FCS Playoffs 2019: Round 2 Schedule, Bracket After Round 1 Results

The first round of the 2019 FCS playoffs was held Saturday with eight spots in next week's second round on the line.

Each of the top eight seeds received a bye straight into the second round, but there was still plenty of quality teams in action, including Monmouth, Central Connecticut State and Kennesaw State, all of which lost two or fewer games during the regular season.

Here is a full rundown of how every first-round playoff game played out Saturday, along with a look ahead at next week's second-round schedule.

FCS Playoffs Round 1 Results

Monmouth def. Holy Cross, 44-27

Albany def. Central Connecticut, 42-14

Illinois State def. Southeast Missouri State, 24-6

Northern Iowa def. San Diego, 17-3

Austin Peay def. Furman, 42-6

Nicholls State def. North Dakota, 24-6

Southeastern Louisiana def. Villanova, 45-44

Kennesaw State def. Wofford, 28-21

FCS Playoffs Round 2 Schedule

Monmouth vs. (2) James Madison; Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. ET

Albany vs. (5) Montana State; Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. ET

Illinois State vs. (8) Central Arkansas; Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. ET

Northern Iowa vs. (7) South Dakota State; Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. ET

Austin Peay vs. (4) Sacramento State; Dec. 7 at 9 p.m. ET

Nicholls State vs. (1) North Dakota State; Dec. 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Southeastern Louisiana vs. (6) Montana; Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. ET

Kennesaw State vs. (3) Weber State; Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. ET

FCS Playoffs Round 1 Recap

Monmouth 44, Holy Cross 27

At 10-2, Monmouth was a big favorite against a Holy Cross team that sneaked into the playoffs at 7-5.

While Holy Cross put up a fight, it was unable to contain Monmouth running back Pete Guerriero, who rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the Hawks' 44-27 win.

Holy Cross quarterback Matt Considine threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another, but he was intercepted once and fellow Crusaders quarterback Connor Degenhardt was picked off twice.

Monmouth racked up 502 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers, and those two factors largely ended up deciding the game.

Next week, Monmouth will face an 11-1 James Madison team whose only loss came in the season opener against FBS West Virginia by a 20-13 margin.

Albany 42, Central Connecticut State 14

Freshman quarterback Jeff Undercuffler enjoyed the game of his life in Albany's 42-14 upset win over Central Connecticut State on Saturday.

Undercuffler threw for 304 yards, six touchdowns and one interception in the victory. He was aided by a pair of 100-yard receivers in Jerah Reeves (134 yards, one touchdown) and Juwan Green (105 yards, two touchdowns) as well.

Central Connecticut State did run for 199 yards as a team, but Albany's quick-strike offense proved too much for the Blue Devils to handle.

The Blue Devils were 11-1 on the season entering Saturday's game with their only loss coming against FBS Eastern Michigan by a 34-29 score.

Albany was just 8-4, but thanks to the win over Central Connecticut State, the Great Danes will take on fifth-seeded Montana State next week.

Illinois State 24, Southeast Missouri State 6

Despite attempting just seven passes, Illinois State had its way with Southeast Missouri State in a 24-6 victory Saturday.

The Redbirds leaned on running back James Robinson, who rushed for 297 yards and one touchdown on 41 carries. Overall, Illinois State rushed for 340 yards in the win.

Southeast Missouri State couldn't get much of anything going offensively, and it failed to protect the ball, as quarterback Daniel Santacaterina threw two interceptions. Illinois State also won the time-of-possession battle 36:18-23:42.

Illinois State improved to 9-4 with the win, while the Redhawks fell to 9-4 and were eliminated from the playoffs.

The Redbirds will look to keep their ground game rolling next week when they take on eighth-seeded Central Arkansas in the second round.

Northern Iowa 17, San Diego 3

Northern Iowa led from wire to wire in a 17-3 defensive struggle against San Diego on Saturday, allowing the Panthers to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

While Northern Iowa gained just 268 yards of total offense, it held San Diego to 213 yards and also forced four turnovers. Three of the turnovers were interceptions thrown by quarterback Reid Sinnett.

The biggest interception of all occurred less than two minutes into the game, as defensive lineman Brawntae Wells picked off Sinnett and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.

Northern Iowa got just enough out of its offense in the second half to supplement that score, including a seven-yard touchdown run by running back Trevor Allen with less than three minutes remaining to seal the deal.

The 9-4 Panthers will move on to face seventh-seeded South Dakota State in the next round.

Austin Peay 42, Furman 6

Austin Peay turned in a dominant all-around performance Saturday in beating Furman 42-6 to advance to the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Quarterback JaVaughn Craig threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the win, and the Governors also rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns as a team.

The strong showing was not limited to the offensive side of the ball, as Austin Peay held the Paladins to just 227 yards of total offense and also forced three turnovers.

Austin Peay was penalized nine times for 90 yards, which is something that must get cleaned up moving forward, but it did not have much of an impact on Saturday's game.

Austin Peay will have an opportunity to play for a quarterfinal berth next week when it faces fourth-seeded Sacramento State.

Nicholls State 24, North Dakota 6

Nicholls State rushed for 316 total yards on North Dakota en route to their 18-point victory Saturday, led by sophomore running back Julien Gums' 172 yards on 16 carries.

Senior running back Dontrell Taylor was second to Gums with 95 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

As a result of that, senior quarterback Chase Fourcade only needed to complete 14 of 16 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Fourcade also rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown.

Contrastingly, North Dakota attempted just 14 rushes for 44 yards. Senior quarterback Nate Ketteringham was asked to throw the ball 47 times, completing 27 of his attempts for 269 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Facing top overall seed North Dakota State will require much more from Nicholls State, who went 2-of-8 on third downs and committed eight penalties.

North Dakota State has won the last two FCS championships and seven of the last eight dating back to 2011. The Bison are undefeated this season.

Southeastern Louisiana 45, Villanova 44

The Southeastern Louisiana Lions were on the winning end of Saturday's most exciting FCS action.

The Lions entered halftime down 31-14 to Villanova but tied the game at 31 with 4:16 left to go in the third quarter. It was a back-and-forth affair from there until SE Louisiana senior quarterback Chason Virgil hit CJ Turner for the eight-yard, game-winning touchdown.

Villanova would have one more possession but turned the ball over on downs with 54 seconds remaining in regulation.

Virgil finished the game with 474 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He had three receivers with at least 100 yards. Turner led all receivers with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches. Behind him were senior tight end Bransen Schwebel (six catches, 119 yards) and junior wide receiver Javon Conner (nine catches, 102 yards, one touchdown).

Villanova junior quarterback Daniel Smith had 283 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the loss, and the Wildcats rushed for 218 yards compared to SE Louisiana's 94.

SE Louisiana will face sixth-seeded Montana in the second round.

Kennesaw State 28, Wofford 21

The game was tied at 14 to begin the fourth quarter, but Kennesaw State took an unsurmountable 28-14 lead thanks to sophomore running back Jonathan Murphy.

Murphy first punched in a one-yard touchdown to help put the Owls up 21-14 before ripping off a 61-yard touchdown to help extend the lead to 28-14.

Wofford answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jimmy Weirick to sophomore wide receiver T.J. Luther to help cut the deficit to seven points, but it was too late.

Kennesaw State prevailed despite junior quarterback Tommy Bryant throwing for just 41 yards on 3-of-4 passing. Murphy carried the team with 206 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, and the Owls rushed for 309 yards total. Meanwhile, Wofford recorded 282 total yards of offense.

Kennesaw State will likely need a better performance out of Bryant against third-seeded Weber State in the second round, though.