Three teams from NSIC, two from MIAC make NCAA football playoffs

Three football teams from the NSIC South Division — Minnesota State Mankato, Winona State and Sioux Falls — were selected to the 28-team NCAA Division II field.

MSU Mankato, the NSIC South Division and overall champion, received the No. 2 seed in Super Region IV. The Mavericks (11-0) will play host to Colorado State-Pueblo (9-2) in Saturday's first round.

Winona State (10-1), the South Division runner-up whose only regular-season loss was to Mankato, reached the Division II playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Warriors, the No. 4 seed, will play host to No. 5 seed Texas A&M-Commerce (9-1) on Saturday.

No. 6 seed Sioux Falls (9-2) will play at No. 3 Midwestern State (9-0). Central Washington (11-0), the top seed in Super Region IV, received a bye.

The complete bracket is here

Minnesota Duluth, which has won or shared 10 consecutive NSIC North Division titles, was left out of the field. The Bulldogs will play Central Missouri in the Mineral Water Bowl on Dec. 2.

MIAC champion St. Thomas and MIAC runner-up St. John's were selected to the 32-team NCAA Division III field.

The Tommies, who beated St. Olaf 97-0 on Saturday, were placed in the same bracket as the No. 1-ranked team in Division III -- Mary Hardin-Baylor of Texas. If both teams win their first two games, they would meet in the quarterfinals.

St. John's (9-1), in its fourth straight playoffs, will play at North Central (Ill.) on Saturday. The winner of that game will play the winner iof the game between Wisconsin-Oshkosh, ranked No. 3 in the nationa, and Lakeland College.

The complete tournament bracket is here.