Playoff bracket
ABILENE -- The ACU Wildcats learned Sunday afternoon that their 2011 football season will continue next Saturday when they open the NCAA Division II playoffs at Washburn in Topeka, Kan.
The Wildcats (8-2) are the No. 6 seed and will play the No. 3 seed in the Ichabods (9-2) at Yager Stadium, the same place where they won their 2010 season-opener, beating Washburn 34-26. The winner of Saturday's ACU-Washburn will move on to the second round where it will take on Pittsburg State, which is 9-1 and the No. 2 seed in Super Region Four.
Information on tickets, pricing and other game information will be available Monday. Kick off time is set for 1 p.m.
The Wildcats dropped one spot to No. 6 in the region after being ranked No. 5 in the region in the Nove. 7 poll. However, ACU head coach Chris Thomsen said he was just happy to have the chance to continue playing no matter the seeding.
"I'm happy for our coaches and players because they've all worked extremely hard this season to get to the post-season," said Thomsen, who has led his team to the NCAA playoffs in each of the last six seasons. "We fought hard to put ourselves in this position, especially over the last three weeks when a lot of people wrote us off after the loss (70-28) at Midwestern State."
The Wildcats lost at Midwestern State on Oct. 22, but since then have ripped off wins over Texas A&M-Commerce (40-28), Texas A&M-Kingsville (42-34) and Incarnate Word (61-16) to cement the post-season bid.
"I felt good after the win over Incarnate Word, but I guess you never know until you see it on paper because this whole thing is computer-driven," Thomsen said. "You just have to play the best you can and hope it works out. Fortunately for us, our players will be rewarded for the work they've put in since off-season workouts began back in January."
Lone Star Conference champion Midwestern State (10-0) is the region's No. 1 seed and could be the nation's top-ranked team going into the playoffs after the No. 2 Mustangs beat Northeastern State on Saturday while No. 1 Delta State lost to West Georgia.
The other game that will happen next Saturday is No. 4 seed Missouri Western (9-2) hosting No. 5 seed Northwest Missouri State (9-2) in St. Joseph, Mo. The winner of that game will move on to take on Midwestern State in the second round in Wichita Falls.
ACU is one of just four programs in the country to have reached the playoffs in each of the last six seasons with Northwest Missouri State, North Alabama and Albany State (Ga.) being the other three. Defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth is the No. 4 seed in Super Region Three and will take on Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) in the first round Saturday.
