GRAND FORKS - The University of North Dakota football team has a shot at the Big Sky Conference championship on Saturday.
There's going to be plenty of more FCS playoff implications on the line, as well.
The Fighting Hawks cracked the FCS Playoff Committee's Top 10 rankings for the first time on Thursday, coming in at No. 10.
The top eight seeds will receive a first-round bye in the 24-team field. UND (8-2 overall, 7-0 Big Sky) finishes the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. against Northern Arizona at the Alerus Center.
Much of the rest of the country will wrap up the regular season the following week, while the Fighting Hawks have a bye on Nov. 19.
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UND, which has won eight straight games, was unranked when the committee released its first set of rankings last Thursday. This is the first year the committee has made its rankings public.
The committee shuffled the rankings, despite few teams losing in the Top 10. Jacksonville State is now ranked No. 1, followed by Eastern Washington, North Dakota State, James Madison, Sam Houston State, The Citadel, Chattanooga, Richmond, Central Arkansas and UND.
Sam Houston State dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 despite winning last Saturday. NDSU moved up from No. 4 to No. 3, one spot behind Eastern Washington. The Bison beat them earlier in the season.
Games of interest for UND fans this Saturday will be Wofford (6-3 overall, 4-2 Southern) at Chattanooga (8-1, 6-1) at 1 p.m. and Nicholls (5-4, 5-2 Southland) at Central Arkansas (8-1, 7-0) at 2:30 p.m.
