THE RFC MYC: Great American Conference (GAC)-(NCAA Division II)

2017 GAC Final Standings (Courtesy of the Great American Conference)

Overview: In what was maybe the most bizarre season in its brief seven-year history, the Great American Conference (GAC) saw its eventual champion win a tight 11-game round-robin regular season race in which there were no non-conference games, only to lose a heartbreaker in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, while another team overcame early adversity to advance to the national semifinals.

Starting with the Harding University Bisons, they bounced back from a 0-3 start to reel off 11 straight wins, including pulling off upsets over the likes of Indianapolis, Ashland, and Ferris State to move to within one game of advancing to their first-ever national championship game at the D-II level. But eventual national champion Texas A&M-Commerce ended the Bisons run in the national semifinals, as the herd from Arkansas fell 31-17 on December 9. With the loss to TAMUC, Harding finished the 2017 season at 11-4 overall.

As for the Ouachita Baptist University Tigers, they finished the regular season at 9-2 overall, with one of their losses coming, ironically, to Harding, as well as to Southeastern Oklahoma State. However, unlike Harding, Ouachita's postseason run was stopped cold in the first round of the D-II playoffs, as Ferris State held off a strong challenge from the Tigers to win 24-19. OBU finished its 2017 campaign at 9-3 overall. In yet another fun fact, all three of the Tigers losses came by a combined 14 points.

The third GAC team to advance to postseason play was Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys advanced to the Agent Barry Live United Bowl, only to fall to Pittsburg State 48-31 on December 2 to finish at 8-4 overall. Meanwhile, two other squads-Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma State both fell short of the postseason after going 7-4 in 2017.

As another season quickly approaches, don't count out any of these aforementioned teams in the GAC championship or postseason conversation for 2018.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2018 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for preseason previews, schedules, schedule updates, and much more.

Arkansas-Monticello 

Arkansas Tech

East Central

Harding

Henderson State

Northwestern Oklahoma State

Oklahoma Baptist

Ouachita Baptist

Southeastern Oklahoma State

Southern Arkansas

Southern Nazarene

Southwestern Oklahoma State

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