Ouachita Baptist University (11-0) received a No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the NCAA Division II football playoffs Sunday, swapping spots with 11-0 Ferris State, which had been No. 1 in Super Region III since the rankings first appeared Oct. 20.
"It couldn't be any better for us," OBU Coach Todd Knight said. "We just have to take care of business."
Knight and OBU Athletic Director David Sharp were aware of the possibility of OBU moving up even though the Tigers entered Saturday's Battle of the Ravine -- a 38-10 victory over Henderson State -- at No. 2 in the region.
Ferris State also won (47-6 over William Jewell), but as is the norm in Division II nullifications, action was not taken until the final rankings were received by the national committee.
"What's important to note is that Ferris State was handed a nullification penalty, which is a numerical penalty imposed at the point of selections," said Reid Amos, commissioner of the Mountain East Conference and chairman of the Division II football championship committee.
Amos could not say whether the Region III advisory committee sent in Ferris State ahead of Ouachita Baptist in the final rankings, and he said the national committee could only apply the standard used in Division II eligibility cases -- docking Ferris State's winning percentage by .023 per game for the four games it played an ineligible player.
"That statistical penalty was enough to put Ouachita into the top spot, but not enough to move Ferris State below the No. 2 spot," he said.
One factor involved in keeping Ferris State ahead of its rival, No. 3 Grand Valley State, was Ferris State's 35-31 victory over Grand Valley during the regular season.
Ferris State's stumble affects both Arkansas teams participating in the 28-team field.
OBU gets a week off and home-field advantage in its round of 16 game on Nov. 24 against the winner of this week's matchup between No. 4 Indianapolis and No. 5 Fort Hays State.
The Great American Conference's second representative, No. 7 seed Harding University (9-2), travels to Big Rapids, Mich., to play Ferris State for the second consecutive season.
Harding defeated Ferris State 16-14 on a 20-yard field goal as time expired last year to reach the Division II semifinals, where it lost to eventual national champion Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Harding, 5-2 in the playoffs since 2016, will not be intimidated by the circumstances, Coach Paul Simmons said.
"A majority of the guys who will be getting on the airplane got on that airplane last year," Simmons said.
Harding, which ended its season with five consecutive victories, was aware it would likely make the field after Southern Arkansas University (8-3) lost 20-17 to the University of Arkansas at Monticello on a last-second field goal Saturday.
"We certainly feel like we've gotten better and better every week," said Simmons, whose team has lost twice by a total of nine points."
OBU, which beat Harding 7-3 in Week 6, was thrilled with the turn of events that placed it at No. 1 in the region.
"The positives outweigh the negatives," Knight said when asked about the possibility of losing momentum with a two-week break. "For us, this is our best chance."
Sports on 11/13/2018