If you've watched enough NCAA basketball tournaments through the years, you know there are basically two types. Some have chaotic early rounds and memorable upsets, which are wonderful but can create later-round mismatches. Others feature early-round chalk, with a little less chaos, and some titanic matches later on.
We've seen some fun college football games in the first two rounds of 2021's FCS playoffs. The first round featured three down-to-the-wire classics, and the second round featured a late, wild comeback by East Tennessee State over Kennesaw State, a failed late comeback attempt by Sacramento State against South Dakota State, and upstarts Incarnate Word and Holy Cross taking heavyweights Sam Houston and Villanova, respectively, down to the wire.
Entertainment value has been high, but upsets have been minimal. Bring on the titanic later-round matches.
This week's quarterfinal pairings:
• No. 8 Montana State at No. 1 Sam Houston (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
• South Dakota State at No. 5 Villanova (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
• No. 6 Montana at No. 3 James Madison (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
• No. 7 East Tennessee State at No. 2 North Dakota State (Saturday, noon ET, ESPN)
Let's break them down in chronological order.