Ferris State repeats as DII football national champions

The Colorado School of Mines momentum was quickly ended with a well put together scoring drive by the Bulldogs. Marcus Taylor continues to pound the rock. One week after running up a career-high 181 yards, Taylor has made big run after big run, and now has 98 yards in the game. Taylor got the Bulldogs inside the five where Carson Gulker, per usual, took over, rushing in his 30th touchdown of the year. Not bad for a freshman.

 John Matocha and the Colorado School of Mines avoided the shutout with an explosive drive in the waning minutes of the third quarter. Matocha finally was able to get some time and chuck a deep ball to one of his favorite targets, wide receiver Josh Johnston. A 36-yard completion put the Orediggers in business, and shortly after, Matocha threw his 51st touchdown pass of the season, connecting with Michael Zeman on the 56th touchdown of his brilliant Orediggers' career.

As we get ready to start the fourth quarter, Mines cut the lead to three scores, 27-7. 

After Ferris State opened the second quarter with a field goal, a little trickery helped open up the lead a little more. Quarterback Mylik Mitchell sidearmed it to wide receiver Brady Rose behind the line, who threw it to CJ Jefferson for a 49-yard gain. Because Ferris State uses bubble screens and its wide receivers in different ways, the Mines' defense was out of sorts, enabling the Bulldogs to get into field goal territory and tack on three more.

The Ferris State front seven, including Harlon Hill trophy runner-up Caleb Murphy, have been absolutely relentless. They already have two sacks and four tackles for a loss. Let's see if they can keep up the pressure.

Ferris State 13, Colorado School of Mines 0 

We are through one quarter. It looked like it was going to be an offensive explosion with Ferris State scoring in just four minutes. But stout defense and costly penalties have kept this game in reach for the Orediggers.

Harlon Hill winner John Matocha is just 1-for-6 passing thus far, and was seen getting his thumb tended to on the sidelines early in the game. The Bulldogs need to keep the attack up and not let him find that rhythm. For ferris State, much like last week, running back Marcus Taylor looks unstoppable with 55 yards rushing on just eight carries. 

Second quarter is underway from McKinney. 

Welcome to the 2022 DII football championship game. Ferris State looks to be the first repeat national champion since the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats pulled it off in 2015-16. Standing in the defending champs way is the red-hot Colorado School of Mines, winners of 13 in a row and led by 2023 Harlon Hill Trophy winner, quarterback John Matocha.

It's a chilly 44 degrees, but actually a tad bit warmer than Ferris State's last trip to McKinney, Texas, in 2021. Turner Sports' Wayne Cavadi will be bringing you real-time updates throughout the game, so keep it right here for scores and insights until the final whistle. For previews and recaps of every round, continue to scroll down the page.

Ferris State will attempt to become the first repeat DII football national champion since the 2015-16 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, on Saturday afternoon when the Bulldogs take on Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. ET. Keep it locked here for live updates throughout the entirety of the national title game. 

Finals matchup:

• No. 1 Ferris State vs. No. 2 Colorado School of Mines | 1 p.m. ET

BRACKET: Click or tap here for the full 2022 DII football championship bracket

Semifinals results:

• No. 1 Ferris State 38, No. 4 West Florida 17
• No. 2 Colorado School of Mines 44, No. 3 Shepherd 13

Below you can find how each team advanced to the title game: 

Ferris State back in the DII football championship game

This was a rematch of the 2019 semifinals, and on paper, it was the same: No. 1 Ferris State hosting No. 4 West Florida. West Florida won that game, and eventually the national championship. That made the Argos the third former DII football national champion in a row the Bulldogs faced, having already defeated Pittsburg State and Grand Valley State to advance to the semifinals. Those games were tightly contested ball games, and it looked like it would be more of the same against West Florida.

Until the second half, that is.

