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For the first-time ever three Ohio Valley Conference football teams have been selected to participate in the 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship.
OVC champion
Eastern Illinois received the No. 2 overall national seed and a first round bye (and home field advantage throughout playoffs) and will not play until Saturday, December 7 while
Jacksonville State and
Tennessee State were selected as at-large teams and will play first round games on Saturday, November 30.
Although the OVC has placed two teams in the playoff field in 18 of the previous 34 years, this marks the first time the league has ever had three teams in the field in the same season. This year marks the first of an expanded 24-team field playoff field. In 2010 the FCS Playoffs expanded from 16 teams to 20 teams, the first expansion since the field grew from 12 to 16 teams in 1997. Overall the OVC has now had multiple teams in the field in three of the last four and five of the last eight years.
Eastern Illinois (11-1, 8-0 OVC) enters the playoffs ranked No. 2 nationally and having won eight games in a row since its only loss of the season, a 43-39 setback at currently undefeated and nationally-ranked FBS foe Northern Illinois. The Panthers have the No. 1 total offense (599.1 yards/game) and scoring offense (48.8 points/game) in the FCS and are led by Walter Payton Award candidate Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo leads all Division I players (FBS or FCS) with 4,489 passing yards and 48 touchdowns this season. The 48 touchdowns are third in FCS single-season history (just eight away from the record), while the 4,489 yards are fifth in FCS history (just 587 yards away from the record). The team has a good defense too, ranking fourth nationally in takeaways (32). EIU is only the fourth OVC team in history to win 11 games during the regular season and are the first OVC team to record double-digit victories since 2000 (WKU).
The Panthers are making their 15th Division I playoff appearance, having also been in the field in 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2013. The 15 playoff appearances are the second-most among current OVC teams and the seventh-most in FCS history. Eastern Illinois is 3-14 all-time in the Division I playoffs; the team lost at South Dakota State in the first round of last year's event. The team has lost 11 playoff games in a row and searching for its first win since beating Idaho 38-31 in the first round of the 1989 playoffs.
By being the No. 2 overall seed the Panthers receive a first round bye, marking the third time an OVC has received a first round bye since the field expanded above 16 teams in 2010 (both Jacksonville State and Southeast Missouri received byes in 2010).
The Panthers will play the winner of the first round matchup between the OVC's own Tennessee State and the PFL's Butler. EIU's second round game will be played at 1:00 p.m. CT and televised on ESPN3.
Tennessee State (9-3, 6-2) is making its first playoff appearance since 1999 and was selected as an at-large pick for the first time. The Tigers have one of the top defenses in the FCS, ranking fifth in total defense (278.9 yards/game) and sixth in scoring defense (16.8 points/game allowed). Two of the team's three losses this year have come to nationally-ranked teams and all three losses came without starting quarterback Michael German, who is expected to start the team's playoff game. TSU is ranked No. 19 in the current Sports Network Top 25 and is 6-1 away from home this season (4-1 in true road games).
Tennessee State is officially making its fourth overall Division I playoff appearance and first since making back-to-back appearances in 1998 and 1999 (the team also appeared in the field in 1986). The Tigers appeared in the field in 1981 and 1982 (prior to joining the OVC), but later vacated those appearances. TSU is 1-3 all-time in the event (the team vacated a 1-2 record from 1981 and 1982, having topped Eastern Illinois in the 1982 event).
The Tigers will travel to Pioneer Football League champion Butler (9-3, 7-1 PFL) for a first round matchup to be played at 12:00 p.m. CT and televised on ESPN3. The winner will advance to play OVC Champion Eastern Illinois on Saturday, December 7.
Jacksonville State (9-3, 5-3 OVC) finished its first year under head coach Bill Clark with nine overall victories, tied for the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history (Jim Fuller, 1977). The Gamecocks three losses came to a pair of nationally-ranked teams who are in the field (Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois) and a one-point overtime loss to Murray State. Along the way the team knocked off FBS foe Georgia State, the second time in the last four years JSU has defeated a FBS opponent. The Gamecocks are ranked 20th in this week's Sports Network Top 25.
Jacksonville State is appearing in its fourth overall Division I playoffs, having also appeared in the event in 2003, 2004 and 2010. It marks the second time (2010 being the other) that the team has been an at-large selection. The Gamecocks are 0-3 all-time in the event.
The Gamecocks will host in-state rival Samford (8-4, 6-2 Southern) who was one of three co-champions in the Southern Conference and an at-large selection. The two teams have played 41 previous times but not since 2007 when Samford left the OVC; JSU has won eight in a row against the Bulldogs. It will mark the second time JSU has hosted a home Division I playoff game.
The game will be played at 7 p.m. CT and televised on ESPN3. The winner will advance to play No. 6 national seed McNeese State (10-2, 6-1 Southland) on Saturday, December 7 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN3.
This year the top eight seeds received byes to the second round while the first round features 16 teams in eight total matchups. For the first time the Pioneer League champion (Butler) received an automatic bid to the playoffs (bringing the number of auto bids to 11).
The first round of the playoffs will be played on November 30, with the second round taking place on December 7. For the fourth-straight year the championship game will be played in Frisco, Texas at Toyota Stadium (previously known as FC Dallas Stadium). The Southland Conference will serve as the host of the championship, which will be held on Saturday, January 4 (1 p.m. CT, ESPN2).