Kearney, Neb. - The 4th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney football team is a win away from playing a rare game in December.

The Lopers (10-1) host the Wayne State (Mich.) University Warriors Saturday in a NCAA Division II second round playoff game at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field.

Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. Central. For free, fans can watch an America One webcast.

As usual, live stats are available and Dave Jenner will have the play-by-play duties on KRNY 102.3 FM. The pregame show will begin at 11:00 a.m.

The winner of the UNK/WSU game advances to the national quarterfinals next weekend. The other side of the "Super Region 3" bracket pits defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth at No. 1 ranked Colorado State-Pueblo.

If the Warriors (9-3) defeat the Lopers, they'll travel to either Duluth or Pueblo on December 3rd. If UNK wins, they would host Duluth or play at Pueblo next Saturday.

Offensively, UNK and WSU are fairly similar as both like to run the ball (Kearney at 288 ypg & WSU at 213 ypg), both have QB's ( UNK's Jake Spitzlberger & Wayne's Mickey Mohner) with over 20 TD's passes and both have receivers (Kearney's Tommy Flanagan & WSU's Troy Burrell) that lead their teams in all three receiving
Defensively, Kearney has the better season numbers (14.9 points & 79.9 rush yards per game) but the Warriors have registered 34 sacks in 2011 and are coming off an effort in which they held 14th-ranked St. Cloud State to 123 rushing yards.

In that first round win, Wayne battled through a driving snow storm to literally run past the Huskies. Down 21-6, sophmore back Toney Davis (99.6 ypg, 18 TD's) had one of the best rushing days in Division II playoff history as he toted the rock 38 times for 326 yards and five TD's.

Senior running back Josh Renel (93.2 ypg, 12 TD's) added a 55 yard scoring run as Wayne ended up winning by a 48-38 score. This marked WSU's first postseason win in its 94-year history.

UNK is 3-7 all-time in the postseason, including a 1-4 mark at home and a 1-3 mark in the Division II playoffs. That lone victory came two years ago against Saginaw Valley State (Mich.), 35-20, the only other time UNK has played a Michigan school in football.

Log on to www.ncaasports or www.d2football.com for more playoff information around the country.