WAVERLY, Iowa—The Wartburg football team (8-2 overall) will travel to face No. 11/15 Bethel (9-1) Saturday at noon in the NCAA Playoffs.

The Knights received the automatic bid with their American Rivers Conference Championship. The Royals received an at-large bid to the tournament after they upset St. Thomas Saturday to finish second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).

The Orange and Black will make their 12th appearance in the NCAA Playoffs and second straight.

Click here for the complete bracket.

Travel Information for Fans
I-35W will be closed this weekend from Fri, Nov. 16 at 10 p.m. until Mon, Nov. 19 at 5 a.m. to do underground utility work across I-35W. The detour route includes Hwy 62, Hwy 100 and I-394. Access to southbound I-35W from 46th St. will be closed this weekend, but access will be open at Diamond Lake Rd.

Follow the Knights
Click here for the live video, live audio and live stats, provided by Bethel.
Click here for the live audio, provided by KWAY.

Ticket Information
Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for children. Gates will open at 10 a.m.

The Series
The Royals hold the series lead at 4-3, but the Knights were victorious on their last trip to the Twin Cities, 24-14 in 2015. This will be the fourth meeting in the postseason between the programs. Bethel holds a slim lead at 2-1 in those games.

Wartburg
Senior quarterback Matt Sacia (Eldridge) has thrown for 2,841 yards and 32 touchdowns. He has finished with triple-digit passing yards in 30 straight games and 32 of his last 33, which dates back to the 2016 season.

Junior Kolin Schulte (Anamosa) leads the receivers with 1,000 yards on 46 catches and seven TDs. He has tallied triple digits in receiving yards in five of the last six games. Sophomore JoJo McNair (Joliet, Ill.) joins him above the 600-yard mark with 640 yards and nine TDs.

Sophomore Mason Carter (North Liberty) has a team-high 518 yards on 105 carries with eight TDs. Junior Bennett Goettsch (Marengo) has 407 yards on 94 carries with 10 TDs. Junior Connor Bailey (Knoxville) has 368 yards and three TDs.

Senior Marcus Johnson (Huxley) leads the defense with 88 tackles. Classmate Dillon Rademaker (Greene) leads the team with 20.0 TFLs.

Career Record Watch
Sacia is the all-time leader in TD passes (91) and pass completions with 665. He is second in passing yards with 8,839.

Single Season Record Watch
Sacia's 32 TD passes are second-best in a single season. His 2,841 passing yards and 203 pass completions are fourth-best.

McNair's nine TD catches are tied for tenth-best. Freshman Kain Eagle's (Denver) 47 PATs stand fourth-best.

Schulte's 1,000 receiving yards stands fifth-best

Bethel
Two players have over 700 yards on the ground in Sam Gibas (842) and Jaran Roste (748). Gibas has nine TDs and Roste has 14 on his feet.

Roste is also the quarterback and has thrown for 1,394 yards and eight TDs.

Two receivers have over 500 yards in Drew Larson (545) and Joel Koenecke (535).

Drew Ragsdale leads the defense with 72 total tackles and Kyle Kilgore has a team-high 9.5 TFLs.

National Stat Rankings
Wartburg ranks in the top 100 of 34 statistical categories, which the NCAA released Monday.
 
The Knights rank 1^st in completion percentage (.725), 1^st in blocked punts allowed (0), 4^th in team passing efficiency (187.22), 6^th in fourth down conversion percentage (.733), 8^th in scoring offense (45.6), 12^th in third down conversion percentage defense (.264), 14^th in passing offense (303.7), 15^th in blocked punts (3), 16^th in red zone offense (.879), 20^th in total offense (464.9), 22^nd in first downs defense (137), 23^rd in total defense (261.8), 24^th in fewest penalty yards per game (44.1), 25^th in third down conversion percentage (.477), 26^th in first downs offense (233), 28^th in winning percentage (.8), 28^th in rushing defense (81), 31^st in time of possession (32:22), 33^rd in fewest penalties per game (5.1), 35^th in fewest penalty yards (441), 37^th in fewest penalties (51), 42^nd in tackles for loss allowed (5), 42^nd in team passing efficiency defense (104.03), 47^th in passes had intercepted (7), 49^th in passing yards per completion (13.74), 49^th in scoring defense (17.6), 55^th in punt returns (11.24), 67^th in punt return defense (6.25), 68^th in passing yards allowed (180.8), 70^th in net punting (33.45), 89^th in passes intercepted (11), 94^th in team tackles for loss (6.8), 95^th in blocked kicks (3), and 99^th in turnovers lost (17).
 
Individually, eight Knights rank in the top 100 of twenty-nine statistical categories: Sacia ranks 2^nd in completion percentage (.72), 3^rd in passing efficiency (189.1), 5^th in passing touchdowns (32), 5^th in yards per pass attempt (10.07), 12^th in passing yards per game (284.1), 12^th in passing yards (2,841), 16^th in points responsible for (198), 20^th in points responsible for per game (19.8), 24^th in total offense (284), 32^nd in completions per game (20.3), and 34^th in passing yards per completion (14); Rademaker ranks 7^th in tackles for loss (2.1) and 48^th in sacks (.8); senior Dane Steidler (Eldridge) ranks 13^th in punt return touchdowns (1); Schulte ranks 8^th in yards per reception (21.74), 29^th in receiving yards (1,000), 33^rd in receiving yards per game (100), and 91^st in receiving touchdowns (7); McNair ranks 13^th in kickoff return touchdowns (1), 13^th in punt return touchdowns (1), 28^th in kickoff returns (25.9), 43^rd in punt returns (9.5), 52^nd in receiving touchdowns (9), 53^rd in combined kick returns (514), 56^th in passes defended (1.3), 64^th in total touchdowns (12), 74^th in all purpose (125.2), and 79^th in total points scored (72); Goettsch ranks 57^th in rushing touchdowns (10) and 82^nd in total touchdowns (11); sophomore Nick Deppe (Plainfield, Ill.) ranks 98^th in punting (36.2); and freshman Kain Eagle (Denver) ranks 79^th in field goals per game (.6).