What we learned in the first round of the DII football championship

We will have a new national champion in 2023. Grand Valley State ended Ferris State's quest for three-straight championships as the 2023 DII football championship field was cut from 28 to 16 on Saturday. With the No. 1 seeds ready to return to action next week, let's take a look back at the week that was.

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For the record, I'll own it. My predictions were not very good this year and in fact, they were the worst I ever made. That's okay in my book, especially with the way some of these games turned out in program-record-setting fashions. 

Super Region One

Wayne Cavadi's predictions: Slippery Rock ✅ , Charleston (WV) ✅ , Virginia Union ❌

Slippery Rock utterly dominated its way to victory, defeating East Stroudsburg 45-14. The Rock won this game a bit uncharacteristically, as they pounded the ball into the end zone on the ground. Isaiah Edwards scored twice as one of four backs to score a rushing touchdown. The defense held the Warriors to just 220 yards of offense, and held the offense to just one score, as Justin Cook returned a kickoff 95 yards for the Warriors only other score on the day. The Rock heads to a huge showdown against No. 1 Tiffin in Round 2. It will be a battle of two teams that can score at will, but can the Dragons' stingy defense make the big stops to win?

If you like fireworks, the Charleston (WV) victory was quite the show. Behind Chavon Wright's huge rushing day, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 24-7 lead at the half. However, New Haven quarterback Daelen Menard kept the Chargers in this one, throwing four second-half touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter, but fell just short in a 52-44 thriller. Charleston's top-10 offense now has to face Kutztown's top-10 defense in the second round. It is the first time in program history that the Golden Eagles will attempt to defeat three nationally-ranked opponents in a row. 

Speaking of Kutztown, that Golden Bears defense prevailed once again, limiting the CIAA's second-best scoring offense to just 14 points, only seven of which came from the offense. Perhaps most impressive was that Kutztown ran all over DII football's top-ranked rushing defense, going for 210 rushing yards against a team that allowed just 37.3 rushing yards per game this season. Kutztown quarterback Judd Novak led the charge, throwing for 157 yards, rushing for 66, and throwing for two touchdowns.

Super Region Two

Wayne Cavadi's predictions: Lenoir-Rhyne ✅ , West Florida ❌, Limestone ❌

The three teams that won in this part of the bracket exploded offensively behind tremendous quarterback play in complete blowouts. Lenoir-Rhyne's No. 20-ranked offense dropped a season-high 63 points in dismantling Shepherd 63-17. Quarterback Sean White had his second game in a row with at least five touchdowns, throwing for five and rushing for two more all while setting new program playoff records in passing yards (398) and total yards (405). The Bears defense held Shepherd to just 156 total yards, while putting up nearly 500 of their own. This team, which has been flowing offensively for several weeks, has a tough test in Benedict's top-ranked defense next week.  

Delta State exorcised its West Florida demons in a big way. After losing five of the last six matchups, including last year's playoff tilt, the Statesmen pounded the Argos 49-14. As usual, quarterback Patrick Shegog led the way for Delta State, throwing for 318 yards and six touchdowns. Five of those touchdowns came in the first half as Delta State went into the half with a 35-0 lead. The defense allowed 450 yards of total offense, but clamped down when it came to the scoring, was able to keep West Florida star receiver John Jiles out of the end zone, and even scored on a Freddrick Hervey pick-six. The Statesmen now play Valdosta State, which they defeated 49-25 earlier this season.

Those Blazers played a thrilling shootout against Limestone that ended in a 62-41 victory. Valdosta State came out firing, going into the half up 31-7, but Limestone never went away with an impressive 34-point second half. Both quarterbacks combined for 649 yards and 11 touchdowns, as Valdosta's Sammy Edwards threw six scores and the Saints' Dustin Noller countered with five. Valdosta State's defense will have to tighten up if it wants a chance to stop Shegog and that Delta State offense next week.

Super Region Three

Wayne Cavadi's predictions: Central Missouri ✅ , Grand Valley State ✅ , Pittsburg State ✅ 

Zach Zebrowski added to his unbelievable 2023 campaign, throwing for 467 yards and seven touchdowns in a 56-14 victory over Henderson State. It was the eighth time this season he's thrown for at least five touchdowns in a game and now has 4,732 yards passing and 56 touchdowns on the year. Perhaps most remarkable is he completed more than 70 percent of his passes without throwing an interception. This sets up quite an intriguing second-round matchup. Both Central Missouri and Harding have top-four offenses in DII football; however, Harding's defense is arguably the best in the division. Can the Bison keep Central Missouri off the board and if they don't, can the triple-option offense hang around or even come from behind against this explosive offense?

Grand Valley State went to the wire with their GLIAC rival, and in doing so, eliminated the two-time defending champions from the tournament. The defense was on point, limiting Ferris State to just 261 yards of offense. Linebackers Anthony Cardamone and Abe Swanson were unstoppable, combining for 29 tackles and three forced fumbles. Quarterback Cade Peterson was efficient, throwing for two touchdowns and leading the offense to victory. It was the Lakers' third win against Ferris State in four tries. Next up is Pittsburg State in a match of two DII football historic powers. 

Pittsburg State's quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. returned from a one-game absence and went off for 282 yards and three scores in leading the Gorillas to a decisive 35-14 victory. The Gorillas defense got the scoring started with a safety and really never took the pedal off the metal, going up 35-7 before a late UIndy score. The Gorillas defense got to UIndy's Gavin Sukup four times for sacks and forced two interceptions on the day, really controlling the tempo in the victory.  

Super Region Four

Wayne Cavadi's predictions: Augustana (SD) ✅ , Western Colorado ❌, Texas Permian Basin ❌

In a part of the bracket that I expected no upsets after a wild closing week to the season, there were two. The Augustana Vikings were not one of them as they dismantled their NSIC rival Minnesota State 51-24. The game isn't even as close as the score says considering the Mavericks scored 21 points in the fourth quarter when the game was already well out of reach. The defense played a large role in Augustana's second NCAA tournament win in program history, forcing five interceptions and a fumble recovery. Quarterback Casey Bauman threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns for the Vikings, with all four scores going to Devon Jones. 

Central Washington picked up its first DII football championship victory since 2009 in an overtime win, downing No. 2 Western Colorado 16-13 on a Kennedy McGill to Darius Morrison game-winning touchdown pass. It was Morrison's second touchdown of the day. Kicker Josh Jones tied the game with a 28-yard field goal with just two seconds remaining to set up the overtime heroics. The Wildcats now face Bemidji State in a battle of two unseeded playoff teams. 

The Beavers advance by holding Texas Permian Basin without a touchdown in a tightly contested 10-3 victory. It is the third-straight season that Bemidji State has won its first-round game as it now looks to do what it hasn't done in the previous two years: win in the second round. In fact, each of the past two seasons ended in blowout fashion to the Super Region Four No. 1 seed. The Beavers' defense was superb in this one as UTPB's three points (the fewest the Falcons have scored since 2021) came with under a minute remaining in the game. The defense allowed just 220 total yards and recorded two sacks and two interceptions.