Wofford to Play at Montana
Wofford will face Montana on Saturday, November 24 at 2:05 pm ET in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The game will mark the second time in the past five years that the Terriers have advanced to the Playoffs.
Wofford won the Southern Conference automatic bid to the Playoffs. The Terriers and Appalachian State were the only Southern Conference teams to earn a bid to the playoffs.
“This has been a very blessed season,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We have a great group of players who fight the fight. I think we have the best coaching staff in America. They are very committed to the program. The Wofford faithful have been behind us all the way this season as well. The week off has given us a chance to get healthy and work on the fundamentals. We are going to be facing a team that we have never played and don’t know much about.”
University of Northern Iowa University (11-0) tops the bracket as the top seed after capturing the automatic qualifying berth from the Gateway Football Conference. Second-seeded McNeese State University (11-0) captured the Southland Conference automatic berth.
The University of Montana (11-0), which is making its 18th tournament appearance, is the number-three seed. Rounding out this year’s seeded teams is Southern Illinois University (10-1) with the number- four seed.
Other first-round hosts include two-time defending national champion Appalachian St. (9-2), Delaware (8-3), Colonial Athletic Association automatic qualifier Massachusetts (9-2) and Richmond (9-2).
For tickets to the game, please contact the University of Montana Athletic Ticket Office toll free at (800) MONTANA (666-8262).
Ben Wofford Books will have Southern Conference Champion apparel available at their location on Church Street (on campus) beginning Monday, November 19. Please visit athletics.wofford.edu for more information on the Playoffs.
Appalachian State to Host James Madison
Appalachian State University’s defense of its back-to-back NCAA Division I football national championships begins on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium versus James Madison. Kickoff time has not been determined, pending television considerations.
Appalachian (9-2, 5-2 SoCon) is not one of the four seeded teams in the 16-team Division I Championship field, despite winning its third-consecutive Southern Conference championship and looking to become the first team to ever claim three-straight national titles at the Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision ? formerly Division I-AA) level. James Madison comes into the postseason with an 8-3 overall record and finished 6-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association’s South Division, a game behind Richmond. Between them, the Mountaineers and Dukes have won the last three national titles (JMU in 2004, ASU in ?05 and ?06).
“James Madison is one of the best teams in the 16,” ASU head coach Jerry Moore said. “We’ll start off against a great football team.”
ASU and JMU are quite familiar with each other, as the two schools ? separated by just 268 miles ? have met on the gridiron 14 times, most recently in 2006 when Appalachian came away with a 21-10 triumph in Boone. In all, ASU leads the all-time series, 11-3, including 31-24 first-round playoff victory in 1995, also in Boone.
“This will definitely be a tough one,” Mountaineer defensive back Corey Lynch said. “I have a lot of respect for their program and a lot of respect for their team. We’ve got to watch a lot of film and play hard.”
The playoff appearance is the Mountaineers’ 15th all-time and 13th in 19 seasons under Moore. The Apps are 16-12 all-time in the FCS postseason, including their perfect 8-0 mark the past two years.
The winner of the ASU-JMU matchup will face the winner between second-seeded McNeese State and Eastern Washington on Dec. 1.
Tickets ($20 for adults, $5 for youth ages 3-12 and ASU students) can be purchased online now by clicking here. Tickets can also be purchased in person or by phone by visiting the ASU athletics ticket office in the Holmes Center or calling (828) 262-2079 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Wednesday and Friday of this week.