What a wild week it was in DII football. Week 2 saw two top 5 teams fall, while yards were gained and touchdowns were scored in large quantities.
THE COMPLETE AFCA WEEK 1 TOP 25 | 5 takeaways from the poll
The top 25 racked up a total of 796 points this week, and that's with No. 7 Harding yet to play. Let's go beyond the box score and take a look at the top 25 by the numbers.
WEEK 2 by the numbers (*note: this does not include the No. 7 Harding game)
1 – Game that was postponed. No. 7 Harding and Southern Arkansas faced some nasty weather and moved the game to Sunday, September 9 at 3 p.m. ET.
4 – Amount of top 25 teams that scored more than 45 points this weekend, down one from last week.
5 – Ranked teams who lost this week. No. 10 Midwestern State rallied to defeat No. 2 West Florida in a dominating second half. No. 5 Fort Hays State fell Thursday night to unranked Missouri Western 23-13. No. 14 Sioux Falls lost a heartbreaker 16-15 to NSIC-rival No. 15 Winona State. No. 18 Ashland dropped its second-straight game to a top 20 foe, losing 24-17 to No. 17 Ohio Dominican. No. 19 (tie) Findlay lost big to No. 9 Ferris State 59-13.
MORE: Missouri Western picks up first win over a top 5 school in six years
6 -- Total touchdowns scored by Minnesota Duluth quarterback John Larson. Five came through the air while he ran one more in.
11 -- Total points that No. 18 Ashland has dropped its two opening games by, both to top 20 opponents. The Eagles lost 21-17 on opening weekend to No. 4 IUP and then fell 24-17 to No. 17 Ohio Dominican this week.
19.5 -- Average margin of victory by the 23 winning top 25 teams this week.
35 -- Points Midwestern State scored in the second half in its upset of West Florida. The Mustangs trailed 14-3 at halftime before outscoring the Argos 35-3 in the second half. The Lone Star Conference 2017 champs are looking very formidable already in 2018.
MORE: Midwestern State erases a double-digit halftime deficit to upset West Florida 38-17
59 -- Points scored by No. 9 Ferris State. While plenty of teams put up points in bunches this week, the Bulldogs broke 50 on a pretty tough top 20 team in Findlay. DII football, you've been put on notice, quarterback Jayru Campbell is a big-time threat.
62 – Most points scored by a winning top 25 team this week. Despite being without starting quarterback Brook Bolles, No. 21 Central Missouri still won by a landslide, defeating Northeastern State 62-10. Just how good is Bolles? The Mules used three different quarterbacks to replace the injured star QB, with Jeremy Hunt throwing for 175 yards and 2 TDs, Kyle Brady throwing for 126 yards and 2 TDs, and even Austin Strilko completing one of his two passes.
67 -- Total yards No. 23 West Chester held Gannon's Marcus Jones to in its 31-7 victory. Jones, of course, led DII football in rushing last season, eclipsing the 2,000-yard mark and making 150-yard games the norm. It was his lowest total since 2016.
MORE: Minnesota State survives, Winona State sneaks by in exciting Week 2 NSIC action
Here is a position by position breakdown of this weekend's standout performers.
QUARTERBACKS
| Quarterback | School | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| John Larson | Minnesota Duluth | 371 total yards, 6 total TD |
| Ryan Schlichte | Minnesota State | 362 total yards, 2 total TD |
| Braden Wright | Northwest Missouri State | 351 total yards, 3 total TD |
| A.J. Long | West Chester | 347 total yards, 4 total TD |
| Layton Rabb | Midwestern State | 344 total yards, 3 TD |
| Jayru Campbell | Ferris State | 338 total yards, 5 total TD |
| Willie Candler | West Georgia | 314 total yards, 4 total TD |
| Harry Satterwhite | West Alabama | 292 pass yards, 4 TD |
| Running Back | School | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Watson | Sioux Falls | 172 yards, 1 TD |
| Marche Dennard | CSU-Pueblo | 147 yards, 3 TD |
| Nate Gunn | Minnesota State | 131 yards, 3 TD |
| Toriano Clinton | UIndy | 131, 1 TD |
| Kris Oliver | Ouachita Baptist | 127 yards, 3 TD |
| Pailate Makakona | Colorado Mesa | 102 total yards, 2 TD |
| Devontae Jackson | West Georgia | 101 yards, 2 TD |
ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN by #13 Jason Balts 🏈🇺🇸 Score is 28-0
— UMD Athletics (@UMDBulldogs)
RECEIVERS
| Receiver | School | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Shane Zylstra | Minnesota State | 134 yards, 1 TD |
| Ryan Ramones | Central Washington | 134 yards |
| Rasheem James | West Chester | 121 yards, 1 TD |
| Sy Barnett | Ferris State | 121 yards, 1 TD |
| Jason Balts | Minnesota Duluth | 119 yards, 3 TD |
| Matt Wendelberger | Fort Hays State | 103 yards, 1 TD |
| Christian Saulsberry | West Alabama | 98 yards, 2 TD, 95-yard kick return TD |
Outside the top 25:
With several upsets this week, there will be some teams receiving votes that are going to be making a case for the top 25. Here are some of the best.
Let's just reserve this first spot for the explosive Colorado Mines offense. Last week wide receiver Brody Oliver, one of krikya18.com's 17 impact players for 2018, had 195 yards and five touchdowns. He followed that with 174-yard, two touchdown performance this week. Quarterback Isaac Harker put up 425 yards in the air, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more. This Orediggers offense is dangerous.
Another week means more video-game-like numbers from Bowie State's quarterback Amir Hall. This week he threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns. You know, the usual.
It's time to put Pittsburg State on watch. Now 2-0, the Gorillas look tough. Quarterback John Roderique threw for 220 yards and totaled three touchdowns in their most recent victory over Emporia State.
A well-deserved shoutout goes to Augustana (SD) quarterback Kyle Saddler. He had No. 3 Minnesota State on the ropes for most of the game, and scored a dramatic touchdown to bring the Vikings within two as time expired. Saddler threw for 451 yards and three touchdowns and punched in the dramatic one-yarder as the clock showed zero.
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