Road to Division II football title starts early for Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri State

MIAA co-champions Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri State made the NCAA Championship field, and both open postseason play on Saturday.

Pitt State is the No. 3 seed in Super Region 3, and will play host to sixth-seeded Harding (Ark.) at 1 p.m.

Fifth-seeded Northwest Missouri State travels to No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth. The game time hasn’t been announced.

The top two teams in the region, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) and Minnesota State-Mankato received first-round byes. Those teams will open regional play at home against this week’s winners on Nov. 29.

William Jewell, despite finishing tied for third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, may have had an impact on the bracket.

On Saturday, the Cardinals traveled to league-leader Indianapolis, which entered the game ranked sixth in Region 4. A victory might have ensured a bracket spot for the favorite, but Jewell pulled off the 27-24 upset and Indianapolis didn’t make the field.

The Division II championship game is Dec. 20 at Sporting Park. Northwest Missouri St. is the defending champion, and Pittsburg St., won the title in 2011.

After the NCAA field was presented, the MIAA announced that Central Oklahoma will meet Sioux Falls (S.D.) in the 49th Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs on Dec. 6.

▪ Three area teams made the NAIA playoffs, which start Saturday. Missouri Valley will play host to Northwestern (Iowa), Ottawa will play at Morningside (Iowa) and MidAmerica Nazarene will be at Southern Oregon.

This story was originally published November 16, 2014 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Road to Division II football title starts early for Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri State."