island for a first-round matchup Saturday Nov. 30 at noon.
CCSU defeated No. 19 Duquesne, 21-14 this past Saturday to win the Northeast Conference title and earn the league’s automatic bid to the playoffs.
Central (7-5, 5-1/NEC) won four straight games to close out the season and clinch its seventh NEC title. CCSU is 7-3 against FCS opponents this season, with those three losses by a combined eight points. It also lost games to FBS opponents Central Michigan and UMass.
Rhode Island (10-2, 7-1/CAA) won the Coastal Athletic Association and earned that league’s automatic bid. The winner of Saturday’s game will face No. 7 Mercer, which received a first-round bye, in the second round.
Montana State (12-0) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the FCS playoffs, with North Dakota State, South Dakota State, South Dakota, UC-Davis, Incarnate Word, Mercer and Idaho also receiving byes in the 14-team tournament.
Central, which also competed in the playoffs in 2017 and 2019, would have to win five games to take home the FCS national championship.
You can view the full bracket, which was released Sunday, on the NCAA’s official website.