Evidently, Mary Hardin-Baylor football coach Pete Fredenburg is a fan of Churchill.
Fredenburg spent most of his weekly press conference Monday morning discussing his team's possible postseason fate, driving home the point that he truly believes his Crusaders will be part of the 32-team field for the NCAA Division III playoffs.
"When all things are said and done, I would be totally surprised if we're not in the playoffs," the coach said with conviction, "provided we win out."
UMHB (7-1, 5-1 American Southwest Conference) is ranked No. 9 in the country, but the first obstacle in the playoff path of the two-time reigning national semifinalist was placed two weeks ago with a 17-14 loss at Mississippi College. Another hurdle appeared Saturday when MC (6-2, 5-1) fell to lightly regarded Howard Payne.
With two conference games remaining, MC would garner the ASC's automatic playoff bid by virtue of its win over UMHB - provided both teams win out.
The Crusaders would be left hoping for one of six at-large berths, which are doled out by a national committee that uses a specific set of data to make its decisions. UMHB's standing within that data will be lowered by MC's loss to Howard Payne.
