CHADRON, Neb., - Chadron State staged an epic fourth quarter comeback, then survived a triple overtime shootout to shock Abilene Christian University of Texas 76-73 in the second round of the NCAA Division II football playoffs Saturday.

And no, that score is not a misprint.

The No. 2-seed Eagles and fourth-seed Wildcats indeed combined for 1,369 yards of total offense as well as lighting up the Elliott Field scoreboard with a Division II playoff record of 149 total points on a sunny, yet chilly northwest Nebraska afternoon.

"I'm just kind of shocked, shaking my head," said Chadron State coach Bill O'Boyle. "If you had told me we'd give up 73 points, I'd have said no way, not on this field."

Quarterback Joe McLain helped the Eagles outgun Abilene Christian 36-7 in the frenetic fourth, then capped the Eagles' unlikely resurgence in the third overtime. After holding the Wildcats to a 21-yard field goal, a 13-yard run by Danny Woodhead set the table for McLain, who wove his way 12 yards through the Wildcats' secondary for a celebratory somersault into the end zone.

The touchdown boosted the Eagles into next Saturday's rematch with Northwest Missouri State, and sent an estimated 5,000 shell-shocked fans into either pandemonium or stunned silence.

"It's the greatest game I've ever seen and played in," said record-setting tailback Woodhead, who tallied 237 total yards and four touchdowns. "The word that Coach O'Boyle kept using is 'numb' and that's how it feels right now."

Abilene Christian came to Chadron after walloping Mesa State 56-12 in the first round last week. The 11-0 Eagles had earned a first-round bye, and at first, the week's layoff seemed to favor ACU.

The Wildcats pushed CSC around, scoring on five of their first six possessions en route to a 35-14 halftime lead. Woodhead, McLain and others encountered footing problems on the cold, wet turf in the first half.

The Wildcat offensive line made it look easy, opening holes for Harlon Hill finalist Bernard Scott, who scored four first-half touchdowns.

Scott scored on runs of 46, 2, 5 and 44 yards, and quarterback Billy Malone threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Johnny Knox to put the Wildcats up comfortably at the half.

Woodhead, also a Harlon Hill finalist after becoming the all-division NCAA career rushing leader earlier in the season, helped CSC keep pace early with touchdown runs of 2 and 3 yards.

The Eagles opened the second half with a 15-play, 53-yard march capped by McLain's 2-yard pass to Isaak Stockton.

Scott added two more scores for ACU, a 55-yard pass from Malone and a 90-yard scamper that put the put the Wildcats up 49-20, a cushion that had many Eagle followers contemplating their first home football loss in two years.

Chadron State, however, wasn't quite ready to call it a season.

McLain tossed TD passes to Joel Schommer, Woodhead and Aaron Cooksley. Woodhead added a 3-yard touchdown run and Travis Atter kicked a 25-yard field goal in the stretch.

Abilene Christian scored on a 13-yard pass from Malone to Kendrick Holloway, but the Wildcat offense sputtered on other drives.

"They made some adjustments to slow us down a little bit in the run game," said Abilene Christian coach Chris Thomsen. "They ran the ball a little bit better than we did late, and forced us into some third downs that we didn't convert."

The Eagles' drive of the game was a 92-yard march that began with just 1:29 left. Keyed by 13- and 16-yard runs by Woodhead and 17- and 16-yard passes to Brandon Harrington, Chadron State sent the game into overtime when McLain found Schommer wide open for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

"The funny thing is, we've run our two-minute (offense) all year and it really hasn't been working at all. When we needed it, things just fell into place and it was nice that we could run the ball," said McLain.

"I don't know what to say. Ninety yards. No time-outs. We went with what we had and somehow, we scored," added Woodhead.

In overtime, Abilene Christian scored on Malone's 25-yard pass to Badon and a 7-yarder to Knox.

Chadron State answered with McLain's 1-yard run and his 4-yard toss to Stockton.

The loss dampened a stellar performance by Scott, The Lone Star Conference offensive player of the year ended with 383 total yards and six touchdowns.

"We had ridden him all year to get to this point and he had another great game today," Thomsen said.

Quarterback Malone completed 23-of-38 passes for 361 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. Jerale Badon caught 10 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. Knox caught two touchdown passes.

"It was just an unbelievable game," said Thomsen, whose Wildcats finish at 10-3. "Chadron State is the No. 2 team in the country and they showed why today."

"They fought their way back into the game and did what they had to do to win. Credit our guys too. They continued to battle. There was a lot of great offensive plays, but we just came up short there at the end."

Woodhead rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns for Chadron State. The 2006 Harlon Hill Award winner also caught five passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.

McLain passed for 443 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions. The junior from Chadron also ran for 86 yards and two more touchdowns.

In next Saturday's D-II quarterfinals, Chadron State (12-0) will host Northwest Missouri State, 56-28 winners over West Texas A&M.

The Bearcats handed CSC its last defeat, 28-21 in last year's quarterfinals in Maryville, Mo. O'Boyle isn't anticipating a letdown after Saturday's classic struggle.

"We've got something to prove to Northwest Missouri. We lost a close one to them last year, and now they're coming up here," he said. "It's going to be a great game, and I don't think we'll have any problem getting up when the Bearcats come rolling in here."