Five area football teams make Division II and Division III playoffs

Three NSIC teams were included in the 28-team Division II football playoff field and two teams from Minnesota were included in the 32-team Division III bracket, it was announced Sunday.

NSIC champion Augustana (10-1), which earned the title with a 38-19 victory over Bemidji State on Saturday, will host Minnesota State Mankato (9-2) in the first round of the Super Region IV playoffs. Augustana, the No. 4 seed, defeated the Mavericks — who finished in a three-way tie for second in the NSIC (with Bemidji and Minnesota Duluth) — 28-10 on Oct. 21 in Sioux Falls.

Bemidji State (8-2) will travel to Midland, Texas, to take on No. 3 seed Texas-Permian Basin (10-1).

The other first-round game in the region is Central Washington (7-3) at No. 2 Western Colorado (10-1). Colorado Mines (11-0), the top seed in the region, has a first-round bye. Minnesota Duluth (9-2) was left out of the bracket.

MIAC champion Bethel (8-2) will play at Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-1) in the first round of the Division III playoffs. Whitewater, the WIAC runner-up, received one of four at-large bids into the bracket.

Bethel coach Steve Johnson, the winningest active coach in Division III with 252 victories, has announced he will retire at the end of the season. The Royals reached the quarterfinals in the 2022 playoffs.

UMAC champion Minnesota Morris (7-3), making its first postseason appearance since 1981, will play at WIAC champion Wisconsin-La Crosse (9-1) in a first-round matchup. Minnesota Morris defeated Northwestern (St. Paul) 42-39 on Saturday to earn its first conference title since 2006.

Gustavus Adolphus (6-4), which lost to Bethel on Saturday in the MIAC championship game, and St. John's (8-2) did not receive at-large bids. St. John's had reached the playoffs eight consecutive seasons (there were no playoffs in 2020).