The 2011 FCS Playoffs kick off on Saturday with Round 1's four games to determine which teams will play the top four seeds in the playoffs (the No. 5 seed Northern Iowa is already slated to face Wofford). For the No. 4 seed Montana Grizzlies, the Central Arkansas Bears' game against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles will determine Round 2's matchup.
The Golden Eagles enter this game with a 7-3 record and on a two-game winning streak. Quarterback Tre Lamb enters the game having completed 64.7 percent of his passes and throwing 15 touchdowns. He also added 403 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Dontey Gay picked up 1,009 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. Junior linebacker Marcus Edwards leads the Golden Eagles with five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Freshman Austin Tallant leads the team with 76 tackles.
The Bears finished the season 8-3 with losses to FBS teams Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State, the former winning, 48-42, in overtime, and to FCS No. 1 seed Sam Houston State. Those losses came during Weeks 2-4. Before that the team defeated Division II Henderson State and then won seven straight games after the three-game losing streak. Quarterback Nathan Dick averaged 269 yards per game and threw for nearly 2,700 yards with 28 touchdowns. Jesse Grandy and Dominique Croom each caught seven touchdown passes. On defense, watch out for linebacker Seth Allison and Jestin Love. Allison has 96 total tackles, 14.5 for a loss and four sacks. Love picked off five passes.
Here is the complete schedule for Saturday:
James Madison (7-4) at Eastern Kentucky (7-4), 10:00 a.m. MT, ESPNU: Winner plays No. 2 North Dakota State
Norfolk State (9-2) at Old Dominion (9-2), 11:30 a.m. MT, ESPN3: Winner advances to face No. 3 Georgia Southern
Albany (8-3) at Stony Brook (8-3), 12:00 p.m. M, ESPN3: Winner will face No. 1 Sam Houston State
Central Arkansas (8-3) at Tennessee Tech (7-3), 1:00 p.m. MT, ESPN3: Winner visit No. 4 Montana