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FCS Playoff Preview: Yale Bulldogs (8-2) at Youngstown State Penguins (8-4)

Kickoff: Youngstown State and Yale have never faced each other in football, so both teams will be entering unfamiliar territory on Saturday. Youngstown State University was founded in 1908 but did not field a football team until 1938 — 11 years after Yale won its 18th, and most recent, national championship. The Bulldogs earned this playoff birth after beating rival Harvard, 45-28 last weekend to win the Ivy League.
Here are three keys to the game for the Bulldogs.

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FCS Playoff Preview: Harvard Crimson (9-1) at Villanova Wildcats (9-2)

Kickoff: Harvard earned an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs after going 9-1 in the regular season and tying for first place in the Ivy League standings with a 6-1 record. The Crimson won their first nine games of the season — the first seven by 21 points or more — before they fell to Yale, 45-28, in the 141st edition of The Game in the regular season finale. This is the first season that Ivy League teams are eligible for the FCS playoffs. The conference will be represented by both Yale and Harvard in the bracket.
Here are three keys to the game.

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FCS Playoff Preview: New Hampshire Wildcats (8-4) at South Dakota State Jackrabbits (8-4)

Kickoff: The New Hampshire Wildcats got an at large playoff birth after finishing 8-4. It is the 17th playoff appearance for the Wildcats in the past 21 years. Traveling to South Dakota State to play a Jack Rabbits team that has been one of the best in the country in recent years won’t be easy.

Here are three keys for the Wildcats

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FCS Playoff Preview: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (8-4) at Rhode Island Rams (10-2)

Kickoff: Rhode Island is hosting Central Connecticut State in the FCS playoffs for the second straight year. The Rams survived to advance against the Blue Devils last season. Both teams learned from that experience and are battle tested this time around. Expect another tight game that will come down who gets the key stops in the fourth quarter.

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Ranking the UMass FBS-Era teams from worst to best

By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff Another disastrous season has come and gone for the UMass Minutemen. Since the decision to elevate from the FCS to the FBS in 2010, it’s been nothing but pain, anguish, and frustration for all those associated with the program. From their first season of actual FBS play in 2012 through present day, the Minutemen’s record stands at a putrid 26-132. The fact that on any…

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