What to know about the DII football championship semifinals

Just four teams remain in the DII football championship. Three of the teams are undefeated No. 1 seeds — a feat we last saw in 2019. Defending national champion Ferris State, 2023 national champion Harding, and 2023 national semifinalist Kutztown will all be playing next weekend with a combined record of 42-0.

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It is quite an impressive feat when you consider the changes to the bracket this year. There were more teams in the tournament and no first-round bye. The last time three No. 1 seeds advanced, they had to play one less game than these three. It will make the next round a conundrum — are these teams starting to feel the grind of a longer season, or do they have the momentum to keep pushing forward to McKinney, Texas?

The fourth team to join the party was the lone upset of the day. No. 3 Newberry will be joining the semifinals party next weekend, a first for the Wolves. Before we get to the semifinalists, let’s not forget we had some DII bowl games this weekend as well.

West Texas A&M Athletics

• West Texas A&M wins the Heritage Bowl. The Buffs held off a 14-point fourth-quarter barrage from Arkansas Tech and denied the go-ahead two-point conversion to win 28-27. DII football’s leading passer, RJ Martinez, threw for 407 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
• Northeastern State wins First Americans Bowl, 56-21. The RiverHawks ended a successful season with a 9-3 record. DII’s only independent team exploded for 651 yards, led by quarterback Donnie Smith’s huge day (405 yards passing and five touchdowns). It was their first postseason win since 1999.
• Upper Iowa wins the Albanese Candy Bowl. The Peacocks strutted their stuff in a 37-28 victory over Hillsdale. Yet another quarterback had a big day, this time, the Peacocks’ Darryl Overstreet Jr., who threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another one.

Now, onto our semifinalists.

Kutztown is golden once again

Kutztown Athletics

Yes, Kutztown moved on to the national semifinals for the second time in three years. But we’ll get to the Golden Bears in a minute. The big takeaway here is that Frostburg State showed it is a program that can contend and hang with the best. The Bobcats dropped 29 points on Saturday against DII football’s second-best scoring defense. It was the most points Kutztown allowed all season. Most of the Bobcats' scoring came in an exciting 28-20 first half before Kutztown capitalized on mistakes and pulled away. Kudos to Frostburg State, ending its historic season gallantly, 51-29.

Now, how about these Golden Bears? Last time they were in the national semifinals was the first time they ever made it that far. That 2023 run did not end well, as they were blown out by eventual national runners-up Colorado School of Mines. That was a different team, and this Kutztown team seems to know how to close out games. Quarterback Judd Novak is a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist and had a monster game, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for one more. He has now thrown for three touchdowns with no interceptions in each of his three tournament games.

Kutztown is powered by its defense, which has been one of the best in DII this season. It helps make Novak and the run-heavy offense go. The Golden Bears are also smart with the football, posting a top 10 turnover margin in DII. The question is, can they dodge history? The last Super Region One team to win a semifinal game and advance was Shepherd way back in 2015. The last team in the current Super Region One alignment to win a national championship? Let’s just say we are still waiting to answer that question.

And from that point on, the Bisons were running

Harding Athletics

Harding blew through its regular-season schedule, winning every GAC matchup by no fewer than three scores. Surprisingly, the Bisons have shown they are somewhat human in the tournament: each ensuing round saw the most points scored against this vaunted defense, with 16 from Northwest Missouri State in Round 1, 21 from Pittsburg State in Round 2, and 28 from UT Permian Basin in the Super Region Four finale.

The Falcons must have put a little scare into the Bisons, battling with the DII football heavyweights and taking the Bisons to the wire in a thrilling 34-28 Harding victory, the only one-score ball game the Bisons have been in all season. The Falcons “held” the Bisons to just 389 yards rushing, their lowest total (and first time under 427 yards) since Oct. 17. That said, those 389 yards helped break the Bisons' own college football record with 6,308 yards rushing, the most in a single season ever. They also scored their 80th rushing touchdown of the year, a new program mark.

UTPB quarterback Kanon Gibson threw for 312 yards, the most any quarterback has thrown for against Harding since Nov. 25, 2023, when Harlon Hill-winner Zach Zebrowski threw for 425 yards in a Harding second-round tournament win. Despite all that, Harding still won because this rushing attack and defense know how to finish games. The Bisons lead all college football in rushing yards per game by 125 yards per game (455.2), and the scoring defense leads DII, so this team is as balanced as it gets.

Kutztown vs. Harding, by the numbers

We are talking about two of the best teams in DII right here, and looking at the stats side-by-side, it is easy to see why. The stats are also eerily similar. Harding had a much tougher road to the semifinals, defeating three top-15 teams in Northwest Missouri State, Pittsburg State, and UTPB. Kutztown, on the other hand, defeated two unranked teams in Bentley and Assumption before downing No. 24 Frostburg State. Kutztown certainly gets an edge playing at home; however, Harding has just four road losses in the last five years. Very little separates these two on paper, so this will be a battle.

Another repeat for the Bulldogs?

Stop me if you heard this before: Ferris State is in the national semifinals. It is the fifth time in six years the ‘Dawgs have been semifinalists, and they won four of those times, converting three of those wins into national championships. The Bulldogs are absolutely steamrolling opponents in the tournament, and there is very little reason to think this point-scoring barrage will end next weekend.

Ferris State won 52-29 over fellow DII football powerhouse Minnesota State. To put that in perspective of this insane tournament run, those 52 points are the fewest the Bulldogs have scored in the tournament thus far. They are averaging 57.7 points per game in the tournament against three nationally ranked teams. Per usual, Ferris State is peaking when it matters most.

Quarterback Chase Carter is clicking and has been responsible for four touchdowns in each of the three tournament wins. The defense has been feeling out its opponents in the first half and just smothering them in the second half. Of the 67 points Ferris State has allowed in the playoffs, only 15 have come in the second half. This team is clicking.

Welcome, Wolves

Newberry Athletics

Newberry is dancing its way to its first-ever semifinals. And if you watched this game, you saw exactly what makes Newberry so dangerous; no lead is too large, and no team is too imposing.

Newberry went into No. 1 Albany State (GA) and quickly went down 21-3 in the first quarter. Quarterback Reed Charpia actually threw an interception that could have seen Newberry down yet another score before the second quarter was even a third of the way through, but the tides quickly turned. Charpia led Newberry to score 28 consecutive points and took a 31-24 lead. Albany State had a chance with one second remaining to tie the game, but backup quarterback Xavier Irizarry’s pass fell just incomplete in the end zone.

The Wolves are now 12-1 and haven’t lost since Sept. 20. They have a verified DII superstar in Charpia, who was named a Harlon Hill finalist earlier this week. They are the least dominant in terms of scoring margin among the remaining teams, but they find a way to win and win meaningful games at that. Simply put, if you rule out the Wolves, you’ll find yourself in the rearview mirror more often than not.

Ferris State vs. Newberry, by the numbers

We have one of the most experienced and winningest programs in DII football championship history against a team that has never been this far. We have, statistically speaking, a wrecking ball in Ferris State, a team that is 38-1 at home over the past five seasons. What we have in Newberry, though, is a team that never quits. The Wolves also have arguably the best natural quarterback left standing and if the Wolves have to air it out to hang with the Bulldogs, Charpia is the guy to do it.