It looked like Ferris State was going to run away with it (quite literally) out of the gates. Quarterback Carson Gulker started the scoring with a rushing touchdown — his 26th of the season — and after Marcus Taylor ripped off a huge run, Gulker punched it in for another, putting the Bulldogs up 14-3 early. But West Florida, sparked by a huge fourth down defensive stop and 58-yard touchdown reception by David Durden, came firing back and went into the half tied at 17.

Ferris State took over in the second half. Gene Upshaw Award winner Caleb Murphy had a big forced fumble, the defense made a fourth-down stop, and the special teams sniffed out a fake punt, converting each of those into a score. Ferris State ran up 309 yards on the ground, with Taylor piling up 181 yards, while Gulker scored one more time for his sixth three-touchdown day of the season. It was West Florida's first-ever road loss in the tournament, and this is a team that didn't play a single home game on its championship run in 2019. Ferris State is moving on to its third championship game in the past four DII football championship tournaments. 

Colorado School of Mines with historic win

The Shepherd Rams and Colorado School of Mines matchup was a showcase of two Harlon Hill hopefuls. Reigning DII player of the year Tyson Bagent faced fellow star quarterback John Matocha, and when the final whistle blew, there was no doubt which one had the better day.

Matocha went off, throwing for 371 yards and five touchdowns, the majority of which went to wide receiver Max McLeod, who reeled in 214 yards and three touchdowns. That sounds like a sensational day for most quarterbacks, but that’s just how amazing Matocha’s season has been — it was just another day at the office, as it was Matocha’s 10th 300-yard game of the season and the seventh time he’s passed for at least four scores.

What was absolutely sensational was the Orediggers' defense. The Orediggers were relentless (as the broadcast team constantly reminded us), holding Bagent to 165 yards — his lowest total in his past two Harlon Hill-finalist campaigns. They got to Bagent eight times, picked him off twice, and forced two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Colorado School of Mines is heading to its first-ever championship game and is looking to be the first team from Colorado to win since CSU Pueblo in 2014. 

The stage is set. One interesting note: While Ferris State has become a McKinney, Texas, regular, so has the Gulf South Conference. This is the first championship game since 2015 that a school from the GSC is not in the championship game. Colorado School of Mines and Ferris State will meet at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 17 in McKinney for the 2022 DII football championship.

We have our title matchup.

Defending champion Ferris State will meet Colorado School of Mines for the DII football title after the two picked up semifinal wins on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Here's what happened in the semifinals:

• No. 1 Ferris State 38, No. 4 West Florida 17
• No. 2 Colorado School of Mines 44, No. 3 Shepherd 13

BRACKET: Click or tap here for the full 2022 DII football championship bracket

The DII football national championship is set for 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 17 in McKinney, Texas.

The quarterfinals of the DII football championship featured four rematches on the largest stage in the game. Two GLIAC superpowers collided (again) while Shepherd looked to avenge its lone loss of the season. Wingate had revenge on its mind against West Florida and the Colorado School of Mines and Angelo State met in the rubber match, the THIRD time they've met in a calendar year.

And DII football fans got everything they could have hoped for. Three teams from last year’s final four are heading back to the semifinals. Here’s how it went down.

Click or tap on each game for final stats:

• No. 2 Shepherd 48, No. 1 Indiana (PA) 13
• No. 2 Ferris State 24, No. 1 Grand Valley State 21
• No. 2 Colorado School of Mines 42, No. 1 Angelo State 24
• No. 3 West Florida 45, Wingate 14

BRACKET: Click or tap here for the full 2022 DII football championship bracket

Super Region One: Shepherd back in the semifinals

Shepherd lost a tough three-point battle to Indiana (PA) less than a month ago in the PSAC Championship game. That was a classic PSAC football game played in not-so friendly weather conditions. This week, the weather was much nicer, and so was Shepherd’s offense.

