Wildcats earn rematch with MSU
11/8/2009 2:44:35 PM | Football
Interactive Bracket / Printable bracket
ABILENE – Chris Thomsen's message to his team Sunday afternoon was simple: the first 11 games of the 2009 season don't matter. What really matters begins next Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
And there will be a first-round playoff game for the Wildcats after they learned Sunday afternoon that they made the playoffs for the fourth straight season as the No. 6 seed in Super Region Four. The Wildcats will be on the road Saturday at noon when they take on No. 3 seed Midwestern State at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls.
Tickets for the game will go on sale Monday and can be purchased by calling the Midwestern State ticket office at 940-397-4779. Tickets will be $10 (reserved), $5 (general admission) and $3 (students). ACU will provide a radio broadcast of the game on KYYW 1470 AM, but will not provide either an audio or video Webcast.
The Wildcats ended the regular season Saturday with a 15-13 loss at Midwestern State, which clinched a share of the Lone Star Conference championship (along with Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville) with the victory. While ACU is making its fourth straight trip to the playoffs, the Mustangs are in the tournament for the first time since 2006.
The Wildcats enter the tournament with an 8-3 record, but having lost three of their last four games after a 7-0 start. However, Thomsen told his team they didn't need to apologize for getting into the playoffs.
"The reason we lost three out of four is because very game in the LSC South Division is a battle," said Thomsen, who is 41-16 in his fifth season as the Wildcats' head coach. "We got four teams into the NCAA post-season and one into a bowl game (West Texas A&M in the Dec. 5 Kanza Bowl). I've been in this league a long time, and I've never seen this much parity before.
"Now, though, it doesn't matter if you were 11-0 or 8-3, it's a new season," he said to his assembled team on the ACU practice field. "It's very rare in life that you get a second chance, but that's what we've got ahead of us."
The other quarterfinal matchup in Super Region Four pits No. 5 seed Tarleton State at No. 4 seed Texas A&M-Kingsville. The top two seeds in Super Region Four are No. 1 Central Washington (11-0) and No. 2 Northwest Missouri State (10-1).
The Texans are in the playoffs for the first time since 2003 when they lost a 34-10 decision at Texas A&M-Kingsville in the first round. The Javelinas are making their 15th appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, but their first since 2004.
The winner of the ACU-Midwestern State game will play at Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 21, while Central Washington will host either Texas A&M-Kingsville or Tarleton State in the regional semifinals.
The country's other No. 1 seeds are West Liberty (WVa.) in Super Region One, North Alabama in Super Region Two and defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth in Super Region Three.
Central Washington enters the playoffs as the nation's only unbeaten team after North Alabama was knocked off by West Alabama in quadruple-overtime late Saturday. West Alabama's win pushed the Tigers into the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time.
The winner of Super Region Four will play the winner of Super Region One in the national semifinals, while the winner of Super Region Three will play the winner of Super Region Two in the other national semifinal. Those games will be played either Dec. 5 or Dec. 6 and will be broadcast on ESPN or CBS College Sports.
The NCAA Division II national championship game is set for Saturday, Dec. 12, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
