2012 NCAA Division III Football Tournament Bracket (PDF)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University football team has been selected to the NCAA Division III Tournament as one of the seven highly coveted Pool C bids. The Bears will travel to Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania to take on the Pride on Saturday, November 17th at noon in first round action.
The game will be webcast and Live Stats will also be available.
The Bears will be making the program’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since back-to-back appearances in 1999 and 2000.
Under the tutelage of seventh-year head coach Chuck Denune (58-22, .725), the BSU football team enters the tournament with an overall record of 9-1. The Bears posted a 6-1 mark in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division.
Defensively, Bridgewater ranks eighth in all of Division III in total defense (247.3 ypg), 13th in pass defense (149.9 ypg), 25th in scoring defense (15.1 ppg), and 27th in both rush defense (97.4 ypg) and defensive pass efficiency (103.89 rating). On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears are 29th in rushing offense and are tied for 25th in sacks allowed (1.0 per game).
Widener is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in school history and is 15-10 overall in tournament play with two national championships (1977, 1981). The Pride went unbeaten during the regular season posting a 9-0 record with an 8-0 mark in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) as they captured their 19th conference title.
Widener is ranked ninth nationally in both the D3football.com Poll and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches’ Poll.
The Pride rank second in all of division III in scoring offense (51.22 ppg) and sacks allowed (0.33 spg), ninth in passing offense (336.33 ypg), 12th in pass efficiency (163.36 rating) and 13th in total offense (490.33 ypg). On the defensive side of the ball they are seventh in sacks (3.44 per game), tenth in tackles for loss (8.78 per game) and 17th in defensive pass efficiency (99.03 rating).
The winner of this game faces either No. 11 Salisbury University or Rowan University in the second round on Saturday, November 24th.