IUP scored first on a Mak Sexton touchdown pass, but the Tyson Bagent Show took over from there as he led six straight touchdown drives. By the end of the first half, Bagent made college football history, becoming the all-time leader in career passing touchdowns with his third touchdown pass of the first half. Bagent finished with four touchdowns — despite a pair of his top wide receivers not suiting up on Saturday — and the Rams’ multi-talented running back Ronnie Brown had three more scores of his own. Bagent came back to Shepherd to have another chance at a championship, and for the second year in a row, he has the Rams in the national semifinals.

Super Region Two: West Florida’s defense steals the show

Wingate was the Cinderella of the ball, the lone unranked team mixed in with a bunch of top seeds. The Bulldogs' Shaw Crocker came out and led a nice scoring drive, concluding with a big touchdown pass to get Wingate out to a surprising 7-0 lead on the road.

But then the Argos defense took over. It started with an Anthony Johnson pick-6 — the first of four defensive scores for West Florida on the day. Quarterback Peewee Jarrett got the Argos all they needed, throwing for two touchdowns in a 24-point second quarter, one to David Durden, who has had an amazing season of his own. The Argos defense took over and rolled to a huge 45-14 victory and are heading to their third national semifinals since the program began playing DII football in 2016. Just think about that. 

HARLON WATCH: Finalists for the DII player of the year announced

Super Region Three: Defending champs still rolling

In yet another classic game in this intense rivalry, Ferris State “upset” No. 1 Grand Valley State 24-21, with the game-winning field goal coming with just over a minute left to play. The Bulldogs advance to their fourth straight national semifinals and fifth in six DII football championships.

Grand Valley State played a very tough first half, especially the second quarter, where the Lakers scored 14 points to take the lead into the half. The Ferris State defense turned it up a notch in the second half and outscored Grand Valley State 17-7 to move on. “Quarterback U” was in full effect as Bulldogs’ quarterback Mylik Mitchell made some key runs in the game — including an eight-yard score to start the second half. In fact, Mitchell led all rushers in the game with 87 yards. That’s two games between two of the best teams in the country decided by a total of four points this season. In the end, Ferris State's repeat hopes are still alive and well.

Super Region Four: Colorado School of Mines back again

It was a heck of a season for the Angelo State Rams. A 12-0 run to the quarterfinals, which included an early season win against Colorado School of Mines, avenging last year’s semifinal loss. That was the second of two losses in two weeks for the Orediggers.

They haven’t lost since. The Orediggers have now won 12 in a row — all in dominating fashion — and are heading back to the national semifinals once again. A large reason has been the play of Harlon Hill Trophy candidate John Matocha. He was at his best yet again on Saturday, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for 111 yards and two more scores in a dominating 42-24 victory. His counterpart, Rams' quarterback Zach Bronkhorst, was sensational in his own right, throwing for 323 yards and three scores, but it simply wasn't enough to counter the steamroller that the Mines' offense is.

Next week:

Both semifinal matchups will be played on Saturday, Dec. 10, and can be streamed on ESPN+. Here's the schedule:

• No. 1 Ferris St. vs. No. 4 West Florida, noon | ESPN+
• No. 2 Colorado Sch. of Mines vs. No. 3 Shepherd, 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+

The quarterfinals for the DII football championship begin on Saturday, December 3. Below you can find what to look for in the matchups from krikya18.com's Wayne Cavadi:

Look ahead: The DII football quarterfinals

How do you follow up a wild week of second-round action? How about a week full of pivotal rematches?

In Super Region One, we get a rematch of the PSAC championship game just a few weeks ago. That game saw Indiana (PA) end Shepherd’s undefeated run in a 24-21 win, earning the No. 1 seed the Super Region and claiming home field for this big rematch.

Super Region Two pits West Florida and Wingate against each other. The last time these two met in the bracket, the Argos won 38-17 on the way to their 2019 national championship.

Super Region Three sees yet another Ferris State/Grand Valley State showdown. This has become one of the fiercest rivalries in DII. The Lakers took the regular season meeting 22-21 and will be looking to return the favor to the Bulldogs from 2021 when Ferris State beat the Lakers twice en route to a national championship.

