We flipped a coin, and this time UT Martin won.

UT Martin may have lost out on an automatic FCS playoff bid due to a coin flip tiebreaker that went the way of fellow Ohio Valley Conference co-champion Southeast Missouri, but what better way is there for the selection committee to decide on the final at-large spot in the 24-team field, which will be announced on Sunday.

Nobody should feel secure about their final few at-large selections. Selection Sunday was preceded by Shaky Saturday, where a handful of teams played their way out of playoff contention.

UT Martin wasn’t necessarily one of them, so we’re matching the Skyhawks against SEMO in the first round to decide it once and for all after they didn’t meet during the regular season.

Surely, the committee has a sense of humor, no?

Below is a projection of the 2022 FCS playoff field heading into Selection Sunday:

Projected Bids by Conference

* – Automatic qualifier; other teams are projected as at-large selections

ASUN-WAC (1): *Eastern Kentucky

Big Sky (4): Idaho, Montana State, *Sacramento State, Weber State

Big South (1): *Gardner-Webb

CAA (4): Elon, New Hampshire, Richmond, *William & Mary

Missouri Valley (4): North Dakota, North Dakota State, *South Dakota State, Youngstown State

Northeast (1): *Saint Francis

Ohio Valley (2): *Southeast Missouri, UT Martin

Patriot (2): Fordham, *Holy Cross

Pioneer (1): *Davidson

Southern (2): Furman, *Samford

Southland (2): *Southeastern Louisiana, UIW

First Teams Left Out: Chattanooga, Delaware, Montana

Projected Seeds

Top eight seeds receive first-round byes             

1. South Dakota State

2. Sacramento State

3. Montana State

4. North Dakota State

5. Samford

6. Holy Cross

7. William & Mary

8. UIW

Projected Pairings

Playoff games prior to the national championship are played at campus sites

Saint Francis at Youngstown State first-round winner at No. 1 seed South Dakota State

Davidson at Southeastern Louisiana first-round winner at No. 8 seed UIW

Elon at Furman first-round winner at No. 5 seed Samford

Idaho at Weber State first-round winner at No. 4 seed North Dakota State

North Dakota at Eastern Kentucky first-round winner at No. 3 seed Montana State

Fordham at New Hampshire first-round winner at No. 6 seed Holy Cross

Gardner-Webb at Richmond first-round winner at No. 7 seed William & Mary

UT Martin at Southeast Missouri first-round winner at No. 2 seed Sacramento State

Key Dates to Know

Playoff Selection Show: Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

First Round: Nov. 26

Second Round: Dec. 2-3

Quarterfinals: Dec. 9-10

Semifinals: Dec. 16-17

Championship Game: Jan. 8 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas (2 p.m. ET, ABC)