Armour: From 24 teams to 1, FCS knows about playoffs

Nancy Armour | USA TODAY Sports

FRISCO, Texas -- There's no reason the big boys can't have an expanded playoff. In fact, after watching the raucous finale of the Football Championship Series title game Saturday, the better question is how could they not want one.

Two drives of 75-plus yards. A quarterback fake that resulted in a 58-yard scoring run. A 33-yard bomb on third-and-10. A blocked PAT.

And that was just in the last 90 seconds of North Dakota State's 29-27 victory over Illinois State. A victory that gave the Bison their fourth consecutive FCS title, by the way.

"No question the best FCS teams were playing today," North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman said. "The way it went back and forth, on this kind of stage, it was pretty special."

Definitive, too.

Because the FCS has a 24-team field, there's nobody sitting back home grousing about how they could have done it better. When the Bison lifted that trophy in front of what seemed like half of North Dakota, they could say without hesitation that they were the best in the country.

"You get a true champion because you've got to win a number of games over several weeks," Klieman said. "It's fun to have a true national champion."

Added North Dakota State running back John Crockett, "You're either the best or you're just among the rest, and if you want to hold your finger up in the air and say you're No. 1, hands down, a playoff is perfect."

The four-team College Football Playoff that is making its debut this year is a start. But the snub of TCU and Baylor was proof that it's still not enough. Eight teams playing for the title would be good, 16 even better.

The powers that be claim that could never work because it would extend the season too long and cause too much wear and tear on the players. Yet Illinois State played 15 games, same as Oregon and Ohio State will. North Dakota State played 16.

The Bison and Redbirds did it with 25 fewer scholarship players than Football Bowl Subdivision teams have, too.

"I played at the FBS (level), and I can honestly say the only difference between FBS and FCS is depth," said Redbirds defensive end David Perkins, who transferred to Illinois State from Ohio State.

"Of course everyone's going to be fatigued with all the traveling on top of the practicing," Perkins said. "I think we counted 103 practices. Toward the end of the season, your body is going to be worn down. … That's the hard part. But you earn the right to play through December and January."

Despite being played less than 40 minutes from AT&T Stadium, where Oregon and Ohio State will play for the title Monday night, Illinois State and North Dakota State didn't get nearly the fanfare of the Buckeyes and Ducks. And by nearly, I mean none.

While downtown Dallas was blanketed with banners and signs trumpeting Monday night's matchup, you had to get within five miles of the stadium before the first sign for the FCS title game appeared. Fans weren't lining up for the privilege of listening in on Illinois State and North Dakota State's media day, as they did for Oregon and Ohio State on Saturday morning.

It's also a safe bet the NCAA didn't spring for decorative throw pillows like the College Football Playoff folks did. (Seriously. Embroidered with "North Texas," no less. As if that's really a place.)

But those are just the trimmings. What players really want is to know how they stack up against the competition. When it comes to that, nobody does it better than the FCS.

Contributing: Nicole Auerbach, Paul Myerberg