This week on the DII Nation Podcast, West Florida football head coach Pete Shinnick discusses the return to DII football.
Shinnick, a two-time national coach of the year, has led the Argos to two DII football championship games in the past four years. Why is that so remarkable?
Continue reading DII football: West Florida head coach Pete Shinnick visits the DII Nation Podcast
Welcome back DII sports fans. The NCAA DII football season has officially begun with most teams returning to practice on Monday, August 9, 2021. For some teams, it was a long-time coming.
One of those teams is West Florida. The defending national champions did not play a single down in the fall or abbreviated spring DII football season. Despite that, I have them coming in at No. 1 in my DII football preseason Power 10 rankings.
Austin Reed is back under center and in case you forgot, he threw for 523 yards and six touchdowns in the 2019 DII football championship game. His two main targets are gone, but he has plenty of weapons in wide receivers Ka’Ron Ashley and Rodney Coates as well as DI transfer David Durden who could challenge for newcomer of the year.
– From NCAA.com
Before the season gets started, be sure to check out my entire Power 10 rankings, the first five out and two sleepers that you should have your eyes on in 2021. Read the full article here.
Twenty-eight teams entered the 2018 DII football championship with national title aspirations. After 15 weeks of football, just four teams remain.
The DII football championship is broken into four Super Regions with each portion of the bracket beginning with the seven teams. Three rounds of play determine each Super Region champion which moves on to the national semifinals. Three of the four teams that advanced — Valdosta State, Minnesota State and Notre Dame (OH) — were No. 1 seeds in their respective regions. The fourth — Ferris State — was the No. 2. All four teams enter Saturday undefeated.
Continue reading Here’s everything you need to know about the DII football championship semifinals
(From NCAA.com, please see the full article HERE)
The DII Football Championship selection show is set for 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 11. The heavyweights of DII football anxiously await their postseason fates, hopeful to fill out one of the 28 spots in the tournament.
The 2017 DII Football Championship was a memorable one, as it pitted two first-timers against each other. Harlon Hill Award-winner Luis Perez led Texas A&M-Commerce to its first DII title over West Florida. The Argos’ remarkable run was unmatched by any other in history, as they made it all the way to the finals in just their second year as a football program.
(From NCAA.com, please see the full article HERE)
This is it. The final weekend of the DII football season. With several conference championships and a couple of top 25 showdowns on the bill, there is plenty of action to pay close attention to as Sunday’s bracket selection show awaits.
Let’s take a look at the games that stand out Saturday:
Top 5 matchup. Check. Conference championship. Check. No press here at all. Just a whole bunch of playoff implications on the line.
VSU Athletics@BlazerAthletics
Valdosta State and West Georgia are currently No. 1 and No. 2 in Super Region Two. While neither should have to concern themselves with making the postseason, there is a possible first-round bye at stake. The winner will be the lone remaining undefeated team standing in the conference, all but locking up that No. 1 seed.
The Blazers have the top scoring offense in DII football, putting up a scorching 52.8 points per game. The Wolves are no slouches, as quarterback Willie Candler and running back Devontae Jackson lead the No. 2 scoring offense in the Gulf South Conference at 35.9 points per game. The Wolves also have the top defense in the GSC, so this could be a classic chess match. Whichever coach makes the right move to counter may find his team the victor.
Whatever happens, you couldn’t ask for a more perfect finale to the GSC season. Two of the 10 undefeated teams in all of DII football get to go head-to-head with so much on the line.
MORE: A top 10 shakeup in the latest AFCA poll
This is for all the marbles in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The PSAC Championship game will be nothing less than a thriller.
Rock Athletics✔@Rock_Athletics
Both of these teams can put up serious points. The PSAC title bout will feature two of the more exciting quarterbacks in DII football. The Golden Rams A.J. Long is second on the team in rushing (557 yards, six touchdowns), while throwing for 1,767 yards and 18 touchdowns. Roland Rivers III didn’t even claim the starting job for The Rock until Week 3, but he’s been sensational, a perfect 8-0 in his starts while throwing for 1,987 yards and 21 touchdowns. Rivers can run, as well, but he doesn’t have to. Wes Hills has been a beast, piling up 1,113 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. He has three-straight 200 yard rushing games and appears to be heating up at the right time.
Slippery Rock is hanging tight at the No. 7 spot in Super Region One. A victory on the big stage will propel them into the postseason. A loss may end it on Saturday.
