After a one-year absence, the University of New Hampshire Wildcats are back in the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs and hoping their 18th appearance will be the lucky one.

UNH had an amazing run of consecutive postseason appearances from 2004 through 2017 but then stalled out. The Wildcats earned an at-large bid into the 24-team bracket this season and will be one of four Coastal Athletic Association Football teams in action this weekend.

The Wildcats will host the University of Tennessee at Martin at Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire, on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern. This will be the first meeting in history between the two programs.

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New Hampshire closed the regular season with a decisive 27-9 victory over Maine to cap a four-game winning streak that got the Wildcats to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in CAA play. They started the year at 4-4.

In 17 previous appearances in the FCS Playoffs, the Wildcats are 15-17, including consecutive trips to the national semifinals in 2013 and 2014. In their most recent opportunity in 2022, they defeated Fordham in the opening round (52-42) and then fell to Holy Cross (35-19).

The other CAA teams headed to the playoffs are Richmond, Rhode Island and Villanova. 

UT Martin also earned an at-large bid for the 2024 playoffs and enters the postseason at 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference. 

The Skyhawks won seven of the last eight games on their 2024 schedule, including a 33-26 overtime victory over Lindenwood on Nov. 23. 

Four of the conference’s nine teams finished at 6-2 in conference play, so UT Martin will share the title with Southeast Missouri, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State. All but Tennessee Tech advanced to the playoffs.

This will be the third playoff appearance for UT Martin, with the Skyhawks also making the bracket in 2006 and 2021. Their postseason record is 1-2. The win came against Missouri State in 2021. 

UT Martin landed in the No. 20 spot on the latest American Football Coaches Association FCS Coaches Poll, while New Hampshire jumped into the poll, landing at No. 24, after not being ranked in the previous edition.

The winner of the UT Martin-New Hampshire game will advance to face Montana State, which won the Big Sky Conference title and earned a first-round bye for the 2024 playoffs.

How To Watch The UT Martin Football Vs. New Hampshire Playoff Game

The UT Martin vs. New Hampshire 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 

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