FCS Playoffs 2017: Dates, Schedule, Teams, Bracket and More

The James Madison Dukes rolled to a remarkable 11-0 record this season, and that was good enough to earn them the top seed in the FCS playoffs.

It's not a surprise that North Dakota State (10-1) is the second seed in the tournament. The two have combined to win the last six FCS championships.

North Dakota State should be a team on a mission since the Bison were eliminated from title contention a year ago by JMU in the semifinals. North Dakota State had won every title from 2011 through 2015.

The Dukes are making their fourth straight playoff appearance, and they have a powerful defense that leads the country in scoring average (9.0 points per game) and yards allowed (228.2).

The remaining top eight seeds are No. 3 Jacksonville State (10-1), No. 4 Central Arkansas (10-1), No. 5 South Dakota State (9-2), No. 6 Sam Houston State (10-1), No. 7 Wofford (9-2) and No. 8 Southern Utah (9-2).

James Madison has a bye until the second round, and the Dukes could have a challenging matchup. They will play either Southern Utah or the winner of the Weber State-Western Illinois matchup. Weber and Western have both been climbing in the rankings recently.

Weber State finished with the same record as Southern Utah, but the Wildcats lost a head-to-head matchup with the Thunderbirds to account for why they are the lower seed.

Western Illinois finished in the Missouri Valley Conference, but that's not a reason to downgrade the Leathernecks since that conference is likely the strongest in the FCS by a wide margin.

The FCS championship game will be played January 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Here's a look at the first- and second-round matchups in the FCS bracket (all times ET):

Saturday, November 25

Stony Brook at Lehigh, 2 p.m.

Weber State at Western Illinois, 4 p.m.

Kennesaw State at Samford, 2 p.m.

Nicholls State at South Dakota, 4 p.m. 

Saturday, Dec. 2

Stony Brook-Lehigh winner at James Madison, 2 p.m.

Weber State-Illinois winner at Southern Utah, 8 p.m.

Kennesaw State-Samford winner at Jacksonville State, 2 p.m.

Nicholls State-South Dakota winner at Sam Houston State, 3 p.m.