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By David Boyce | Northwest Football at Minnesota-Duluth | Saturday, Nov. 22 | 1 p.m. | James S. Malosky Stadium
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - After Northwest Missouri State football team wrapped up its regular season with a 31-14 victory over Washburn, head coach Adam Dorrel felt a weight lifted from him.

Dorrel is positive the players experienced the same relief.

As the defending NCAA Division II champions, the Bearcats knew the pressure to return to the playoffs was going to be high.

After all, the previous two national champions, Valdosta State and Pittsburg State, failed to reach the playoffs the next season.

The Bearcats not only were the defending champions, they were coming off a perfect 15-0 season.

What do you do for an encore?

"I don't want to use the word that last year was easy," Dorrel said. "There was nothing easy about going 15-0. It has been a lot more challenging this year, dealing with different aspects of our football program. It has been a lot more challenging. I am proud of our kids for staying focused and rising to the occasion."

Indeed. Northwest finished the regular season 10-1 and earned the fifth seed in Super Region 3. The Bearcats will travel north and take on No. 3 seed Minnesota-Duluth, 11-0, at 1 p.m. Saturday.

One strong component for Northwest returning to the playoffs is tradition, said sophomore running back Phil Jackson.

"We always talk about tradition here," Jackson said. "I think that is what keeps us going all the time."

This will be the 11^th straight time Northwest has earned a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs and 19^th overall.

"It is huge in itself that we could make the national playoffs again," senior linebacker Eric Reimer said. "Most teams struggle that next year. But it is also awesome for our 21 seniors to play another game."

The Bearcats will be facing another seasoned playoff team, one it is familiar with. Last year Northwest beat the Bulldogs 45-21 in the quarterfinals at Bearcat Stadium. In 2010, Minnesota-Duluth beat Northwest in Duluth in the semifinals and the Bulldogs went on to win the national title.

It was the last game that Mel Tjeerdsma, now the athletic director, coached for the Bearcats.

Northwest also lost to Minnesota-Duluth in the 2008 Division II championship game. Overall, the two teams are 2-2 against each other.

The Bearcats, though, don't care who they play or where they play. They are thrilled to have another game and the opportunity to defend their title.

"It is just fun to get out on the field again and play with the guys and keep the senior season extended," Reimer said.

Because of what they have accomplished over the years, especially last year, the Bearcats will be battle tested for the playoffs. They have received every team's best shot.

"We expect that," Reimer said. "It does make it a little more difficult. We embrace the challenge. It doesn't change the way we prepare. We know the other team is going to bring it. Whether it is offense or defense, we prepare well and make sure we go out there and put our best game together."

Only Pittsburg State found the formula to hand Northwest its first defeat since the second round of the 2012 playoffs.

Since that loss, Northwest has won five straight, beating each team by at least 17 points.

"We kept improving every week," Reimer said. "Now it is playoffs. It is a whole new game."

And it just might be the most relaxed the Bearcats have been all season.

"I think it is a huge relief for our kids. I started sensing that towards the end of the Washburn game," Dorrel said. "The pressure was building a little bit. We tried to manage that the best we could. It feels great to make the playoffs.

"I don't care if we are a sixth seed or a one seed, you are in the national playoffs. Everybody is good. The season resets itself. You have to play to win. I've always looked at it that if you are one of the final 24 teams left in the country, go for it. That is going to be my approach moving forward."