The University of Richmond football team is checking the boxes one at a time.

Successfully defend the Coastal Athletic Association Football title. Check. Earn a spot in the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS Football Championship. Check.

Next, the Spiders will look for another first-round playoff win as they host Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University, which won a share of this year’s Patriot League football championship. 

The contest will take place at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern. It will be the fourth meeting all-time between Richmond and Lehigh, but it won’t be the last.

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In a mic-drop performance, Richmond rolled undefeated through its CAA slate this year (8-0), successfully defending the title it shared last year with UAlbany and Villanova. 

This time, however, Richmond must share the crown with Rhode Island. Though the Rams were 7-1 in CAA play, they were awarded a share of the title since their only conference loss was to Delaware, which is transitioning to the FBS level.

But the Spiders won’t be back next season to put the latest championship on the line. 

Instead, Richmond will be joining the Patriot League as an associate member in football, meaning Saturday’s showdown is just the beginning for the Spiders and Mountain Hawks. In fact, they’re also set to open the 2025 season together on Lehigh’s home turf.

But, first things first.

Richmond enters the first round of the 2024 FCS Playoffs at 10-2 overall, ranked No. 7 in the latest American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll and riding a 10-game winning streak that began after an 0-2 start to the season.

This is the Spiders’ first 10-win season since 2009 and third consecutive year in the playoffs. Though they did win the national title in 2008 and made semifinal appearances in 2007, 2015 and 2016, their hopes in 2022 and 2023 were squashed in the second round.

Richmond won its first-round game last year and then was bounced by CAA foe UAlbany, which advanced to the national semifinals, before losing to eventual national champion South Dakota State.

Lehigh earned the Patriot League’s automatic bid into the playoffs this year and will play in the postseason for the first time since 2017. The Mountain Hawks finished the 2024 regular season at 8-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play, sharing the title with Holy Cross. 

After the three previous meetings between Richmond and Lehigh, the Spiders hold a 2-1 advantage, winning in 2021 (31-3) and 2022 (30-6). The Mountain Hawks won the first time they faced off, a 24-23 nailbiter in the first round of the 1998 FCS Playoffs. 

The winner of this week's Lehigh-Richmond game will face Idaho, which earned a first-round bye for the 2024 playoffs.

How To Watch The Lehigh Football Vs. Richmond Playoff Game

The Lehigh vs. Richmond playoff football game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Highlights, breaking news and full coverage of the FCS playoffs will be available on FloFootball. 

Complete 2024 FCS Championship Schedule

• First round: Saturday, Nov. 30
• Second round: Saturday, Dec. 7
• Quarterfinals: Friday, Dec. 13 through Saturday, Dec. 14
• Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 21 
• National championship: Monday, Jan. 6 on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET

2024 FCS Football Playoff Bracket

View the teams that made the 2024 FCS playoffs bracket and see which teams will meet en route to the championship. 

The top eight seeds received byes into the second round. The remaining 16 teams will play in the first round Saturday.

First Round - Saturday, Nov. 30

All Times Eastern

• Noon - No. 12 Illinois State at Southeast Missouri State
• Noon - Central Connecticut State at No. 10 Rhode Island
• 1 p.m. - UT Martin at No. 16 New Hampshire 
• 2 p.m. - Lehigh at No. 9 Richmond
• 2 p.m. - Eastern Kentucky at No. 11 Villanova 
• 3 p.m. - Northern Arizona at No. 15 Abilene Christian
• 3 p.m. - Drake at No. 13 Tarleton State
• 10:15 p.m. - Tennessee State at No. 14 Montana | ESPN2

Second Round - Saturday, Dec. 7

All Times Eastern

• 2 p.m. | Winner of Eastern Kentucky/No. 11 Villanova at No. 6 UIW
• 2 p.m. | Winner of Central Connecticut State/No. 10 Rhode Island at No. 7 Mercer
• 2 p.m. | Winner of Tennessee State/No. 14 Montana at No. 3 South Dakota State
• 3 p.m. | Winner of UT Martin/No. 16 New Hampshire at No. 1 Montana State
• 3 p.m. |Winner of Northern Arizona/No. 15 Abilene Christian at No. 2 North Dakota State
• 3 p.m. | Winner of Drake/No. 13 Tarleton State at No. 4 South Dakota
• 4 p.m. | Winner of No. 12 Illinois State/Southeast Missouri State at No. 5 UC Davis
• 9 p.m. | Winner of Lehigh/No. 9 Richmond at No. 8 Idaho

The bracket is SET 🙌🏈#FCSPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/mCIWIC4lWZ

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 24, 2024

Here’s What The FCS Playoffs Look Like

The NCAA FCS Playoffs consist of 24 teams in a single-elimination bracket, including: 

• 10 automatic qualifiers: Teams automatically qualify for the 2024 playoffs by winning their conferences. The conferences include: ASUN-WAC, Big Sky, Big South-OVC, CAA, MVFC, NEC, Patriot, Pioneer, SoCon and Southland.
  
  
• 14 at-large bids: The FCS Playoff Committee determines which 14 teams advance to the playoffs based on a combination of overall record, record against Division I opponents, record against FBS opponents, head-to-head matchups and other comparative data.

How Are Teams Seeded For The FCS Playoffs?

Once the field is set, the committee seeds the top eight teams and submits them to the top eight pool. A team must receive at least 30% of the votes to be included in the seed pool.

Once that is complete, each member ranks the teams in the seed pool via poll vote. After review and further discussions, the seeds are finalized. 

These eight teams receive a first-round bye, while the remaining 16 are paired according to geographic proximity and placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity to the top eight seeds.

What Are The Top Conferences In The FCS?

Curious about the top performers and strongest conference within the FCS ranks? We’ve got you covered.

See the FCS conferences ranked using a unique system that was originally developed for chess.

AFCA Division I FCS Football Rankings

As of Nov. 24, 2024

Others Receiving Votes: Stony Brook, 44; Eastern Kentucky, 32; Drake, 29; Lehigh, 19; Dartmouth, 16; Harvard, 16; Central Connecticut State, 12; Chattanooga, 6; Butler, 4; Southeastern Louisiana, 4; Columbia, 2.

Archived Footage On FloFootball

Video footage from all events will be archived and stored in a video library for FloFootball subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

Watch The 2024 College Football Season On FloFootball 

FloFootball is the home of the best FCS, Division II and Division III football action all season long. 

Don’t miss the latest college football action by bookmarking the FloFootball schedule page for the latest games. 

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