And Super Region Four gives us the rubber match between two of the more exciting teams in recent seasons. Colorado School of Mines defeated Angelo State in the Super Region Four championship last year, but the Rams came out victorious earlier this year. Who gets to the final four teams standing?

BRACKET: Click or tap here for the full 2022 DII football championship bracket

• No. 1 Indiana (PA) vs. Shepherd | 1 p.m. ET
• No. 1 Grand Valley State vs. No. 2 Ferris State | 1:05 p.m. ET
• No. 1 Angelo State vs. No. 2 Colorado School of Mines | 2 p.m. ET
• No. 3 West Florida vs. Wingate | 2:05 p.m. ET

What you missed from Round 2 of the DII football championship

Saturday was simply an amazing day of football in the DII football championship. The defending champs hung on in a nailbiter, the No. 1 team in the country needed just about all 60 minutes to secure a victory, and the Wingate Bulldogs still don’t feel like losing.

We have ourselves three No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups as the underdog hasn’t had much success in the bracket. In fact, only one unranked team is remaining. Let’s take a look at what went down.

PREDICTIONS: krikya18.com's DII analyst Wayne Cavadi predicts the DII football championship bracket

Final scores from the second round

• No. 2 Shepherd 37, Slippery Rock 27 
• Wingate 23, No. 1 Benedict 6
• No. 1 Indiana (PA) 19, No. 4 Ashland 13
• No. 2 Ferris State 17, No. 3 Pittsburg State 14
• No. 1 Grand Valley State 13, Northwest Missouri State 8
• No. 2 Colorado School of Mines 48,  No. 3 Minnesota State 45
• No. 1 Angelo State 33, No. 4 Bemidji State 7
• No. 3 West Florida 39, No. 2 Delta State 27

Grand Valley State holds on in a defensive slugfest

The No. 1 Lakers defeated Northwest Missouri State 13-8 in a thrilling battle between two very well-coached teams. There weren’t many big plays in this one — mainly because the Bearcats' defense is so good at closing in fast anytime the Lakers looked like they were going to open one up. Arguably, the two biggest came in the final minutes of play. Trailing 8-7 — the perfect score to exemplify what a defensive fight this was — Lakers’ quarterback Cade Peterson found Jahdae Walker for 52 yards to set up a Tariq Reid go-ahead touchdown, the star running back’s second of the game. The Bearcats had just 1:55 to score, but a pair of sacks and a big interception by Nyzier Fourqurean — his third of the day — sealed the deal. Kudos to the Bearcats; this defense stymied the Lakers for much of the game, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.

The upset train keeps rolling for Wingate

The Wingate Bulldogs are playing for the Super Region Two title after taking down No. 1 Benedict 23-6. While the offense has been doing just fine, the defense has been key for Wingate thus far, helping the Bulldogs outscore their opponents 55-13 in two rounds of play. That said, quarterback Shaw Crocker had an interesting day, completing less than 50% of his passes, but still delivering three touchdown passes to three different receivers. Wingate will have to dig deep and find more upset magic on the road again next week.

West Florida prevails, beats Gulf South foe

What a ball game this one was. Delta State looked like it had the game, kicking the go-ahead field goal with just about four minutes remaining. West Florida answered with a long touchdown drive to go up 31-27 and ten seconds later returned an interception to the house to secure the win. For West Florida, it avenges an early season loss to Delta State and puts the Argos in the national quarterfinals for the third time since 2017. Considering they’ve only been a program since 2016… well, that’s flat-out impressive.

