• Interactive Bracket | FCS Playoff Bracket (PDF)
Two Ohio Valley Conference football teams,
Austin Peay and
Southeast Missouri, have been selected to participate in the 2019 NCAA Division I Football Championship.
The two teams shared the OVC Championship this year with Austin Peay earning the automatic bid and Southeast Missouri selected as an at-large team; the two teams will play their first round games on Saturday, November 30.
This year marks the seventh 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. The OVC has placed multiple teams in the playoffs (which began in 1978) in 23 of the 42 years; the OVC has now had multiple teams in the field in seven of the last 10 and nine of the last 14 years.
This year the top eight seeds received byes to the second round while the first round features 16 teams in eight total matchups. The first round of the playoffs will be played on November 30, with the second round taking place on December 7. For the 10th-straight year the championship game will be played in Frisco, Texas at Toyota Stadium. The Southland Conference will serve as the host of the championship, which will be held on Saturday, January 11 on ABC.
Austin Peay (9-3, 7-1 OVC) is appearing in its first-ever FCS Playoffs. The Governors claimed just its second-ever OVC Championship and first since the 1977 season. The program's nine overall wins established a new school record and the team's three losses this season came by a combined 16 points. APSU is ranked No. 18 in the STATS Top 25 poll tihs week. The Govs rank fourth nationally in fumbles lost (3) and sacks allowed (0.67/game), fifth in rushing defense (86.5 yards/game), ninth in defensive touchdowns (3) and total defense (299.6 yards/game), 13th in tackles for loss (7.9/game), 14th in passes intercepted (14), 18th in team passing efficiency defense (117.77), 19th in scoring offense (35.3 points/game), 20th in scoring defense (20.9 points/game), 24th in red zone offense (87.8%) and 26th in total offense (429.8 yarsd/game).
Austin Peay will open the playoffs by hosting No. 16 ranked Furman (8-4) in the first round at 12:00 p.m. CT on ESPN3. Furman finished second in the Southern Conference this season (6-2). The winner will face No. 4 national seed Sacramento State (9-3) on Saturday, December 7 (8pm CT, ESPN3).
Southeast Missouri (9-3, 7-1 OVC) is appearing in its second-straight and third overall Division I playoffs (2010, 2018, 2019). A year ago the team won its first-ever playoff game by topping Stony Brook at home; the team is 1-2 all-time in the playoffs. SEMO had back-to-back winning seasons for the first-time in its Division I Era and reached eight-plus wins in back-to-back years for the first-time in its program history which dates back to 1904. The Redhawks are ranked No. 12 in this week's STATS Top 25 poll. The Redhawks rank 14th nationally in fumbles lost (5), passes intercepted (14) and team passing efficiency defense (115.46), 21st in red zone offense (88.0%), 23rd in punt returns (11.64 yards/return) and 27th in turnovers gained (22).
Southeast Missouri will host No. 13 ranked Illinois State (8-4) in the first round at 1:00 p.m. CT on ESPN3. Illinois State finished tied for third (5-3) in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The winner of that game will advanced to play No. 8 national seed Central Arkansas (9-3) on Saturday, December 7 (3pm CT, ESPN3).