On Friday night, the Montana Grizzlies will host the Northern Iowa Panthers in an FCS quarterfinal matchup. Northern Iowa edged out a close game to defeat the Wofford Terriers to reach this round of the tournament, first going down 14-7 at halftime and then rallying for a 28-21 comeback win. UNI struggled to stop a Wofford rushing attack that racked up 457 yards and three touchdowns on a 73 carries, but a late error by Wofford's Stephon Shelton on a kick return produced a special teams touchdown for the Panthers that got them on track for the win.
Meanwhile, Montana advanced to the quarterfinals with a much easier 41-14 victory over the Central Arkansas Bears. The Grizzlies led 31-0 at halftime and cruised to the win from there on.
The Grizzlies are the No. 4 seed in the FCS playoffs bracket, while UNI is seeded fifth in the tournament. The Panthers are 1-3 in their last four quarterfinal games on the road, and are 0-4 all-time against the Grizzlies. For the full FCS Playoff bracket, go here.
The winner of this matchup will play the winner of the Montana State Bobcats vs. Sam Houston State Bearkats game on Saturday afternoon. The FCS Semifinals will be played on Dec. 16th and 17th.
Here's the information for Friday night's game:
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Location: Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana
TV Coverage: ESPN and ESPN3
Series record: Montana leads, 4-0
Friday's game is the first game of the quarterfinal round, and the other three games will be played on Saturday. Check out the full television schedule of this weekend's games.
For more on the tournament, be sure to visit the 2011 FCS Playoffs StoryStream.