Wildcats Will Host Northern Arizona in First Round of FCS Playoffs

NCAA FCS Playoffs - Round 1
15-seed ACU (8-4) vs. Northern Arizona (8-4)
Abilene, TX | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Saturday, Nov. 30 at 2:00 p.m.


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ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats knew they were in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs and would play a first-round home game at Antony Field at Wildcat Stadium. The only question left to answer was who their opponent would be for the program's first playoff game at the Division I level.
 
The answer came as the final matchup was revealed Sunday morning on the FCS Playoff Selection Show on ESPNU. The Wildcats' opponent for their first-round game at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday (Nov. 30) will be Northern Arizona (8-4) from the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats - the No. 15 seed in the playoff field – are 8-4 and champions of the United Athletic Conference.
 
The game will kick off at 2 p.m., and ESPN+ will broadcast it. Fans can purchase tickets to ACU's first FCS playoff game here.
 




ACU captured the UAC championship two weeks ago with a thrilling, come-from-behind 35-31 win at Tarleton State, which also reached the playoffs as the No. 13 seed in the field. On the road to winning the conference title and sewing up an automatic playoff berth, the Wildcats went 2-1 against teams who were nationally ranked when they played them (wins over then-No. 5 Central Arkansas and then-No. 14 Tarleton State and a loss to then-No. 4 Idaho) and 2-1 against teams who qualified for the playoffs (wins over Eastern Kentucky and Tarleton State and a loss to Idaho).
 
Now, however, the Wildcats turn their full attention to Saturday's game against Northern Arizona and prepare to host a team the Wildcats haven't played since a 27-21 NAU win in Abilene on Sept. 6, 2014. The winner of Saturday's game will be on the road in Fargo, N.C., on Saturday, Dec. 7, to take on FCS behemoth North Dakota State, the winner of nine FCS national championships and the No. 2 overall seed in this year's field.
 
But before the Wildcats get to the Bison, they must get past a talented Northern Arizona squad that was one of the last four into the field and is one of five teams from the Big Sky Conference in the playoffs: No. 1 overall seed Montana State, No. 5 seed UC-Davis, No. 8 seed Idaho, and at-large teams in Montana and Northern Arizona.
 
"This is a huge event for our university, and in the process of moving our football program forward," said third-year ACU head coach Keith Patterson, who joins Garvin Beauchamp (1950), Wally Bullington (1973, 1976), Dewitt Jones (1977), and Chris Thomsen (2006-11) as the only head football coaches to lead ACU to a postseason appearance. "Earlier this year, we immersed our players in the great history of this program and university, and they know they're playing for something bigger than themselves."
 
The Wildcats are in the FCS playoffs for the first time and are playing their first playoff game since the 2011 first-round NCAA Division II playoff game at Washburn. ACU is 9-6 in its postseason history with two bowl wins (Refrigerator Bowl in 1950 and Shrine Bowl in 1976) and two NAIA Division I national championships (1973 and 1977). The Wildcats reached the NCAA Division II playoffs in six straight seasons from 2006-11, but this season's foray into the postseason is a landmark event for the football program.
 
For more information on the bracket and the teams in the field, click here.