This is not a vent board or any other kind of therapy. Before you hit the POST button, ask yourself if your contribution will add to the level of discussion going on.

Important notes on articles:

• Please do not copy entire articles into your post; rather, provide links to them.. We are now links-only for ALL Internet publications. If only a small portion of the article pertains to your post, Fair Use allows you to copy those one or two paragraphs, provided you cite the author's name and the publication for which he writes. Otherwise, put a link in the HTTP Link box.
• Even if you're copying a reference to an article, provide a link to the page from which the article came. We're trying to cut down on duplicate topics, and the posting process will check the link to your article to see if it's already being discussed on this board. At the very least, you'll save yourself some grief on the boards.
• If your first reaction after reading the article you're going to share is the author is uninformed / stupid / a jerk / all of the above, it's not worth sharing with anyone. Not every article needs to be discussed. The more the hair-pulling articles are discussed (e.g. ESPN Page 2), the more the authors will write hair-pulling articles.

Post being replied to

ND had 44 days between its last game and Bama in 2012. by No Right Turn on Red

That of course was pre-playoffs, so it's not the same thing as the FCS playoff example.

To answer your question, teams in any sport can practice beyond the regular season (and conference tournament if there is one) only if they are reasonably in contention for postseason selection. Sticking with FCS, if you finish the regular season 2-9, your season is over with that last game, jumping right into out-of-season practice rules (weights, conditioning, film, and walk-throughs only). If you finish the season 7-4 on the bubble, you can practice up until the playoff teams are selected. If picked, you can keep practicing. If out, you're done. Once you get knocked out of the playoffs, you're done.

Essentially, there will only be two FCS teams allowed to practice after the semifinals on December 21. The only thing that could keep NDSU out of Frisco this year is if SDSU gets paired up against them on the 4/5 line.