Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - It was like taking an air brush to a foggy portrait on Saturday, as teams around FCS cleared away many of the clouds hanging over the playoff picture for the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

The results made life a lot simpler for the NCAA football committee, packaging a bunch of games into a tidy little bunch of elimination contests in the final weekend of the regular season.

Teams like James Madison, Appalachian State and South Carolina State wrapped up automatic bids to join Weber State in the 16-team field, while Cal Poly, Montana, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Villanova and Wofford moved several steps closer to at-large berths.

Holy Cross, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee-Martin picked up wins to put themselves into league championship games this Saturday.

There were also several squads that placed themselves firmly on the playoff bubble with losses and others, like Northwestern State, South Dakota State and Tennessee State, that watched their hopes of auto bids crumble.

New Hampshire avoided the bubble for one week, knowing that a loss in the final weekend could put the Wildcats on a playoff tight wire.

And other squads won games to keep their long-shot hopes of playoff selection alive for a little longer.

ONE AUTO BID

Weber State had already clinched a share of the Big Sky Conference title and auto bid with a victory over Idaho State the previous weekend, allowing the Wildcats to enjoy a bye week and to watch the top-two-ranked teams in the country, James Madison and Appalachian State, not only join them in the field, but also pretty up stamp their top-four seeds.

JMU (9-1 overall, 7-0 in conference) was methodical in taking out William & Mary (7-3, 5-2) at home in what amounted to a Colonial Athletic Association championship game. The Dukes built a 24-10 lead in the first half and expanded it to 45-10 early in the fourth period.

Rodney Landers rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and hit 14- of-19 passes for 212 yards and three more scores. Eugene Holloman aided Landers in the running game with 23 attempts for 130 yards and two TDs, while Marcus Turner caught three passes for 103 yards, including scoring plays of 50 and 34 yards as the Dukes clinched the auto bid.

James Madison needs a victory over Towson (3-8, 1-6) on the road this Saturday to clinch the CAA outright. A loss, combined with a win by Villanova (8-2, 6-1) over arch-rival Delaware, would result in a tie between the Dukes and the Wildcats for the CAA title and would undoubtedly cost JMU its top-seed.

Villanova knows how tough quarterback Sean Schaefer and Towson can be, despite their record. Schaefer completed 35-of-47 passes for 326 yards and four TDs to force Villanova to battle from behind at home.

A 63-yard interception return for a touchdown by James Pitts gave Villanova the lead, 20-17, with 12 seconds left in the first half and Chris Whitney was an efficient 14-of-23 for 212 yards passing and one TD to complement the WIldcat rushing attack.

Schaefer cut the Villanova lead to three points with 5:12 remaining on a two- yard scoring strike to John Godlasky. But the Tigers never got the ball back as Villanova ran out the rest of the clock.

A Whitney completion on fourth down, when the Wildcats were within range for a 42-yard Joe Marcoux field goal attempt with a little over a minute left, sealed the victory and pretty much clinched an at-large berth for Villanova for the first time since its run to the semifinals in 2002.

William & Mary is now in a must-win situation at home with Richmond (8-3, 5-2) in the 118th edition of the south's most-played rivalry. The winner should be in with an at-large bid, while the loser will see its season end.

Richmond used a strong defensive performance against hapless Delaware (4-7, 2-5) to win 31-14. All of Delaware's points came on defense and the Spiders limited the Blue Hens to 53 yards and three first downs.

AUTO BID, TAKE TWO

Appalachian State (9-2, 7-0) knows what it's like to win at home in nasty weather conditions and that's exactly what the Mountaineers had to do on Saturday to finish off a record-tying fourth Consecutive Southern Conference championship.

Kidd Brewer Stadium took hits from rain, sleet, ice and finally snow as the temperatures kept tumbling. There were also plenty of hits on the field, including a personal foul by Elon that sent ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards back to the training room with a hip pointer and a shoulder injury that sidelined running back Robert Welton.

The Mountaineers took a 14-0 lead in the first half on a pair of Edwards touchdown passes, but Elon closed to 14-10 on a 55-yard strike from Scott Riddle to Bo Williamson and an Andrew Wilcox field goal.

The Phoenix, looking to steal a share of the league title, took a 16-14 advantage on their opening drive of the second half when Riddle (20-of-39, 196 yards) found Terrell Hudgins for a 13-yard score. It was one of just three catches for Hudgins, good for 23 yards, on a day when he was largely shut down by cornerback Cortez Gilbert.