MORE: DII football Week 10 by the numbers
Hillsdale rose from the unranked just in time to capture the Great Midwest Athletic Conference title last week, taking down undefeated Tiffin in dominating fashion, 48-26. The Chargers challenge themselves by going out of conference to face a top 25 team in the closing week of the season.
Talk about postseason preparation.
UIndy is looking to return to the postseason after a first-round exit to Harding last season. Al McKellar and Toriano Clinton are a dangerous two-headed monster out of the backfield, combining for 1,590 yards and 20 touchdowns. Hillsdale’s quarterback Chance Stewart became the program’s all-time touchdown leader last weekend and hopes there is more in store. He’s already thrown for 2,740 yards and 23 touchdowns, so his first career 3.000-yard season is in his sight.
It’s not often you get a Week 11 top 25 matchup that pits two conference champions against each other. Enjoy this one if you can.
Both of these teams can put up points with anyone in the country. The Mines offense puts up a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference-best 50.2 points per game, while Chadron State drops 39.1. Last week, the Orediggers fell from the undefeated, upset in the final seconds by Dixie State 52-45. Earlier this season, Chadron State laid down the upset, taking down then-No. 14 Colorado Mesa 38-34.
This is RMAC football.
Chadron State can leave its mark with a win in this one. Sitting at 7-2, they trail the Orediggers and Colorado State-Pueblo (both 8-1) by just one game. The Mines offense is led by some of the best in DII football: quarterback Isaac Harker is No. 3 with 3,201 yards passing, running back Cameron Mayberry is No. 6 with 1,377 yards on the ground, and wide receiver Brody Oliver is No. 8 with 1,067 yards receiving and tied for No. 1 with 19 touchdowns. It won’t be easy for the Eagles, but don’t count them out.
Running back Kevin Coy, Jr. should eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in this one and already has 14 touchdowns. Quarterback Dalton Holst has 20 passing touchdowns. This game should be good old fashioned, explosive RMAC football, and could well come down to whoever has the ball last. The Mines offense is hoping it’s them to keep their postseason hopes alive.
The Reddies are 5-5 and not playing for anything. Anything but bragging rights that is.
Ouachita Tiger Football@OuachitaFB
Welcome to the Battle of the Ravine. It’s one of the coolest rivalries in all of college football. It’s certainly the closest.
[It is] literally across the street. If the wind is right, you can hit a golf ball from the end zone of Henderson State’s Carpenter-Haygood Stadium to the end zone of Ouachita Baptist’s Cliff Harris Stadium with a driver and 3-iron. The Reddies golf coach has done it. It’s a five-minute walk for Henderson State’s players to that away game, with state police stopping traffic on two-lane U.S. 67, so they can cross. The rivalry drew 12,228 in 2014 in Henderson State’s stadium, which was 1,500 more than every man, woman, child and football fan in Arkadelphia, Ark.”
Last season, the Tigers snapped Henderson State’s record 31-game road win streak with a thrilling 49-42 victory. This year? The Tigers are a perfect 10-0 and No. 4 in the country. You better be sure that Henderson State is awaiting its chance to play spoiler and end Ouachita Baptist’s current win streak.
No. 13 LIU Post faces off against New Haven for the Northeast-10 title. Both teams are undefeated in DII football play and this clash of the NE10 titans could boost the winner to the top spot should Notre Dame (OH) see an upset in the final week.
No. 24 Tiffin battles a tough unranked Findlay team. Not only did the Dragons drop in the AFCA rankings after their loss to Hillsdale, but they also fell to No. 8 in Super Region One. Their postseason hopes hang on the final score of this one (you can watch on NCAA DII Twitter and Facebook).
MORE: Regional rankings | Programs with the most DII football titles
(From NCAA.com, view the full article HERE)
Three upsets in the top 15. A tremendous amount of rushing yards piled up on the ground. Two teams combining for over 1,300 yards. Conference titles decided.
Yes, indeed, it was just another wild weekend in DII football.
Let’s break down the box scores and look at what stood out in Week 10.
MORE: Week 9 AFCA poll takeaways | Regional rankings
Shutouts posted by the top 25, the same number as last week. For the second week in a row, No. 12 Colorado State-Pueblo’s defense posted a zero, blanking Black Hills State 59-0. No. 5 Minnesota Duluth also handed out a goose egg to Mary, defeating them in dominating 55-0 fashion.
Upsets in the top 15. No. 6 Colorado School of Mines nearly pulled off the comeback, but unranked Dixie State answered in the final minute of play to win 52-45. Fort Hays State made its case for the postseason, defeating No. 10 Northwest Missouri State by one point, 17-16. No. 25 Hillsdale upended No. 15 Tiffin 48-26, taking the Great Midwest Athletic Conference along the way.
