If you have not had the chance to watch the Fort Hays State University Tigers yet this football season, don’t fret, you still have at least one more chance to see what all the talk is about.
With a 42-31 win last Saturday in Joplin, Mo. over Missouri Southern State University, the Tigers now have seven wins in back to back seasons after only accomplishing that feat once in the previous 18 seasons.
This weekend is the regular season finale as the University of Central Missouri (8-2) will come to Lewis Field Stadium and collide with the Tigers, a game with postseason implications.
For most of the year, the Tigers have been receiving votes in the top 25 polls but have yet to crack into the top 25. The same thing can be said about Super Region 3 Rankings as the Tigers have been on the outside looking in all year.
In Division II, the top seven teams make the playoffs from each Region. The Tigers and the Mules are both on the outside looking in. The Mules are a spot ahead of the Tigers at the eighth spot while the Tigers control the ninth spot.
A win this Saturday would vault the Tigers to 8-3, a mark they have not reached since 1995 and would put them in a position to make the playoffs for the first time since that same year. A loss, however, would drop the Tigers to 7-4, the same record they finished with last season and failed to reach the postseason.
Even if an upset win over Central Missouri leaves the Tigers short of a playoff selection, the Tigers can still be an at-large selection for a Bowl Game. The team that finishes highest in the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association that does not get a bid for the playoffs gets an automatic bid to the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo. The win would give the Tigers at least a tie for third place with the Mules, but could possibly sneak up to the second spot if the University of Nebraska-Kearney can upset the Emporia State University Hornets.
The Tigers and the Mules have been put in this position before. Last season in the regular season finale the Tigers defeated the Mules 45-17 to improve their record to 7-4. The loss dropped the Mules to 7-4 and in a fourth-place tie with the Tigers and Missouri Western State University. It was the Griffons of Missouri Western who pulled out the bid for the Mineral Water Bowl to represent the MIAA.
Despite not receiving the bid for the Miner Water Bowl, Central Missouri still received an at-large bid to another bowl, the Texarkana Bowl in Texarkana, Arkansas. The Mules picked up the victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State 48-21.
Out of the three tied last season for the fourth position in the conference for the postseason spot, the Tigers were the only team left out of the postseason which shows the importance of the game this Saturday. A win and the Tigers all must certain to make the postseason, a loss and their magical season is all but most likely finished.
The Mules do pose a problem for the Tigers on offense and defense.
Central Missouri brings in the second best rush defense into the game surrendering only 112.2 yards per game. The Tigers bring in the best rush offense at 258.4 yards per game behind sophomore running back Shaq Cooper who leads the MIAA with 1,248 yards and senior quarterback Treveon Albert who is third in the MIAA with 1,072 yards.
Against the best rush defense in the MIAA, the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats, the Tigers were able to rush for 182 yards, led by Albert with 74 yards and a touchdown
Central Missouri as well only gives up 19.9 points per game good for third in the MIAA just ahead of Fort Hays who is at fourth with 24.3 points per game.
Offensively, the Mules lead the MIAA in total offense and are second in scoring in the MIAA.
Central Missouri averages 490.3 yards per game while averaging six yards per play while scoring 37.6 points per game.
The Mules are led by redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Fugate, who is second in the MIAA with 270 yards passing per game while throwing 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions throughout the season.
Fugate’s favorite target, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Zachery leads the MIAA with 89.3 yards per game, seventh in the conference averaging 18.2 yards per catch, and is and fourth with 49 receptions on the season.
Defensively for Fort Hays, they now have a healthy linebacking core with the return of redshirt freshman Jose Delgado and junior Alex Schmidtberger joining senior Brock Long. Long is third in the conference with 145 tackles on the season and second in the MIAA with 20.5 tackles for loss.
The Fort Hays secondary will have their work cut out for them going up against Fugate as they rank 10th in the MIAA giving up 245.3 yards per game, however, against Emporia State and Brent Wilson who had the best touchdown to interception ratio in the nation when he played the Tigers, the Fort Hays secondary was able to intercept him three times while only giving up one touchdown.
The game has been moved to the MIAA Game of the Week and is now slated to start at 2:30 pm from Lewis Field Stadium.