But the momentum began to turn when the usually dependable Wilcox missed the extra point - as well as two field goals - and it took only 81 seconds for Edwards (12-of-14, 147 yards passing, 12 carries, 104 yards rushing) to put ASU back on top for good. He lofted a 22-yard TD pass to tall and athletic Brian Quick to give the Mountaineers a 21-16 edge.

Freshman De Andre Presley was called to help milk the clock when Edwards was injured, but he did his job well enough to keep the Mountaineers in front. Appalachian State added a 24-yard field goal from Jason Vitaris and the defense held off Elon the rest of the way.

ASU safety Mark LeGree had a school-record-setting ninth interception off Riddle. The Mountaineers meet Western Carolina (3-8, 1-6) on the road in the battle for the Old Mountain Jug on Saturday, a game that ASU has won 21 of the past 23 years.

The journey to the playoffs is tougher for Elon (8-3, 6-2). The No. 12 Phoenix must travel to face No. 22 Liberty (9-2). Liberty, the Big South champion, still has an outside chance for an at-large playoff berth and could make decisions difficult for the committee with a solid victory over Elon.

Liberty stayed alive last Saturday with a 30-10 victory over Gardner-Webb as Brock Smith passed for 226 yards and two TDs to off-set a 242-yard aerial performance from GWU's Devin Campbell.

Two other SoCon teams had split performances in their attempts to stay on track for the playoffs. Wofford stormed past Samford 28-7 on the road and Furman was stunned by Georgia Southern 17-10.

Wofford (8-2, 6-1) built a 28-0 lead two minutes into the third period. The Terriers rolled up 349 yards on the ground with their dynamic option attack, 124 yards and two TDs from Dane Romero and 118 yards from Mike Rucker.

Furman (7-4, 4-3) watched its hopes of an at-large berth disappear at home against rival Georgia Southern as Eagle quarterback Lee Chapple scorched the Paladin defense for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

That ruined what might have been another of those playoff elimination games at Wofford this week for Furman.

AUTO BID, TIMES THREE

South Carolina State (9-2, 7-0) hasn't made a playoff appearance since 1982, but the Bulldogs made their reservations on Saturday with an impressive 32-0 blanking of Morgan State (6-5, 4-3) that clinched the title in the MEAC. Playing against a defense ranked first statistically in FCS, SC State showed the Bears how to shut an offense down, limiting MSU to 133 yards of offense and forcing four interceptions.

On the offensive side of the ball, DeWain Clark passed for 124 yards and two TDs and rushed 13 times for 68 to go with 97 yards rushing on only 12 carries from Will Ford. Showing their balance, the Bulldogs received a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown from Phillip Adams and a 39-yard interception return for the final score from Markus James.

In another important MEAC game, Joe Taylor won his 205th career game to pass legendary Rattler coach Jake Gaither on the all-time coaching chart. Ironically, Taylor did it against the school where he won most of those games - Hampton.

With the crew from ESPN's Game Day showing the festivities before-hand, Taylor's new team beat his old one 45-24. Quarterback Curtis Pulley combined for 291 yards of total offense and four touchdowns and Leroy Vann piled up 219 return yards. Vann became the first Rattler to go over the 1,000-yard mark in kickoff returns.

Alvis Graham led the defense with seven tackles, including four sacks as the Rattlers survived a 401-yard passing performance from Hampton QB Herbert Bynes.

Florida A&M (8-3, 4-3) holds out slim hopes of reaching the playoffs if it can beat Bethune-Cookman (8-2, 5-2) in the Florida Classic on Saturday in Orlando. Bethune-Cookman also is saying its playoff prayers after surviving Howard 14-12 when the Wildcats stopped a two-point attempt with a minute to play. But whoever wins the Florida Classic will have a hard time convincing the committee to take them with weak schedules.

OUT IN THE VALLEY

Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa have taken turns taking care of business in recent weeks in the Missouri Valley Conference. Northern Iowa overcame some off-field distractions to topple winless Indiana State 28-0 on the road and Southern Illinois eliminated South Dakota State from title consideration with a hard-fought 38-35 decision at home.

