Not only did the Cobbers find out they were selected for the NCAA Division III playoffs, they also discovered they would be at home. Concordia will host Augsburg in the first round of the playoffs Saturday in the Fargodome.
"It’s hard to believe," said Concordia coach Jim Christopherson. "When we had those two losses in a row it didn’t look very good. When Augsburg beat Bethel (in the last week of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season) it didn’t look very good. But obviously the pollsters thought we had a good team."
Concordia (8-2) was in a battle with Central (Iowa) College (8-2) and Wisconsin-La Crosse (7-2) for the West Region’s No. 4 ranking and the final playoff spot.
The Cobbers’ playoff chances looked slim two weeks ago, sitting in sixth place in the region poll. But an impressive 39-10 win over Carleton and a loss by Wisconsin-La Crosse (rated fourth at that time) to top-rated Wisconsin-Whitewater, vaulted Concordia into the fourth spot. The Cobbers leapfrogged No. 5 Central, despite its 22-12 victory over Washington (Mo.).
Central was the only one of those three teams to play this week, whipping Buena Vista 35-0. But the regional committee, which met three times in the last six days to discuss the final poll, gave the nod to the Cobbers.
Christopherson said he thinks Concordia’s 17-7 non-conference triumph over Division II Moorhead State and two convincing victories to end the season gave his team the slight edge it needed.
Concordia hosting its opening-round game, however, came as a bigger surprise. A pair of circumstances made that possible.
NCAA travel restrictions ruled out Concordia playing at one of the West Region’s top two seeds – No. 1-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater and second-ranked Simpson (Iowa). Those two teams will play in the first round in Whitewater.
"I’m sure they’re not happy, being the top two rated teams," Christopherson said. "But it’s happened in the past."
The unavailability of a stadium prevented the Cobbers from traveling to MIAC champion Augsburg, ranked third. The Auggies’ home field isn’t available because they put it under a bubble for the winter and the Metrodome is booked with the Minnesota Prep Bowl.
"Had the Prep Bowl not been in the Metrodome, (Augsburg) would have been hosting," Christopherson said.
Augsburg put in a request to have the game played in the Metrodome on Friday at 8 p.m. but was denied by the NCAA, which had the final say on who played who and where.
"We’re not very happy, but its out of our jurisdiction," said West Region committee member Steve Bamford. "We’re sorry, we’re disappointed. But we’re going to have to live with it."