The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff will be a new experience for many teams that never participated in the four-team version. The potential for multiple postseason games means a lot more planning, travel and activity.
For teams in the Championship Subdivision, this is familiar ground.
Travel, fatigue and unfamiliar opponents make for hectic weeks of preparation, and the travel — sometimes three time zones' worth — can cut into that time to get ready to play.
“We have cut back. This is week 14 for us – 12 games, one playoff and one open week,” said UT Martin coach Jason Simpson, whose Skyhawks won 41-10 at 16th-seeded New Hampshire on Saturday and will leave Friday for Bozeman to play top-seeded Montana State the next day.
“It’s hard. These aren’t professional players," Simpson said.
Major college football adding a true tournament feels new, but teams in the FCS have been at it for the past 46 years, dating to the split of Division I. Like the CFP, the FCS bracket started small, with four teams in 1978, but was expanded to eight teams in 1981 and in 1982 to 12 teams, including byes for the top four.
There have been 24 teams in the FCS playoffs since 2013, except for the pandemic season, with 16 seeds and eight teams enjoying a bye week before the grind.
Simpson's program is appearing in the playoffs for just the third time. Going on the road to face the top seed, which is making its 14th appearance, has benefits and drawbacks, Simpson said.
“Our kids are excited,” Simpson said., adding that he's used the Bobcats and other FCS powerhouses as a measuring stick all season. “One of the things I use at practice every day is, `Is this practice good enough to beat the Montana States or North Dakota States of the world?'
“Well, guess what? You get to find out on Saturday,” he said. “The scoreboard will tell you.”
This Saturday's slate also has Montana, making its 28th playoff appearance, playing at South Dakota State, which beat the Grizzlies 23-3 in last year's national championship game.
Backing off a bit at practice is almost a necessity, Grizzlies coach Bobby Hauck said.
“These seasons are getting longer and longer," he said. “We’re starting earlier and earlier, recruiting is getting crammed into the summer more and more and then you jump into the season and you’re looking at how many games.”
“It used to be that you played an 11-game schedule and that was it," he added, noting the season can extend another month if a team has success in the playoffs.
The Grizzlies won national championships in 1995 and 2001 and will go to Brookings, South Dakota, as the 14th seed facing the third-seeded and two-time defending national champions.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” he said because of the program's history. “However, that’s good pressure. You don’t want to be in a place where that’s not a realistic goal.”
Villanova is another program that will have to go a long way for this week's game. The 11th-seeded Wildcats are heading to San Antonio to face the sixth seed, Incarnate Word.
Coach Mark Ferrante said practices may be shortened “a little bit” this week to ease the fatigue of a long season, and he hopes a hostile environment will actually be good for the Wildcats.
“I think sometimes our guys like playing away, especially if it’s a crowded stadium because there’s just a little more excitement in the air whether they’re cheering for you or against you,” he said.
Lehigh, coming off a 20-18 win at ninth-seeded Richmond, will travel to Idaho to face the eighth-seeded Vandals, and coach Kevin Cahill said practices will be less physical this week. The NCAA-provided charter plane is a bonus, too, as is having another game to play.
“To play this time of year, you’re okay with it. You figure it out.” he said.