The Pacific Western Division champion Utah Warriors (10-3) will play the final game of the NIFL regular season tonight when they travel to face the Beaumont Drillers in Texas. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
After clinching the division title with last week's win over Wyoming, the best position Utah can get in the NIFL playoffs is the second seed.
According to the NIFL website, the Omaha Beef (11-3) secured the No. 1 spot last week with their win over Sioux Falls. Utah can clinch the second seed with a win against the Drillers or a Sioux Falls loss to Bismarck.
Despite the outcome of tonight's game with Beaumont, the Warriors have been guaranteed a home playoff game next Saturday in the E Center, with the opponent pending the outcome of tonight's last regular season games.
Coming off two-straight wins, the Warriors are looking to continue building momentum as they enter the playoff race. The Drillers, members of the Atlantic Southern division, are 6-7 and can only play the role of spoiler at this point of the year.
The Warriors will undoubtedly use a game plan that includes throwing the ball. Over the past 13 games, Utah has maintained the second-best offense in the league, ranking high in passing offense, scoring and total offense.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Drillers have dealt with average-to-mediocre offensive numbers through the course of the season. The category where Beaumont rates highest is in the number of opponent's first downs allowed at 137 on the season. The next best category is average penalties per game at approximately 55 yards a game.