HELENA — Three teams from the Frontier Conference will continue playing in the 20-team NAIA Football Championship Series, the association announced on Sunday.
Montana Western (9-1, 7-1 Frontier), as the league’s automatic bid and outright champion, received the No. 8 seed that is accompanied by a first-round FCS bye and second-round hosting privileges.
College of Idaho (8-2, 6-2 Frontier), which dropped its regular-season finale to Southern Oregon on Saturday, earned the No. 11 seed and, like Western, a first-round bye.
The Yotes are 1-1 all-time in the FCS, both games coming in 2019 following an undefeated regular-season.
Montana Tech (7-3, 6-2 Frontier) beat Carroll on the road Saturday to punch its ticket to the program’s first national playoffs since 2016.
The Orediggers earned an at-large NAIA FCS berth and will host Dickinson State (N.D.) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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That game will be played one day before the seventh anniversary of Tech’s last playoff victory – a 28-21 triumph over Dickinson State at Alumni Coliseum.
“Very excited and proud to get this playoff bid,” Tech head coach Kyle Samson said. “I think it shows the strength of the Frontier Conference…
“We are proud to represent Montana Tech and the City of Butte in the national playoffs. Can’t wait to get a chance to play in front of our home crowd again on Bob Green Field.”
For the Bulldogs, a second-round (Round of 16) home game means collegiate playoff football back at Vigilante Field for the first time since 1994.
Western, then Western Montana College, beat Glenville State and advanced to the semifinals, further than any Bulldogs team in program history.
Still Western’s only playoff win, current Bulldogs head coach Ryan Nourse was a wide-out on that team.
On Nov. 25, he’ll lead a team that includes his son, Eli Nourse, into battle.
Eli is a big reason for Western’s positioning, catching 83 passes for 1,142 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular-season.
The Frontier’s trio of qualifiers is tied for the most of any one conference this season, joining the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
This article will be updated
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2023-11-13 01:00:00
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