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Ouachita Set For NCAA Playoffs

Started by Seminole Indian, November 17, 2017, 08:21:15 am

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Seminole Indian




ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Tigers football team travels to take on Ferris State this Saturday, November 18 in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Division II Playoffs.

Saturday's kickoff is at noon eastern time (11 a.m. central) at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Michigan on the campus of Ferris State University. The game can be heard on the Ouachita Football Network. Live stats and live video links are available at OBUtigers.com.

"Some of our guys have never flown, and have never been that far north," said Ouachita Head Coach Todd Knight, the recently named GAC Coach of the Year. "It's going to be a fun trip, but it's a business trip. There's a lot at stake, and we are excited about it."

Ouachita, the Great American Conference champion with a record of 9-2, enters the postseason as one of the 25 teams to have a number next to its name. The Tigers check in at No. 25 of this week's American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. This week's opponent, Ferris State, is ranked No. 10.

Ouachita is making its second NCAA playoffs appearance. The first resulted in a 48-45 overtime loss to Minnesota-Duluth at home in the second round of the regional playoffs in 2014.

The Tigers made the playoffs this year thanks in part to a five-game winning streak to close out the regular season. That came after a 31-28 loss to Harding on homecoming, after which the attitude of the team changed, according to Coach Knight.

"We felt like we beat ourselves in the Harding game, and the Southeastern game for that matter," said Knight. "We spent a lot of time talking about better practice habits, penalties, ball protection, takeaways, and just a sense of urgency, because we knew that one more loss would have likely knocked us out everything. No championship, no playoffs. We really re-committed, and the guys bought into that attitude. That was the biggest difference in where we were after the Harding game and where we are now."

With that win streak, combined with a little luck, Ouachita became the first team in GAC history to win a conference championship with more than one loss.

Ferris State, an NCAA playoffs semifinalist a season ago, finished the regular season as the second best team in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, posting an overall record of 9-1 and an 8-1 mark in GLIAC games.

Where Ferris State has really shined this year has been on the defensive side of the football, where the team ranks ninth in the nation in scoring defense (giving up 14.2 points per game) and seventh in the country in total defense (271.6 yards allowed per game).

"This will be one of the toughest defenses we've faced all season," said Knight. "They've got a couple guys on defense that are probably NFL prospects. Offensively, their skill players are unbelievable. They kick and punt really well, and have very good cover units. Just an all-around good football team with really good players."

This is the first meeting between Ouachita and Ferris State in football. According to Google Maps, there are 913 highway miles that separate OBU's Cliff Harris Stadium and Ferris State's Top Taggart Field. It is OBU's longest road trip since a 38-23 win over Nebraska-Omaha on September 9, 2010.

"We've really peaked the last three weeks of the year, but we need to keep that going this Saturday to have a chance," said Knight. "Our main goal this week is to keep the same mindset we've had recently of playing to win, not playing to avoid losing. We've got to play well as a team, win the turnover margin, move the ball well on offense, force a turnover or two on defense, and avoid penalties."

The winner of the Ouachita/Ferris State game advances to the second round to face off against top-seeded Fort Hays State next Saturday, November 25. All roads lead to the nationally televised NCAA Division II National Championship game set for December 16 in Kansas City.

http://www.obutigers.com/news/2017/11/15/football-ouachita-set-for-ncaa-playoffs.aspx
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