Southeast Missouri State football earns second-ever FCS playoff berth
The Southeast Missouri State football team is headed to the playoffs.
The No. 20 Redhawks received one of the 14 at-large bids to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs when the 24-team field was announced Sunday morning in a live selection show on ESPNU.
SEMO (8-3, 6-2 Ohio Valley Conference) will host No. 15 Stony Brook (7-4) in a first-round game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Houck Field. It will be SEMO's first-ever home playoff game.
It's SEMO's second-ever playoff appearance and first in eight years. It's also the first time the No. 20 Redhawks have earned an at-large bid.
In 2010, SEMO won the Ohio Valley Conference, earning an automatic bid. In its first-ever playoff game, the Redhawks lost 37-17 to Eastern Washington.
This season, SEMO went 8-3 and 6-2 in the OVC to finish second behind Jacksonville State, which claimed its fifth consecutive conference crown.
SEMO's 37-14 win over Jacksonville State, which ended the Gamecocks' 36-game conference winning streak, helped the Redhawks earn an at-large bid.
It's the first time the OVC has had two playoff teams since 2015.