TEAM REACTION/INTERVIEWS

PLAYOFF BRACKET (PDF)

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The 23^rd-ranked Samford football team has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs, and will play at 13^th-ranked Youngstown State in the opening round Nov. 26, the playoff committee announced Sunday morning.
 
Kickoff for the game is set for 4 p.m. (CT)/5 p.m. (ET). The game can be heard locally on FM-99.1 The Game.
 
Samford finished the regular season with a record of 7-4 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season with a 15-14, last-second loss at East Tennessee State Saturday afternoon.
 
Samford has an all-time record of 2-3 in the FCS Playoffs, with the program's last appearance coming in 2013. The most successful appearance for Samford came in 1991, when the Bulldogs reached the semifinal round of the playoffs.
 
Youngstown State is currently 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Penguins are coming off a 65-20 win at Missouri State on Saturday.
 
Samford and Youngstown State played in the 1991 FCS Playoff semifinals, with the Penguins earning a 10-0 victory over the Bulldogs. The teams have met three times overall, with Youngstown State winning all three meetings. The last meeting in the series came in 2002.
 
The FCS Playoffs consist of 24 teams, with the top eight seeds earning byes through next weekend's opening round. The FCS Championship Game will be played January 7, 2017, in Frisco, Texas.
 
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by clicking here: PURCHASE TICKETS.