Semifinals Friday at 7 p.m.
12/11/2011 12:04:00 PM | Football
The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
Georgia Southern will travel to North Dakota State for the second semifinal match-up to kickoff at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The two winners will meet in the NCAA Division I National Championship Game at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas at 12 noon on Saturday, January 7.
Sam Houston (13-0) enters the semifinals as the No. 1 seed and stands No. 1 in the Sports Network NCAA FCS poll. Montana (11-2) is ranked No. 5.
Both teams are hot. The Bearkats are the only unbeaten team in NCAA FCS action this year and own a 15-game winning streak going back to the final two games of 2010. Montana brings a 10-game winning streak to Huntsville.
Sam Houston defeated Stony Brook 34-27 in the second round and Montana State 49-13 in the quarterfinals in playoff competition the past two weekends. The Grizzlies have rolled up big wins of 41-14 over Central Arkansas and 48-10 against Northern Iowa.
Montana is a two-time former NCAA Division I football national champion, winning the playoffs in 1995 and 2001.
Sam Houston is making its second semi-finals appearance. In their previous four trips to the NCAA Division I playoffs, the Bearkats have advanced past the first round twice only to be stopped by the Grizzlies. Montana defeated Sam Houston 49-24 in the quarterfinals on the way to its 2001 national title. The Grizzlies down the Bearkats 34-13 in the semifinals in 2004.
Tickets for the Sam Houston versus Montana semifinals game are available on line now at www.gobearkats.com . Ticket sales at the SHSU Athletic Ticket Office at the Ron Mafrige Field House will begin Monday at 8 a.m.
Sam Houston State students will continue to be able to purchase playoff tickets at the discount rate of $5 thanks to the contributions of Huntsville and Conroe area businesses. Student tickets will be on sale in the SHSU mall area in front of the Lowman Student Center Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Mafrige Field House ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information please call (936) 294-1729.
NCAA DIVISION I PLAYOFF RESULTS/SCHEDULE
First Round - Saturday, Nov. 26
at Stony Brook 31, Albany 28
Central Arkansas 34, at Tennessee Tech 14
at Old Dominion 35, Norfolk State 18
at James Madison 20, Eastern Kentucky 17
Second Round - Saturday, Dec. 3
at Sam Houston 34, Stony Brook 27
at Montana State 26, New Hampshire 25
at Northern Iowa 28, Wofford 21
at Montana 41, Central Arkansas 14
at Georgia Southern 55, Old Dominion 48
Maine 34, at Appalachian State 12
Lehigh 40, at Towson 38
at North Dakota State 26, James Madison 14
Quarterfinals Friday / Saturday, Dec. 9-10
at Sam Houston 49, Montana St. 13
at Montana 48, Northern Iowa 10
at Georgia Southern 35, Maine 23
at North Dakota St. 24, Lehigh 0
Semifinals Friday / Saturday, Dec. 16-17
Montana (11-2) at Sam Houston (13-0)
Georgia Southern (11-2) at North Dakota State (12-1)
Finals Saturday, Jan. 7 12 noon Frisco Texas
