Football Championship Subdivision First-Round Playoff
No. 24 UIW (6-4) vs. No. 23 Montana State (7-4)
When, where: Saturday, 2 p.m., Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, Mont.
Series history: First meeting
UIW's last game: Beat Central Arkansas 40-27, Nov. 17, Conway, Ark.
Montana State's last game: Beat Montana 29-25, Nov. 17, Missoula, Mont.
Notable: UIW, 1-10 last season, earned a playoff berth in only its second year of FCS postseason eligibility. The Catholic university, located at the corner of Broadway and Hildebrand, added football to its athletic program in 2009 . . . The Cardinals finished the regular season 6-4, and won a share of the Southland Conference title. The six victories this year tied the program record for most wins in a season . . . UIW went 6-2 in SLC play, the best conference record in program history . . . Freshman quarterback Jon Copeland, who won't play Saturday because he was injured in last week's regular-season finale, set UIW single-season records for passing yardage (2,984), passing touchdowns (22) and pass completions (208). Junior Sean Brophy will start the playoff game in Copeland's place . . . Senior running back Ra'Quanne Dickens became UIW's first 1,000-yard rusher, finishing the regular season with 1,954. He also set a program single-season record for rushing TDs (14) . . . Senior wide receiver Kody Edwards also has had a stellar season, setting the program record for career receiving yards (2,220). He set a single-season UIW record with four games of 100+ receiving yards.
GAME PREVIEW
There’s no time like the first time.
Flushed with excitement after earning a playoff berth for the first time in the short history of their school’s football program, the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals is savoring the experience.
UIW is among 24 teams that landed spots in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA. The FCS title game is scheduled for noon, Jan. 5, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
No. 24 UIW (6-4) plays Montana State (7-4) in the first round at 2 p.m. Saturday in Bozeman, Mont. The winner plays at No. 1 North Dakota State next Saturday. The Bison (11-0) have a bye in the first round. They are making their ninth consecutive playoff appearance and 14th overall.
Although UIW is the new kid on the block, Montana State coach Jeff Choate had good things to say about Cardinals coach Eric Morris and his team.
“I can’t speak enough about the job that Eric Morris has done there,” Choate said. “He’s turned this program around in a year.”
Morris, who was hired to succeed former NFL coach Larry Kennan last Dec. 30, was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year after leading UIW to a share of the league championship. Morris was an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech for five seasons before landing his first head-coaching job.
Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, who grew up in New Braunfels, was effusive in his praise of Morris after he was hired by UIW.
"Eric Morris is one of the brightest offensive minds in college football, and he did an incredible job for us,” Kingsbury said. “I cannot thank him enough for his contributions to Texas Tech, and I know UIW is in great hands to take their program to the next level."
The Cards’ turnaround this season has been nothing short of remarkable.
“Winning the conference championship was incredible, a great feeling,” Morris said at a news conference this week. Video of the news conference later was posted on UIW Football’s official website. “This is right up there with it, for us to be able to crack into the top 24 teams in the whole nation is a huge accomplishment.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our coaches, our staff, our medical staff, and everybody in the building (field house) over there. Obviously, the players are the ones who win you the games, so I’m proud of the way they’re competing, sacrificing their bodies each and every week for one another means a lot.”
UIW put opponents on their heels with a balanced offense keyed by freshman quarterback Jon Copeland. He completed 208 of 368 passes, with 13 interceptions for 2,984 yard and 22 TDs during the regular season. Copeland set program single-season records for passing yardage, touchdowns and completions.
Copeland, who was injured in last week's 40-27 victory at Central Arkansas in the regular-season finale, will not play in Saturday's playoff game. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by junior Sean Brophy, who completed 14 of 20 attempts for 243 yards and one TD in the 40-27 win against Central Arkansas.
Senior running back Ra’Quanne Dickens rushed for 1,054 yards this season, becoming the UIW’s first 1,000-yard rusher. He set a school single-season record with 14 TDs.
Senior wide receiver Kody Edwards has been Copeland’s go-to guy. He set the program record for career receiving yards (2,220) and also set another mark with four games of 100+ receiving yards.
UIW is averaging 493.3 yards of total offense – 169.6 rushing and 323.7 passing – and 34.3 points.
Montana State, which went 5-3 in the Big Sky Conference, is No. 18 nationally in rushing offense (227.1). The Bobcats are No. 20 in the country in red-zone offense, scoring on 88.2 percent of their red-zone trips.
MSU quarterback Troy Andersen is a classic dual-threat operator, rushing for a team-high 1,199 rushing yards and 907 passing. His 7.45 per-carry average ranks fourth in the country, and he ranks second in the FCS with 19 rushing TDs.
