Missouri Western knew pretty early that it was headed for the Mineral Water Bowl football game in Excelsior Springs, Mo., on Dec. 5. What seemed to take forever was the selection of its opponent.

The Griffons (8-3) knew they had to settle for a bowl game on Sunday night after they fell out of the regional rankings with a devastating 30-21 home loss against Nebraska-Omaha. And with Omaha's conference tie-breaker advantage over the Griffons, the Mavericks chose to go to the inaugural Kanza Bowl in Topeka, Kan.

That left Western with its sixth Mineral Water Bowl appearance since the MIAA began its relationship with that bowl in 2000 - more than any other team. It will be Western's seventh Mineral Water Bowl trip overall. The Griffons defeated Graceland 44-0 in 1975 as an NAIA institution.

It wasn't until late Monday afternoon that the Griffons discovered they will play Augustana (S.D.), rather than Bemidji (Minn.) State, creating a rematch of the 2008 participants.

The delay was due to an administrative oversight in the Bemidji State athletic department, according to the NCAA. The NCAA announced Sunday that due to an oversight in the transfer process, junior defensive back Anthony Ragsdale has been declared ineligible.

Bemidji (8-3) incurred penalties in the overall win-loss percentage, the Division II win-loss percentage, the Division II average opponent win-loss percentage and in-region win-loss percentage.

"It looks like the change in strength of schedule knocked them out," Mineral Water Bowl Director Roger Siegel said. "The penalty made them not eligible in the regional rankings."

Siegel on late Monday afternoon got the final decision from Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Commissioner Butch Raymond, who had been in consultation with the athletic directors at Augustana and Wayne State.

"We usually know this on Sunday night," Siegel said. "This has been a different year."

It was a different year for Western, which looked nearly unbeatable early before losing two of its last four games to lose its grasp on a Super Region 4 playoff spot.

"It's a little bit somber down in the football office right now," defensive coordinator Regi Trotter said early Monday afternoon. "We didn't quite finish out the season."

But the Griffons bring to the 44th version of the Excelsior Springs game a team that features a prolific offense led by junior quarterback Drew Newhart, who threw for 2,821 yards and 28 touchdowns during the regular season while completing 65 percent of his passes. Among his favorite targets is senior Cedric Houston, who on Saturday caught his school record-tying 14th touchdown pass of the season.

The teams will kick off at noon at Tiger Stadium, adjacent Excelsior Spring High School.

Augustana (8-3) defeated the Griffons 37-16 in last year's game, snapping a seven-game MIAA win streak. The Vikings demolished Northern State 47-19 on Saturday - the same team the Griffons walloped 49-14 in the season-opener.

Nebraska-Omaha will play West Texas A&M of the Lone Star Conference in the other MIAA-affiliated bowl game. The Kanza Bowl is scheduled for 1 p.m., also on Dec. 5, at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.