While most college football fans are eagerly awaiting the College Football Playoff—which features two semifinal matchups and a national championship—those paying attention to the Football Championship Division have already had their fill of postseason tournament action, and there's still more to come.
The FCS playoffs started with 24 teams and is now down to just four teams. The first semifinal matchup, set for Friday, features top-seeded North Dakota State—winners of five-straight FCS national championships—against James Madison.
On Saturday, fans will get their second title-game participant when No. 2 Eastern Washington (12-1, 8-0 in conference) takes on unseeded Youngstown State (11-3, 6-2 in conference).
The ranked Eagles have the better pedigree and had a bye through the first round, but the Penguins have proven to be plenty resilient and will be looking to score another upset on Saturday. Here's the need-to-know info for the second FCS playoff semifinal.
No. 2 Eastern Washington vs. Youngstown State Game Info
When: Saturday, Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Roos Field in Cheney, Washington
TV: ESPN U
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Eastern Washington is looking to get back to the FCS championship for the first time since 2010, when they defeated Delaware 20-19.
Youngstown State has four national titles to its credit, the last coming in 1997. The Penguins haven't had nearly as much success in the new millennium. This is just their third playoff appearance since 2000, and the last one came back in 2006.
The Penguins have seized the opportunity in their first postseason appearance in a decade. They took out Samford 38-24 in the first round, upset No. 3 Jacksonville State 40-24 in the second round and then survived Wofford 30-23 in a double-overtime thriller.
A dominant rushing attack led by junior running back Jody Webb has carried Youngstown State through these playoffs. The diminutive Webb has been a workhorse, totaling 80 carries for 527 yards and four touchdowns in this postseason while also handling kick-return duties in two games.
Martin Ruiz has done a fine job spelling Webb, scoring twice this postseason, but is facing firearm charges stemming from an arrest on a traffic stop on Dec. 6. Ruiz saw just one carry against Wofford and may not be a factor against Eastern Washington.
The ground game will prove instrumental with temperatures expected to be around zero degrees around kickoff, per Weather.com.
Penguins quarterback Hunter Wells didn't do much for the team scoring-wise in the first two playoff games, but he tossed three touchdowns against Wofford. Whether or not he can battle frigid temperatures and Eastern Washington's improved defense will be key to this game.
The Eagles have made easy work of their first two postseason opponents. They defeated Central Arkansas 31-14 in the first round, then blanked Richmond 38-0 in the quarterfinals. The Spiders turned the ball over four times in the first half and managed just 205 yards of total offense.
The Eagles defense gave up plenty of points early on in the season but has allowed just 16.1 points per game over its last seven contests, including the postseason.
On offense for the Eagles, the player to watch is quarterback Gage Gubrud. The sophomore slinger threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns against Richmond, an excellent but relatively benign follow-up to the 449 passing yards, 68 rushing yards and three total touchdowns he amassed against Central Arkansas.
The Eagles' high-flying passing attack could also suffer in the cold temperatures, though the chances for precipitation are low and the winds not set to be especially fierce. Still, Eagles head coach Beau Baldwin expects how the teams respond to the weather will be a factor.
"If it is a factor, it's a factor, but who is going to handle it better?" Baldwin said, per Craig Haley of the Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports). "It will never be something where I'll come back and say the weather cost us a game. I'll say they handled the weather better than us. We need to decide who is going to handle it better and not make it a factor."
The winner of this game will book a spot in the FCS national championship, set for Jan. 7 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The Eagles' combination of potent defense and Gubrud's excellence may be too much for Youngstown State to overcome. The adverse conditions could slow down both offenses, but Eastern Washington will have the advantage of playing in front of a partisan crowd on the famous red turf at Roos Field.