Getty Easton Stick and the North Dakota State Bisons are the reigning FCS champions.
The eight teams still standing in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision will become four this weekend during the FCS quarterfinals.
On Friday, No. 2 Weber State takes on No. 7 Maine (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2). On Saturday, the other three quarterfinal games are played: No. 1 North Dakota St vs. No. 8 Colgate (Noon ET; ESPN2), No. 4 Kennesaw State vs. No. 5 South Dakota St (2 p.m. ET; ESPN3), and No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 6 UC Davis (4 p.m. ET; ESPN3).
If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of all the games on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including all the ESPN channels. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the ESPN2 games on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app. The ESPN3 games can be watched on ESPN’s digital platforms (more info on that below).
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
ESPN and ESPN2 are included in the “Sling Orange” bundle. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the ESPN2 games on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app. The ESPN3 games can be watched on ESPN’s digital platforms (more info on that below).
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
ESPN Platforms
Additionally, you can also watch a live stream of all the games on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
For the ESPN2 games, you’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your Hulu or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the ESPN digital platforms.
For the ESPN3 games, you can watch without a cable log-in as long as you’re signed in to a participating Internet Service Provider. Again, if that doesn’t work for you, you can sign up for Hulu or Sling TV and use those credentials to log-in and watch.
Preview
The North Dakota State Bison are the unquestioned favorites of the tournament, and they have been for years. Not only will the undefeated squad be looking to repeat as FCS champions, they’re going for their seventh title in eight seasons.
The top-seeded Bison, who score an FCS-leading 42.1 points per game, will host the No. 8 Colgate Raiders on Saturday.
Colgate linebacker T.J. Holl welcomes the challenge of spoiling NDSU’s dynasty.
“We like to say when we get recruited and we come here, our staff likes to say that we come here to play against the best and to compete at the highest level,” Holl told The Post-Standard. “Now we get to go and play in one of the coolest atmospheres in college football against the defending champ. I don’t know if could ask for much more than that. We’re just very excited.”
Colgate surrendered the fewest points per game in the FCS, at a paltry seven. They held opponents to three or fewer points seven times, including five shutouts. But the team surrendered 48 points across their last two games, more than they gave up in their other contests combined.
Raiders head coach Dan Hunt will need his defense to step up if Colgate is to have any chance against what he called “the gold standard of our level of football.”
“It’s not always pretty and it might not make great television all the time,” Hunt told The Post-Standard. “But if you can run the ball and play great defense, you’re in any game. That’s what we try to do,” Hunt said. “And I know that’s what they do. If our defense can play like they have and create turnovers and we don’t beat ourselves, it starts zero-zero. We’re going to have a great chance.”
The Raiders and their stout defense impress Bison quarterback Easton Stick.
“They’re fun to watch, they play really hard, that’s the big thing,” Stick told the Grand Forks Herald. “Really, really hard. They tackle really well. They’re just an experienced group. They know each other’s fits, you don’t see people miss fits or miss tackles and they force an unbelievable amount of turnovers.”
The No. 2 Weber State Wildcats will host the No. 7 Maine Black Bears on Friday night to kick the quarterfinals off. Two hours after the noon ET kickoff for Saturday’s Bison–Raiders matchup, the No. 4 Kennesaw State Owls will host the No. 5 South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The No. 3 Eastern Washington Eagles and No. 6 UC Davis Aggies will close the round out at 4 pm ET.