Unbeaten Central Plays Occidental in Iowa Today

After going 36 years without a postseason football victory, Occidental College will try for its second straight in the NCAA Division III playoffs today against Central College at Pella, Iowa.

The Tigers (9-1) advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 28-10 victory over St. John’s University of Collegeville, Minn., last Saturday at Patterson Field in Eagle Rock.

Central (10-0) beat Coe College of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 27-7, to force a rematch of last season’s first-round playoff game. Occidental lost to Central, 23-22, in 1984 when it failed on a two-point conversion on the final play of the game.

Central is rated second in the nation. Occidental, champion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the last three seasons, is eighth.