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CEDAR CITY - Southern Utah University will play its first-ever NCAA football playoff game next week when the No. 22 Thunderbirds travel to Huntsville, Texas, to take on No. 14 Sam Houston State in the first round of the NCAA Division I Playoffs. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (Mountain) at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
Southern Utah finished 5-3 and tied for fourth place in the Big Sky Conference but got the league's fourth bid into the tournament after winning three of its last four games, including a road win at then-No. 8 Montana State on Nov. 16.
The only hiccup for the Thunderbirds in the final weeks of the season was a 20-10 setback against No. 8 Northern Arizona on Saturday.
Southern Utah University will play its first- ever NCAA football playoff game next week when the No. 22 Thunderbirds travel to Huntsville, Texas, to take on No. 14 Sam Houston State in the first round of the NCAA Division I Playoffs.
Sam Houston State - which has been the national runner-up the past two seasons - also finished the season with an 84 record. The Bearkats were 4-3 in the Southland Conference and tied for third place.
Both teams will be looking to bounce back after disappointing wins on Saturday as SHSU lost a 49-31 decision at Central Arkansas in its season finale'.
In addition to the Thunderbirds the Big Sky received an automatic bid for regular-season champion and third overall seed Eastern Washington as well as at large bids for Montana and Northern Arizona, which finished tied for second place in the conference at 7-1. Montana was the eighth-seeded team in the field and, along with Eastern Washington, will receive a first-round bye, while Northern Arizona will host South Dakota State on Saturday.
The 2013 championship field consists of 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large qualifiers.
Automatic Qualifiers (11)
Big Sky Conference - Eastern Washington (10-2)
Big South Conference - Coastal Carolina (10-2)
Colonial Athletic Association - Maine (10-2)
Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference - Bethune-Cookman (10-2)
Missouri Valley Football Conference - North Dakota State (11-0)
Northeast Conference - Sacred Heart (10-2)
Ohio Valley Conference - Eastern Illinois (11-1)
Patriot League - Lafayette (5-6)
Pioneer Football League - Butler (9-3)
Southern Conference - Furman (7-5)
Southland Conference - Southeastern Louisiana (10-2)
At-Large (13)
Big Sky Conference - Montana (10-2)
Big Sky Conference - Northern Arizona (9-2)
Big Sky Conference - Southern Utah (8-4)
Colonial Athletic Association - New Hampshire (7-4)
Colonial Athletic Association - Towson (10-2)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference - South Carolina State (9-3)
Missouri Valley Football Conference - South Dakota State (8-4)
Ohio Valley Conference - Jacksonville State (9-3)
Ohio Valley Conference - Tennessee State (9-3)
Patriot League - Fordham (11-1)
Southern Conference - Samford (8-4)
Southland Conference - McNeese State (10-2)
Southland Conference - Sam Houston State (8-4)
Television schedules and games times for all rounds of the 2013 championship will be updated daily atwww.NCAA.com/fcs.
FIRST-ROUND GAMES
November 30 at Orangeburg, South Carolina, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
Furman (7-5) at South Carolina State (9-3)
November 30 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
Bethune-Cookman (10-2) at Coastal Carolina (10-2)
November 30 at Durham, New Hampshire, Noon (ET) (ESPN3)
Lafayette (5-6) at New Hampshire (7-4)
November 30 at Huntsville, Texas, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
Southern Utah (8-4) at Sam Houston State (8-4)
November 30 at Flagstaff, Arizona, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
South Dakota State (8-4) at Northern Arizona (9-2)
November 30 at Jacksonville, Alabama, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
Samford (8-4) at Jacksonville State (9-3)
November 30 at Bronx, New York, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
Sacred Heart (10-2) at Fordham (11-1)
November 30 at Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
Tennessee State (9-3) at Butler (9-3)
