If Mercer & VMI both win Sat. AND if Mercer wins impressively AND if a lot of other games break perfectly, Mercer could get an At-Large bid. Very doubtful, but the pundits & message boards are mentioning it...so, it’s possible the SoCon could have 2 representatives.
I will certainly watch either/both in 1st Round game(s). You have to be a little bit of a VMI Fan this year - with where they were & having never made the Playoffs & not won the SoCon since 1974. C’mon, everybody has a little bit of a soft-spot for an underdog. And, though, military, it’s not like the bellhops. I’ve actually met several VMI Alums that I like(d).
And, as some may have discerned, FUBeAR has a bit of a soft spot in his imaginary heart for the Mercer Bears as well - never won the SoCon, never been in the Playoffs. Y’all may not know, but if they had won @ Marist in 2013 in the season’s penultimate game, they would have won the PFL & made the Playoffs their 1st year in existence. They lost, unfortunately - in the only really bad game that QB John Russ ever had for Mercer. The kids from that Team (and their families) are some of my favorite people on the planet & they would be thrilled to know they laid the foundation for those that followed to achieve their dreams...at least that’s the way FUBeAR felt in ‘85, ‘88, and ‘01. I suspect they will feel similarly...if Mercer wins on Sat AND VMI loses OR somehow, their name gets called on Sunday.
If either are in & either win, I’ll be cheering for them to go as far as they can.
If no SoCon Teams stay in, for other Playoffs games, whether I watch or not will depend upon the Teams & the matchups. And, I’ll watch the Championship game, regardless.
Just a fan of FCS Football - for many reasons beyond the scope of this thread...so, DANG RIGHT FUBeAR WILL BE WATCHING!!
NCAA MANUAL
20.10.1 ...intercollegiate athletics...competition in amateur athletics…
20.10.1.2 …maintaining a line of demarcation between student-athletes who participate in the Collegiate Model and athletes competing in the professional model