DII Football Games to Watch: North Greenville,Tuskegee compete in playoffs

TIGERVILLE, South Carolina -- Making the NCAA Division II playoffs each year is tough, so only on rare occasions will a team with four losses reach the second round and play at home. North Greenville (S.C.) is in that rarified air.

The Crusaders, 8-4 and the No. 6 seed in Super Region Two, will take on Tuskegee, 9-2 and the No. 7 seed, at noon ET Saturday at Younts Stadium in Tigerville, S.C.

A week ago, North Greenville traveled to Florida Tech and pulled off a 27-13 victory over the No. 3 seed. Tuskegee also nabbed a road, upset victory, knocking off second seed Newberry 35-33.

“Going to Florida was a three-day trip,” said North Greenville sophomore quarterback Will Hunter. “It was a nine-hour drive. We split it up into two days. I am not a big fan of riding the bus all day long. It is more comfortable playing at home and not having to travel. It is really exciting playing at home.”

Based on the Crusaders’ 2016 resume, if they had to play round two on the road, they would be just fine. The Crusaders are a resilient group. It even starts before the first game.

As an independent, North Greenville coach Jeff Farrington has the chore of finding 11 games to play. It became more difficult last season when an alliance with the South Atlantic Conference ended. North Greenville went 7-3 in 2015 and one of those losses was to a FCS team.

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