Sunday, November 11, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second time in three years, Azusa Pacific is headed back to the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs.

Using a road victory over No. 18 Central Washington on the final day of the regular season to win a share of the GNAC Championship, the Cougars earned the No. 7 seed in Super Region 4 of the 28-team Division II playoff field. The team will travel to Stephenville, Texas for a date with No. 2 seed Tarleton State on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Texans finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.

The winner of that matchup will face either No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth or defending national champion and No. 6 seed Texas A&M Commerce in the second round of the postseason.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the GNAC has been represented in the football playoffs. It also marks APU’s second-ever trip to the postseason.

The team enters the playoffs having won three consecutive games, the last two coming on the road. Azusa Pacific is averaging 32.6 points per game and ranks second in the conference in total offense (414 yards per game) and total defense (377.3 yards per game). It finished the year with a 7-1 record in GNAC play, the only loss coming to co-champion Central Washington back on Oct. 6.

The Cougars are 0-1 in Division II playoff action. The lone contest came in 2016, a 34-21 defeat at Sioux Falls.