Hillsdale College Chargers@HCChargers
Three was also the number of running backs who eclipsed the 100-yard mark for No. 8 Tarleton State. Xavier Turner piled up 128 yards and three touchdowns, while Adam Berryman added 114 and three touchdowns with Daniel McCants putting up 107 yards and a touchdown of his own.
MORE: Best mascots and nicknames in DII sports
Weeks in a row where Ferris State’s Jayru Campbell has produced at least three touchdowns. For those keeping score at home, that’s every week this season. Campbell threw for 142 yards and two touchdowns this week while rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 40 total touchdowns on the season.
MORE: Best dual-threat quarterbacks in DII football
Teams that scored more than 40 points this week, the same exact number as last week. No. 19 Central Washington led the way with 74 points as the top 25 teams combined for 883 total points on the week. No. 22 Indiana (Pa.) had the lowest output, though it was still able to hold on 13-6 over Edinboro.
Consecutive wins in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for No. 1 Minnesota State. We’ll just leave this counter up until further notice. The Mustangs didn’t have it as easy this past week, taking down Sioux Falls, 31-21. The Cougars were the last NSIC team to defeat Minnesota State way back on October 29, 2016.
That’s the Bearcats’ record at home over the past four years, including a run of 21 straight games from the end of 2014 to the end of 2017. The only two losses have come by one-point each to Fort Hays State, this time the 17-16 grudge match.
MORE: Fort Hays State upsets No. 10 Northwest Missouri State, makes a postseason statement
Total rushing yards by Central Washington in its 74-28 victory over Southwest Baptist. Two running backs — Cedric Cooper (203) and Michael Roots (140) — broke the 100-yard mark, while quarterback Riley Hennessey chipped in 82 yards and running back Christian Cummings added another 61 to lead the attack. The four combined for nine touchdowns, with Cooper punching in four.
MORE: DII football’s most scenic stadiums
Combined total yards in Dixie State’s upset over No. 6 Colorado School of Mines. It comes one week after the Mines offense combined to put up 126 points, the most in a DII football game this season. The Trailblazers put up 692 yards, led by quarterback Michael Sanders’ 553-yard day. That set the school record, topping his own mark of 527 he set two weeks prior.
MORE: Dixie State stuns No. 6 Colorado School of Mines in an offensive explosion
Here is a position-by-position breakdown of this weekend’s standout performers in the top 25:
QUARTERBACKS
| QUARTERBACK | SCHOOL | STATS |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Watson | Tiffin | 387 yards, 3 TD |
| Isaac Harker | Colorado School of Mines | 327 yards, 3 TD |
| Eric Nickel | Kutztown | 323 total yards, 5 total TD |
| Willie Candler | West Georgia | 307 yards, 2 TD |
| Layton Rabb | MSU Texas | 300 yards, 2 TD |
RUNNING BACKS
| RUNNING BACK | SCHOOL | STATS |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron Mayberry | Colorado School of Mines | 224 yards, 2 TD |
| Cedric Cooper | Central Washington | 203 yards, 4 TD |
| Ovie Urevbu | Texas A&M-Commerce | 195 yards |
| Michael Roots | Central Washington | 140 yards, 2 TD |
| Vincent Johnson | MSU Texas | 135 yards, 3 TD |
MORE: Adam Thielen’s college numbers from Minnesota State
RECEIVERS
| RECEIVER | SCHOOL | STATS |
|---|---|---|
| Marvell Ross | Notre Dame (OH) | 186 yards, 2 TD |
| Laperion Perry | West Georgia | 183 yards, 2 TD |
| Trey Brock | Hillsdale | 156 yards, 4 TD |
| Lex Rosario | West Chester | 121 yards, 1 TD |
| Malik Higgins | Indianapolis | 119 yards |
Tired of hearing about Bowie State’s Amir Hall yet? Too bad, he’s done it again. Not only did he throw for 333 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw for his 97th career touchdown, the all-time Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association record.
Slippery Rock’s Wes Hills ran for 207 yards this week. That’s three straight weeks with at least 200 yards, a span in which he’s also scored eight touchdowns for the red-hot Rock.
Virginia Union’s Tabyus Taylor and Sioux Falls Gabe Watson continue piling up touchdowns for the race to the most in DII football. Taylor scored two more on Saturday, giving him 19, but that still leaves him four behind Watson who also tacked on two more this past weekend against a very formidable Minnesota State defense.
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