Central Washington University Athletics

The Central Washington University football team comes into week nine with an 8-0 record and a national ranking of 8^th.
 
This week the Wildcats take on Azusa Pacific who gave CWU its biggest scare of the season.  Central defeated the Cougars 17-16 on a last second 42-yard field goal by Gavin Todd in week three.

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ABOUT THE WILDCATS

REGIONALLY RANKED
The first of four NCAA Division II Regional Rankings were released on Monday, and the Wildcats were ranked second.  The top seven ranked teams from each of the four regions will play in the NCAA Playoffs.  The top seed in the region will get a first round bye, while seeds 2-4 will host the first round of games.

1. Winona State
2. Central Washington
3. Minnesota State - Mankato
4. Midwestern State
5. Humboldt State
6. Sioux Falls
7. Colorado Mesa
8. Texas A&M-Commerce
9. Eastern New Mexico
10. Minnesota Duluth

PERNELL POUNDS THE PIGSKIN
Senior running back Austin Pernell put on his best performance of his career in the Wildcats 17-10 win over North Alabama last weekend.  Pernell rushed for 189 yards on 35 carries, and accounted for both of CWU's touchdowns in the game.
 
For his efforts. Pernell was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
 
The Kentlake product has run for 466 yards and six touchdowns on the season.  Coming into 2017, Pernell had 272 career rushing yards and three total touchdowns, one of which coming on a blocked punt.

DEFENSE STANDS TALL
Last week, the CWU defense put on a clinic, allowing North Alabama to gain just 178 yards of total offense.  The lions ran the ball 36 times for an average of 1.6 yards per carry and lost 78 yards.
 
After last week's performance, the Wildcats now boast the 4^th ranked defense in the nation, allowing 260.3 yards of offense a game.  Central leads the nation in sacks with 4.25 a game and second in red zone defense where they have stopped opposing offenses from scoring 57.1-percent of the time.
 
The defense also ranks fourth in tackles for loss per game (10.0) and third in interceptions with 15, just one off the national lead.
 
The Wildcats defense has been particularly relentless against the run where they rank third in the nation allowing just 61.3 yards per game.  The Wildcats have only allowed one team to run for over 100-yards, and that came in week three against Azusa Pacific who ran for 176.

HAYNES, TWO AWAY FROM HISTORY
Linebacker Kevin Haynes needs just two solo tackles to become the schools all-time leader in the category.  He stands with 207 solo tackles in his career, trailing Blake Walker (2001-04) who currently holds the top spot with 208.  Haynes is also just 37 total tackles from breaking Buddy Wood's (2005-09) school-record.  In the past three games, Haynes has totaled 38 tackles, and if he keeps that pace he will accomplish the feat before the end of the regular season.

SENIOR DAY
Saturday marks the final regular season home game for 18 outgoing CWU football seniors.  Central Washington University and the coaching staff will honor the seniors at 12:40 p.m., 20 minutes prior to kickoff.

ABOUT THE COUGARS
After a 1-2 start, the defending GNAC champions have rallied to a 5-3 record with their only losses coming from CWU and Humboldt State.
 
Two weeks ago, Azusa Pacific lost in a shootout with Humboldt State, 49-52, in a game that saw over 1,300 yards of offense.
 
Since the Wildcats first faced APU, the Cougars added some much-needed firepower to its offense in the form of running back Kurt Scoby.  Scoby missed the first three games of the season, but since returning, has averaged 135.6 yards per game and the second most rushing yards in the conference this season.
 
The Cougar offense also features the GNAC's top receiver in Weston Carr who has hauled down 64 catches for 1,097 yards and 10 touchdowns.  However, the Wildcats held Carr to just one catch in the first meeting of the season, his lowest output of his career.
 
Defense has been the Cougars kryptonite all season where they allow 365.6 yards per game, including 167.1 yards per game on the ground which is second-worst in the conference.  The Wildcats rushed for 263 yards on 55 carries in week three.

SERIES HISTORY
Dating back to 1997, CWU holds a slim 8-6 edge in the all-time series.  Azusa Pacific has won two of the last three games and four of the last six matchups.  On Sept. 16 the Wildcats edged APU 17-16 on Todd's last second field goal.  The Wildcats dominated the game statistically outgaining the Cougars by nearly 200 yards.  The Wildcats turned the ball over three times on the APU side of the field on drives where they were moving the ball effectively.