Ferris State survives, defeats Pittsburg State 17-14

It looked like the defending champs were ready to run away with this one, jumping out to an early 14-point lead in the first quarter. How about a tip of the cap to that tough Pittsburg State defense? The Gorillas made big adjustments and held this tricky Bulldogs offense in check the rest of the way, allowing a mere field goal over the last 46 minutes of play. The Ferris State defense was also solid, recording nine sacks, six of which came from all-world end Caleb Murphy. A missed Pitt State field goal as time expired sent the Bulldogs to the quarterfinals. We’re heading to a GLIAC rematch for the ages.

Colorado School of Mines, Minnesota State explode for 93 points

The Orediggers came out somewhat flat against a very good Minnesota State Mavericks team and paid the price. A touchdown pass and pair of rushing touchdowns from Shen Butler Lawson, and No. 2 Colorado School of Mines was down 21-7 after one quarter of play. But then John Matocha took over. The Harlon Hill Trophy candidate rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown and threw for 307 yards and four more scores — including three to receiver Josh Johnston — as the Orediggers offense showed what it was best at: scoring. Not to be outdone, Mavericks’ quarterback Hayden Ekern threw for 377 yards and four touchdowns in this back-and-forth offensive bout.

Big performances from the second round

There were plenty of big box score numbers to go around. If the NCAA history books are correct, Tyson Bagent is two shy of tying the all-time NCAA career touchdown passes record. He threw for two more on Saturday, giving him 155 and tying him with Case Keenum. Here’s a look at some other big performances not discussed above.

• Tyson Bagent, QB, Shepherd: 373 pass, 19 rush, 3 total TD
• DJ Barber, WR, Minnesota State:  108 receiving, 2 TD
• Zach Bronkhorst, QB, Angelo State: 337 pass, 2 TD
• Ronnie Brown, RB, Shepherd: 205 rush, 52 receiving, 2 total TD
• Isaiah Emanuel, WR, Minnesota State: 117 receiving, 1 TD
• Alfonso Franklin, RB, Delta State: 121 rush
• Kashan Griffin, WR, Northwest Missouri State:  133 yards receiving
• Noah Grover, QB, Slippery Rock: 317 pass, 11 rush, 3 total TD, 1 Int
• Adam Houser, RB, Indiana (PA): 125 rush
• Tyrese Hunt-Thompson, WR, Ferris State: 122 receiving
• Shomari Mason, RB, West Florida: 120 rush, 1 TD, 10 receiving
• Nate Omayebu III, RB, Angelo State:  91 rush, 36 receiving, 2 TD
• Cohen Russell, WR, Slippery Rock: 123 receiving, 1 TD, 4 rush
• Kelvin Smith, RB, Delta State: 107 rush, 14 receiving
• Alexander Wilson, RB Wingate: 109 rush, 11 receiving
   

Look ahead: The DII football quarterfinals

How do you follow up a wild week of second-round action? How about a week full of pivotal rematches?

In Super Region One, we get a rematch of the PSAC championship game just a few weeks ago. That game saw Indiana (PA) end Shepherd’s undefeated run in a 24-21 win, earning the No. 1 seed the Super Region and claiming home field for this big rematch.

Super Region Two pits West Florida and Wingate against each other. The last time these two met in the bracket, the Argos won 38-17 on the way to their 2019 national championship.

Super Region Three sees yet another Ferris State/Grand Valley State showdown. This has become one of the fiercest rivalries in DII. The Lakers took the regular season meeting 22-21 and will be looking to return the favor to the Bulldogs from 2021 when Ferris State beat the Lakers twice en route to a national championship.

And Super Region Four gives us the rubber match between two of the more exciting teams in recent seasons. Colorado School of Mines defeated Angelo State in the Super Region Four championship last year, but the Rams came out victorious earlier this year. Who gets to the final four teams standing?

BRACKET: Click or tap here for the full 2022 DII football championship bracket

• No. 1 Indiana (PA) vs. Shepherd
• No. 1 Grand Valley State vs. No. 2 Ferris State
• No. 1 Angelo State vs. No. 2 Colorado School of Mines
• No. 3 West Florida vs. Wingate