UNI found out on Friday that it had lost its top two receivers, All-American kick returner Johnny Gray and Victor Williams to drug arrests. But the Panthers (9-2, 7-1) piled up 238 yards on the ground, led by Derrick Law (17 carries, 89 yards, one TD) and Corey Lewis (19 carries, 78 yards, two TDs) and rolled to an easy win to capture a share of the MVFC title as the Sycamores lost for the 43rd time in 44 outings and the 25th time in a row.

Northern Iowa closes out the season and looks to make one last impression on the committee for a possible top-four seed when it travels to Southern Utah (4-6) on Saturday. The Panthers will also hope for an upset win by Illinois State that would lift UNI to the MVFC title by itself.

SIU put itself in position to clinch the auto bid in the MVFC with a win at Illinois State on Saturday. The Salukis built a 35-21 first-half lead before SDSU came charging back to tie it on Kyle Minnett's one-yard scoring plunge late in the third period.

But Southern Illinois persevered and Kyle Dougherty's 28-yard field goal with three minutes left provided the winning points in a 38-35 victory. Larry Warner had his third kickoff return for a touchdown (89 yards) this year and finished with 269 all-purpose yards.

DEATH VALLEY DAYS

In another valley, the Ohio Valley Conference that is, Tennessee-Martin (8-3, 6-1) and Eastern Kentucky (7-3, 6-1) did something that was almost unthinkable on Saturday - they rooted for Jacksonville State.

With Jacksonville State playing Tennessee State, UTM and EKU knew that a JSU win would set up this Saturday's game between the host Skyhawks and the Colonels as a winner-take-all encounter for the OVC auto bid.

Jacksonville State (8-3, 6-2) did just that, thumping the Tigers (8-3, 5-2) at home 26-21. Calvin Middleton's three-yard TD burst with 13 seconds left lifted the Gamecocks from a 21-20 deficit into the lead. Brandon Belvin had put TSU in front early in the fourth quarter by recovering a fumble in the end zone for a TD.

Tennessee-Martin breezed to a 24-7 lead through three quarters and held on for a 31-21 victory. Cade Thompson threw for a pair of touchdowns and Brandyn Young ran for two more.

Eastern Kentucky crushed Murray State 34-7, scoring 31 points in the first half before powering down. C.J. Walker carried 25 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns to key the victory.

Jacksonville State and Tennessee State are still dreaming of possible at-large berths, but both are extreme long shots. JSU has completed its regular season and lacks a marquee win. TSU should win its ninth game Saturday at Murray State (4-7, 3-4), but the Tigers don't have a strong enough schedule to compete with most of the other at-large candidates.

PATRIOT GAMES

Holy Cross and Lafayette started the playoff process a little early on Saturday, with the survivor knowing they still had a shot at the Patriot League's automatic bid.

The game was as good as a playoff game as Dominic Randolph led the Crusaders to 17 fourth-quarter points to pull out a 27-26 victory. Randolph (28-of-49, 422 yards, three TDs) fired two fourth-period scoring strikes, including a 37- yard bullet to Rob Koster with six seconds left to tie the game. Matt Partain then won it with the extra point.

Holy Cross (7-3, 5-0) hosts Colgate (8-2, 4-0) on Saturday with the PL title and the auto bid on the line. Lafayette (7-3, 3-2) can just hope that it beats Lehigh at home in the 144th version of the nation's most played college football game and that chaos rules the day elsewhere.

THE BATTLE OF NEW ENGLAND

New Hampshire and Maine set up another de-facto elimination game with wins over New England rivals in the CAA on Saturday. New Hampshire scored 24 points in the first period on the way to beating UMass 52-21, while Maine ripped Rhode Island 37-7.

UNH (8-2, 5-2) took advantage of six Minutemen turnovers, including four Liam Coen interceptions, to roll to a 38-7 first-half lead. Matt Parent came up with three of the turnovers with two fumble recoveries and a 100-yard interception return for a score and the offense rumbled to 621 yards, including 295 yards passing from R.J. Toman and 125 yards rushing by Robert SImpson.

Maine (8-3, 5-2) used its ground game to roll to its sixth consecutive win, piling up 274 rushing yards to control the clock. Jared Turcotte had 20 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns and Pushaun Brown added 96 yards and a TD on 16 attempts. The defense limited URI to 162 total yards.

The winner between New Hampshire and Maine will capture the CAA North Division crown and can count on a call from the selection committee on Saturday.

If New Hampshire falls, they will have a long, sleepless night to see if they get into the field after losing two of their last three games. If Maine comes up short, they will be done with four losses.

SOUTHLAND STORIES

The Southland Conference was in the news for the wrong reasons during the week when the NCAA announced that league-leading Central Arkansas was ineligible for the league title due to its transition status. That meant that three teams, McNeese State, Northwestern State and Texas State, went into the weekend suddenly tied for first place.

Central Arkansas (9-2, 5-1) took another step towards the people's championship with a 49-41 barn-burning win over Stephen F. Austin. Brent Grimes (36 carries,145 yards) scored five touchdowns, including the game-tying one on a two-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Nathan Brown (31-of-40, 335 yards, two TDs) hit tight end Marquez Branson with a 12-yard scoring strike to give the Bears the lead for good with 7:39 remaining. Jeremy Moses was 28-of-47 for 421 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause.

In a head-to-head matchup, McNeese State (7-3, 4-2) took care of Northwestern State (6-5, 3-3) with a 24-17 victory on the road. The Cowboys thwarted the Demons' strong rushing attack, holding Byron Lawrence to 10 carries for 26 yards and limiting NSU to 76 yards overall on the ground.

McNeese State quarterback Derrick Fourroux passed for 138 yards and ran for 69 yards and three TDs, while Todd Pendland punished Northwestern State for 103 yards on 24 carries.

McNeese State meets Central Arkansas on the road on Saturday, but the Cowboys need more than a win. McNeese State also needs for Sam Houston State to beat Texas State.

Texas State (7-4, 4-2), which beat Nicholls State 34-10 on Saturday, can earn the auto bid by stopping Sam Houston State (4-5, 2-4) this weekend. The Bobcats beat McNeese State 45-42 earlier in the season to grab the tie- breaker.

If both McNeese State and Texas State lose and Northwestern State beats Stephen F. Austin, a complicated procedure would ensue to determine the auto bid.

Texas State got 132 yards passing from Bradley George and rang up 254 rushing yards to keep Nicholls State off-balance. The Bobcat defense forced a pair of turnovers.

WAY OUT WEST

Montana (10-1, 6-1) kept alive hopes of a top-four seed with a sloppy 29-10 victory over winless Idaho State at home.

Marc Mariani got the Grizzlies off and running with a Big Sky-record-tying 94- yard punt return for a touchdown. The Grizzlies scored 20 points in the second quarter to come back from a 7-2 deficit.

Cal Poly (8-1, 4-0) captured the Great West Conference title with a 51-28 stomping of UC Davis. The Mustangs, who travel to Wisconsin on Saturday, looking for their second FBS win of the season, rang up 522 yards of total offense and came up big in the second half after being tied 21-21 at the break.

Jonathan Dally, the FCS passing efficiency leader, was a miserable 8-of-20 for 95 yards and two TDs through the air, but he ran for 173 yards and another score on 22 carries.

Greg Denham of UC Davis was 22-of-42 for 332 yards and four touchdowns, but he was intercepted twice.

OTHER LEAGUES

Harvard's Ryan Barnes intercepted three passes, including one in the end zone with 10 seconds left to help the Crimson survive Penn 24-21 for a share of first place in the Ivy League. Harvard plays Yale in The Game on Saturday.

Brown retained its share at the top of the Ivy League with a 45-16 victory over winless Dartmouth. The Bears, who play 2-7 Columbia on Saturday, got 238 yards passing and two TDs from quarterback Michael Dougherty.

Jacksonville and Dayton will meet for the Pioneer Football League title and a place in the Gridiron Classic on Saturday. Jacksonville (8-3, 6-1) dropped Drake 41-9 behind 178 yards and two TDs rushing from Rudell Small.

Dayton (9-2, 6-1) was stunned by Morehead State 14-13 in a driving rain storm Saturday at home. The Flyers led 13-2 in the first period, but Morehead State scored two TDs in the final 18 minutes, including Evan Sawyer's 39-yard strike to Nick Feldman with 5:46 to play.

MSU managed just 144 yards and seven first downs, while Dayton accounted for 75 yards and eight first downs on the sloppy field.

The winner between Dayton and Jacksonville will meet Albany in the Gridiron Classic on Thanksgiving weekend.